Bangkok Floating Market Thailand, Damnoen Saduak, Taling Chan Floating Market

Bangkok’s Floating Markets are a colourful reminder of the days when farmers brought their produce to sell in Bangkok by boat.

They made an early start when the sun was not hot and the fruit and vegetables were at their freshest, and this remains the rule today.

The largest and most photographed of the Floating Markets, it opens daily from before dawn until midmorning. Wearing traditional blue cotton suits and bamboo and palm leaf hats, the vendors paddle their loaded boats up and down the waterway hailing customers. Canal trips can be arranged to tour the market and surrounding orchards.

• Contact TAT Ratchaburi, Tel: 0 3225 4980.

Local farmers bring fresh vegetables, fruit and fish to sell, each in its season in front of the Taling Chan District Office on Saturday and Sunday from around 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are also floating food shops on rafts selling Thai food, sweets and handicrafts. Tour companies arrange sightseeing boat tours along Khlong Chak Phra.

• Contact TAT Bangkok,
  Tel: 0 2282 9773 or Taling Chan District Office,
  Tel: 0 2424 1742 or 0 2424 5448.

Villagers bring food, vegetables and local fruit to sell at Tha Kha market from 7 a.m. until noon. Saturdays and Sundays are the best days to visit, when the market is at its busiest, but it is also held on other days determined by the lunar calendar. Boats can be hired for tours of the surrounding villages and orchards.

• Contact TAT Bangkok, Tel: 0 2282 9773; or TAT Kanchanaburi, Tel: 0 3451 1200.

This market is held in front of Wat Lam Phya, Tha Chin River, every Saturday and Sunday from around 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. Handicrafts including hand-woven cloth and hand-made baskets are sold here as well as fruit vegetables and a wide range of Thai food, noodles and desserts. Boat trips are available to visit nearby attractions along the river.

• Contact: Wat Lam Phya, Tel: 0 3439 1626, 0 3439 1985 or 0 3439 2022.

This lively morning market opens from 6 to 8 a.m. only. Villagers bring in seasonal fruit, consumer products and prepared foods to sell by boat. At the same time, monks on their early morning alms rounds collect villagers’ offerings by boat, a site rarely seen any more in Thailand.

• Contact TAT Bangkok, Tel: 0 2282 9773.