Bangkok - Bangkok local election, train markets and a variety of other floating markets

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Summary:


• "Bangkok Floating Markets" tour by Bangkok Food Tours
• Bangkok to Chiang Mai - Overnight bus


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I have booked for today the off beat Floating Markets tour by Bangkok Food Tours, the tour itinerary consists of a visit to the Train Market (see YouTube clip below), the Tak ha Floating Market, Bang Noi Floating Market, Bang Kung Navy Camp and Amphawa Floating Market.

I initially thought that the day would go from 0715 to 2100 however I would later find out that the day actually would run from 0715 to 1800, not of a great concern to me. Would have been nice to have been on an earlier "better" bus. This meant that I needed to change my bus ticket from First Class to Gold Class (it turns out Gold class was pretty darn good - which we'll get to later but does make me wonder what first class would have been like).

The day kicks off at approximately 0730 at which point I am greeted in the foyer of my hostel by Olive my guide for day. I am greeted in the traditional Thai fashion with the hands cupped together signifying a lotus if I am not mistaken. We then proceed to the van that will be taking myself and the group around for the day (the Van is very nice one the best on the trip as a whole).

The group is kind of sub dued, very quite, consisting of two couples, a boyfriend and girlfriend from Singapore. The first of the floating markets is about a one and a half hour drive to the west of Bangkok and sits within one of the smallest provinces of Bangkok, Don Manora (if I am not mistaken).

We are each (one for me and one between each of the couples) are given an itinerary for the day, the Itinerary lists each of the markets that we will be visiting , essential Thai words, food names in Thai and a list of each of the dishes we will be sampling over the day at each of the markets.

At the first of the floating markets, Tha Ka Floating Market (TK), there are four dishes on offer:

"Guey Cheum" (Banana in a Thai Syrup) - The serving is meant for two but I consume one my own, I am sure for those reading this no surprise. The dish is obviously a desert thick and rich in consistency with the banana's served warm.

"Kanom Bueng Thai" (Thai Style Crepe) - The crepe is actually an egg stuffed with coconut, shallot, coriander, dry shrimp, bean sprout, tofu, pickled radish and peanut.

"Hoi Tod" (Thai style Fried Mussel) - This is a really interesting dish, difficult to describe, its soft and gooey in texture. The best way I could describe it (which probably doesn't do it justice anyway) is like a rice cake sort of thing...(I don't know to be honest). It wasn't a bad dish though.

"Tung Tong" (Golden Money Bag) - This is a dish that is common in Australia, usually served as a entree. Fried dishes are always a winner in my books, a little of chilli sauce, oh beautiful (getting hungry just thinking about it).

In reflection I think this was my favorite market of the lot, not only was it the most authentic it also had the best food. I couldn't believe how good the coconut ice-cream was, served by a little street side vendor not far from the entrance of the market. Include in our tour of TK is a boat ride, very authentic, through the back waters surrounding the market area and a visit to a local sugar (?) factory.

At the second "floating" market, Bang Noi (BN), there were two dishes on offer:

"Nam Fak Kao" (Spring Bitter Cucumber Juice or Gac Friut Juice) - Yeah whatever....

"Kuay Tiew Moo Namdang (Red Soup Noodle) - Interesting with a number of different condiments, spicy!

Neither of the dishes really impress me, the market is also not a floating market, it's a market by the water. Nothing to see that is particularly floating here. The nice thing here was that we each got massages, yayer!

The final "floating" market, Amphawa Floating Market (A), there were six dishes on offer:

Thai Style Seafood with Killer Sauce (Thai Style Seafood Sauce) - Nothing much to say here...

"Nam Muang" (Purple Drink) - More of the same, see above...

"Hor Mok" (Red Curry Fish Cake) - ...

Thai Ice Cream - Can't really remember but I went for all the funky flavors and there were some really funky flavors I can assure you. I love ice-cream but I wasn't impressed...

"Mor Kaeng" (Thai Coconut Custard) - ...Can't remember much, mustn't have been that great.

"Meekrob" (Crispy Noodle with Tamarind Sauce) - ...See above.

Not really much to say about any of the dishes, I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the dishes. In actual fact I really disliked the "Hor Mok" or "Red Curry Fish Cake". Oh my god, that is really something, never again, you know whatever. Call me picky, call me spoiled, whatever just wasn't a fan of this dish (if you can call it that).

The Floating Markets tour is a great way to sample a number of the floating markets in a short space of time, do note though that this particular tour leaves out one of the most popular and largest floating markets in Thailand, Damneon Saduak. Which is a fair drive from Bangkok. The tour is food and "cultural" tour of Bangkok, the cultural part can sometimes get a little lost amongst the focus on food. Bangkok food tours offer a number of cultural and food based walking tours around the Bangkok area, the central concept is to take people on an authentic culinary and cultural experience of Bangkok.

http://bangkokfoodtours.com/

The overnight bus is gold class, the bus company's in Thailand generally have a number of different classes. The best being VIP, going down from that it is Glod class, 2nd class and economy.

The bus arrives late...

http://www.nakhonchaiair.com/index.php

In reflection it is as much about the company that you keep while you have all these amazing experiences, amazing as it is to experience all these inspirational cultures and breath taking sights. It really means little if you have no one to share it all with.

Train Market Clip (From YouTube):

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