I have wanted to spend some time at one of Bangkok’s famous floating markets for a while now, but between my weekend trips, I hadn’t found the time yet! When my photography professor assigned me an editorial photography project, I decided this would be a great opportunity to visit Amphawa, take some photos of the market-life in Thailand, and also work on my school project all in one.
The markets around Thailand have been one cultural difference that has really intrigued me. Of course, Madison has its beloved Farmers Market, but beyond sunny, Saturday mornings around the capital square, I’ve never really had the chance to live in a place that relies so heavily on markets for its economy to function. And it’s fantastic being able to browse through loads of cheap and tasty items all in one place while getting a better look into Thai culture through the items being sold at each vendor. So, for my editorial photography project, I knew I wanted to try to capture the spirit of one of these markets. Ultimately, I chose Amphawa because I had read it was still one of the more authentic floating markets. By floating markets, I mean that the market is set up right alongside (and on top of) the Amphawa canal. So many of the vendors sell and cook the food right in their little canoes.
Amphawa Floating Market
Cooking prawns right inside their boat!
Amphawa is only open on weekends, so I knew I’d have to work to find a time that would make sense to go. I have midterms scheduled for next week, so I wasn’t planning on going anywhere big this week and decided it would be the perfect time to take a study break and make the trip to see Amphawa. I was texting Austin about it and he said, “Cool. Do you have any other plans for the day?” And I actually laughed a little when I wrote back, “This will take all day.” At that point, even I didn’t actually understand just how long of a “day-trip” this would be.
We (Gabby and I) planned to hop on a van into the city in order to catch another van shuttle from there to Amphawa. My photography professor had told me that I could catch a van from Victory Monument, so that’s where we were headed. However, as I read more about Amphawa on the way there, I found one blog post that said all vans from Victory Monument had been discontinued as of 2016… great. Not to my surprise, when we arrived an hour later, we were told there were no vans to Amphawa here. No worries though, Victory monument is located right under the Skytrain (BTS) line so we could catch a train to the Mo Chit bus terminal. Somehow, neither Gabby or I was paying any attention whatsoever, and we ended up taking the train the opposite direction and had to do a 180 switch around at the next stop.
Finally, arriving at the Mo Chit stop, we got off and looked around for vans. We were pointed towards a shuttle bus stop by some locals that would take us a few blocks away to the Mo Chit terminal. Once we got there, we just started asking around, “Pai Amphawa?” Sometimes we were met with blank stares, sometimes just a hand gesture in a different direction. Fourth or fifth try, finally a man told us his van would take us to Mae Khlong “4 km [away from] Amphawa.” Ok. It was already almost 2 p.m. when we finally left the city. I dozed off for awhile in the back of the van but when I woke up I was being asked to exit the van at a gas station. In Thailand, whenever they fill up the van shuttles they make everyone get out before they pump any gas. I’m not sure if there’s a fear it will blow up or what the reasoning behind it is, but at the gas station a friendly Thai man started talking to us and told us that he too was headed to Amphawa, so he would show us how to get there. When we finally arrived in Mae Khlong, we walked through the railroad market. This is another super interesting market in the area, and one I hope to return to another day. The market situations itself right along and on top of the railroad tracks and when the train comes through periodically throughout the day, the vendors just pack up their stuff, leaving just enough room for the train to sneak by, and then go about their business.
Mae Khlong Train Market
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the train come through but just looking at the space, I couldn’t imagine how a train snuck through this market! We continued following a local boy through some side streets and alleyways to an area where we could pay some pickup trucks to take us to Amphawa. I was so thankful that we had some local help because I’m not sure how I ever would’ve figured this out otherwise. In the back of the pickup truck, the helpful local Thai man was happy to tell us all about Amphawa, his family, terrorists in Indonesia, Siamese twins (“They each got married! Two wives! And had children! Look at it on Youtube!!”), and anything else that popped into his head as conversation topics. We finally arrived at Amphawa around 4:00 p.m. I was already tired, and I hadn’t even begun the actual work yet. If you ever read that it only takes 1.5-2 hours to get to Amphawa — IT’S A LIE!
However, excited to finally be here, I instantly began taking photos. I figured that the more photos I took, the better chance I’d have of having at least five I can turn into my professor later. And through the lens of my camera, I really loved taking in this quaint, little market space. Seafood and delicious-smells lined the crowded boardwalk that weaved through the market. I was especially tempted by all the fresh, Thai desserts and sweets I was watching be freshly prepared.
After wandering back and forth on both sides of the market, my tummy was rumbling and I was little fried as far as photo inspiration. Gabby and I decided to sit at one of the waterside “restaurants” and ordered some pad thai with fresh shrimp and coconut juice (served in the coconut meat). This was actually the first coconut beverage I’ve had since coming to Thailand, believe it or not! And they are everywhere, so that’s a huge surprise. Unfortunately, it turns out I’m still not the biggest fan of plain coconut, although I really wish I was because it looks so fresh and delicious at almost every market I go to.
Pad Thai with fresh Shrimp and Coconut Drink
After dinner, it was close to 6 p.m. and we knew we had about two hours before the final bus back to Bangkok left. We decided to pay for the longboat tour of the canals. Since it was getting later and darker, the price was more expensive because the typical tour became a “firefly tour.” We rode along the canals, stopped at one temple along the way, then, once it was dark, spent the rest of the time watching the fireflies dance along the marshy riverbank. It was cool and dark and there was a light breeze, and I was so relaxed finally. Being near the water and being a little chilly and having fireflies all around me seriously made me miss Wisconsin summers on the boat with Austin so much.
Two Thai women at the temple who signaled to me they wanted me to take their photo
Before Gabby and I left to get our van back to the city, we decided to search around for some dessert. I tried some Mochi ice-cream. Mochi is a Japanese cake, so it’s kind of like this little cake ball with ice-cream in the middle — it’s like chewy ice-cream. I’m describing this badly, it was delicious.
Mocha chip and Thai tea flavored Mochi Ice-cream
Gabby decided to try a Thai dessert that both of us had seen everywhere but never actually tasted called Khanom bueang (crispy pancakes). These desserts resemble mini tacos, but the shell is actually a mini crepe and the inside (which looks like sour creme and cheese) is actually a sweet cream and a traditional Portuguese treat called fios de ovos (angel hair), which is very similar to cotton candy. Walking back to the van, we passed a vendor pulling a fresh pizza out of the oven. Pizza isn’t incredibly common around here, and lots of the time it’s nothing like the pizza you find in the states (think when you’re babysitting and you make pizzas on top of English muffins for the kids) but this pizza was gooey, with real cheese and spinach on top. Neither Gabby or I could resist devouring a piece before we hopped on the van. Best decision of the day by far.
Khanom bueang
Being even just a little smarter than when we started our journey that afternoon, Gabby and I got back to our apartments (after a van and taxi ride) around 10:00 p.m. Making it a long day with more traveling than actual doing. However, I must say how impressed with Amphawa I was! I hope I can make it back again before I leave to see more. There were plenty of interesting temples in the area and some of the riverside shops and restaurants looked really neat, plus I’d love to see the Mae Khlong market in full action as a train rolls through. Who knows? If my professor doesn’t approve of my photos, I might be back sooner rather than later! But for now, until next time Amphawa!
Mckenzie Lena Halling 