fireflies and loveliness

amphawa floating market

after my trip to the damnoen saduak floating market, i was content to never visit a floating market again. the 2 hour travel, contrived "traditional way-of-life," overpricing, and hordes of tourists were a turn-off, to say the least.thank god for redemption; after visiting amphawa floating market, my faith in floating markets has been restored. so, hurry up and get your butt over to amphawa before it gets dirty and stops being quaint and charming. the market open weekends, friday to sunday.

do stuff:
amphawa is known for its fireflies, which can be admired year-round, but in greatest abundance in hot season (apr-may). take an evening longtail boat tour down the river for 60B/person and watch the riverbanks flicker like christmas trees. most tours include other sites along the river, like fishing spots, temples, and sugar palm-making homes. plenty of companies along the market have tours that are all pretty much the same. take your pick.
you, too, can shop! the amphawa is much more of a DIY community than many other tourist spots, so we were able to find many more handmade and creative wares. the handmade glow-in-the-dark firefly cell phone charms at 39B each were my favorite souvenirs there. you know you want one.

just for a moment, suppose anthropologie and thailand had a lovechild. taramart is that lovechild. the first floor boutique sells hip, yet rustic, brightly printed tops and thai fishing pants and lady-bags while the eclectic, country-meets-chic second floor tea room has bright, inventive tea blends at 85B a pot. 081-696-4797
eats:
staying true to thai form, a great trip must have great eats. and as small as it is, there is so much great food at amphawa. in my opinion, these are the requisite "best eats"
*ice creams and sorbets at kumpan (กำปั่น) restaurant are homemade and delightfully thai. we tried (from l-r) star-gooseberry sorbet, apricot-guava sorbet, and coconut un-chun ice cream (our fave) for 35B a cup. *grilled river prawns. oh no, you shall not call these shrimp, for shrimp are not the length of your hand. these are prawns. and they are delicious. buy a plateful for 30B, then promptly buy another.*khao griap (ข้าวเกรียบ). a foot in diameter and impossibly delicate, lightly sweetened, grilled rice crepes. sorry, i forgot to take a picture, but it's worth buying a 20B bag of 3 crepes here, since everyone else's version tends to be a thicker, deep-fried, or savory version.

*amphawa also has a ton of beautifully-presented and delicious traditional thai snacks and desserts that are too numerous to list or even recommend. just eat your way around.
fat = happy, right?accomodations:
thanicha resort
amphawa is known for their "homestays" which means anything from crashing on some family's floor to a bed & breakfast. thanicha boutique resort is a charming thai-style teak bed & breakfast within walking distance from the market, modest and simple rooms and friendly service. it's like staying at a friend's house. you know, your hip, retro-traditional thai friend with 10 or so extra rooms. it was lovely.webby: www.thanicha.com/indexe.htm
03-472-5511

getting there:
amphawa floating market is in samut songkhram, and a mere 13km from damnoen saduak.
ac vans from victory monument, mo chit, and the southern bus terminal for 70-100B (depending on where they drop you off) that leave hourly (or more frequently, if busy).
also buses from the southern bus terminal.

stop and smell the roses

pak khlong night flower market

you want flowers? you go here.
buy arm-fulls of orchids, roses, daisies, ferns, carnations, jasmine, marigolds and lotuses for scandalously cheap prices. flowers are sold wholesale mainly for flower vendors, meaning most things are sold in bulk quantiites. a bunch of 100 roses runs about 50-100B, depending on size and color and condition.it's worth going in the middle of the night simply for the fragrance emitted by the millions of fresh flowers - because really, when do you need like 100 orchid stems? you can buy flowers in smaller quantities at slightly greater cost as well, especially the ones that are rarer.

pak khlong night flower market
~250m northeast of the memorial bridge (saphan phut) on the chao phraya river; intersection of thanon chakphet and ban mo.
open all day, flowers best bought at night when freshly delivered.

wrong side of the river

damnoen saduak floating market

hearkening back to the thai days of old when daily life centered around canals and rivers and boating was a major form of transportation, damnoen saduak floating market has preserved a microcosm of thai traditional life along the river...plus a few hundred foreigners.more than anything, damnoen saduak is a good photo spot, catching vendors selling from hand-paddled longboats. there are also some decent eats from boat vendors. but, i'd recommend heading to other places to get a more authentic taste of thailand.i was surprised at how small the floating market is: take a stroll down both sides of the canal and you'll be back to your starting point in half-an-hour. in general, i was underwhelmed by the place; it felt a little contrived and hokey, like people dressed as wenches and peasants for a renaissance fair. you could buy your typical tzatchkis here, though you'll get a better price for the same things at any other market in bangkok. and after 10am the canal was a boat-to-boat jam of all the longboats of foreigners in the canal. i'm not sure how true this is, but a curious anecdote about damnoen saduak i learned from my thai studies is that it's a bit like the shepherdsons and grangerfords of huck finn. apparently, the two banks of the canal have feuded for years, creating a competitive and self-serving culture. after visiting amphawa floating market, just 13km away, i realized what a floating market could be. go there instead.