Amphawa Floating Market

umbrellas of vendors leading to the market

The floating market is an artifact of the past, important to Thailand when the most effective mode of transportation was waterways and the best way to carry heavy things on land was an ox cart (which moves about the same pace as a walking grandparent). Nowadays, the floating market is a tourist attraction which focuses on selling things (mostly food) on the banks of a waterway.
The floating market I went to, called Amphawa, is about an hour from Bangkok and is in an area that is a tourist attraction all on its own. I chose this floating market because it is close to where two of my friends live, and they had been there and knew how to get there cheaply.

sitting on the banks of the river having lunch

To get to the water way, we had to walk through a densely packed market to get to the actual floating market. This is fairly common in Thailand, and quite smart on the vendors' part: set up shop in cheaper real estate and get the people you know who are looking to spend money. ca-ching!
We started our day at the market with a mid-day snack consisting of oysters, pad thai, and pork skewers on the steps leading down to the river and cooked in a boat. It was pretty amazing how these vendors have full menus and do all the cooking in a small rickety boat, barely moving to make the dish. A waiter comes up to you, takes your order, and then picks up the order in the boat and serves it to you. It's an impressive display of teamwork on the waiter and chef's parts, and an incredible act of balance on the cook's!

mid-day oysters

The rest of the day consisted of walking around, tasting various food (my favorite was a steamed dumpling with BBQ pork inside), and having beers while watching the boats and tourists go by. In the evening, we took an hour long boat ride, which enabled us to view the fireflies lighting up the trees. Some of the trees had so many fireflies it looked like flashing Christmas lights. It was very magical and completely worth the $2 USD, even though there was a moment where it seemed like our longtail boat was unrepairably (yes I just made up a word. gonna take my literary liberties with that one) broken down and we were a bit concerned about how we would get back without missing our last minibus....but that's a risk you always run when you do anything in Thailand.

cook in a boat

vendors next to the market

Tess and I on our way to see the fireflies