Fri 18th Jan - Moving on today. Many alternaives on where to go, but decided to head for the floating market down at Damoen Saduak, about 90km south of here. There isn't a direct bus, so you have to go through Ban pong and Ratchaburi. Buses to Ban pong leave regularly and cannot book in advance (no need anyway), so got a motorbike taxi to the bus station. The bus system is so easy...as soon as you arrive, someone appears asking where you want to go, then points you at the correct bus. As it turned out, our bus was about to leave, so straight on without a wait. A comfortable air-conditioned bus for 50 baht.
Go to Ban pong expecting a bus terminal but got dropped off at the side of the road at a junction. Fortunately, a local took us to the bus stop we needed. Not long to wait and a local (non-aircon) yellow bus arrived costing 25 baht to Ratchaburi. Turned out that there was a local yellow bus that could have brought us all the way from Kanchanaburi to Ratchaburi for 47 baht, if we had known about it.
Arrived at Rachburi and dropped at the side of the road again, with no obvious sight of where to go next. Fortunately, an old lady asked us where wew wanted to go and took us to the place to pick up a Songthaew, and spoke to the conductor to make sure she knew where we were going. A sign above the road on the way in says 'welcome to a city of nice people'. How true!
The songthaew we got was a beautiful work of art, with superb detail and chromework. 50 baht to get to get to Damnoen Saduak, with a stop along the way for a dish of iced fruit.
On arrival at Damnoen Saduak, had a couple of choices of where to stay according to the guidebook, but was about to ignore one of them as thought it too expensive, until an auto driver told us the prices were wrong. What a stroke of luck...stayed at the excellent 'Baan Sukchoke country resort' for 150 baht a night for an aircon room with TV and a superb canalside setting in a wooden shack full of thai character.
The site is located in beautiful countryside surrounded by plantations of lemon, chang-pu (known by other names too), mango, papaya, guava. Went for a walk through the plantations to the lemon sorting and packing sheds, getting ready for tomorrow's market. Adjacent to the Baan is a gorgeous temple of very unusual design and a snake zoo that does daily shows with many types of deadly snakes. There is also a display of many thai antiques. A great place to stay.
Waved down a pick-up truck for a lift into town to explore and ended up walking from there to where the 'Lapdee floating market' will be tomorrow morning. So much to see here, with a buddhist colony and lovely temple plus a really quaint area of traditional teak houses on stilts adjacent to the canal bank. Old folk tending their orchid covered houses, old buddhist ladies watring their gardens, shallow bottom boats lazily meandering along the canal to their homes.
Hitched another ride back to town on the back of a pick-up truck and stopped at a street stall for some tasty food. Eating on the street in thailand is always an excellent experience, and so cheap. They look after you and are so friendly. You have to love this country....there is no other way!
Brief stop at a supermarket on the way back to the Baan to check out what unusual stuff is on offer here. Some multicoloured crabs caught my attention as well as bright pink fish. People smile at you when you pass and are so happy to stop and talk as best they can. At night the Baan Sukchoke is lit up with fountains and is a lovely place.
Sat 19th Jan - Up early to get to the market by 8am. Made an arrangement to be collected by a guy called 'Aree' in his tuk-tuk, and taken to his lovely traditional teak home by the canalbank. From there transferred into a canalboat for the journey to the market.
Damnoen Saduak floating market is one of those iconic postcard images. Wooden canoes loaded with mulicoloured fruit and veg, paddled by thai women wearing their wide brimmed hats. Along with the souvenir sellers, it's a feast of colour, noise and life. Everyone smiles as you pass them. Very old women with such character in their faces, beautiful children bobbing along with their parents in their boats, regular stops to buy cheap snacks from vendors....coconut pancake, cooked bananas, steamed rice wrapped in leaf parcels, noodle soup, fruit of many types... Sensory overload again.
At times there are so many boats that you are grid-locked, forming a carpet of colour across the canal.
After the market, back into the peace and quiet of the country, surrounded by plantations again and the most prettiest of traditional houses, each individual and covered in orchids and other colourful flowers. Click...click...click...rattling through photographs at an amazing rate!
Stopped off at 'Wat Charoen', otherwise called the 'Fish temple'. The monks here have cultivated a massive stock of fish that feed from steps adjacent to the canal bank. The feeding frenzy when you throw food in is amazing. The temple itself is of traditional design and the usual splash of colourful architecture. A perimeter of bells is nice where you just have to beat out a tune!
At this point I am starting to ask many questions about the practicaliies of living in Thailand, and from a western perspective it is so cheap to have a beautiful house built in the most stunning of environments. The possibility is growing stronger, but it is early days yet, so will have to se how things turn out. One major factor is that it is great to live in paradise but would it wear off, and there are other personal needs that would require somewhere accessible to more busy areas. That shouldn't be difficult to resolve though.
Back in the boat, and stopped at Aree's home. A traditional teak construction 153 years old and passed through many generations. Such warm hospitality that is so typical here. Anyone that comes here and wants his contact details, let me know.
Moving on again, so off to the bus station to catch a bus to Nakhom Pathom (36 baht). This is reported to be the oldest city in Thailand. The main feature is the 'Phra Pahom Chedi', reported to tbe the tallest buddhist monument in the world at 127m high. Originally constructed in the 6th century, but built over with a taller structure in the 11th century. Stopped for a seafood lunch in one of the street stalls nearby. It is scorching hot today, so hard work with a heavy backpack.
Aiming southwards, so need to get to the bus stand. Walked part way then picked up a Sãamláw (cycle ricksaw) the rest of the way. Orange bus to 'Samut Sakhon' for 40 baht as an intrmediate stop for Samut Prakan. Well, what a mess-up from there. Go there thinking that there would be somewhere to stay for the night....absolutely nothing! A guy ended up taking us to the police station for help. Go introduced to a guy who was sorting through finger print records... Didn't get a good feeling about this as he couldn't speak any english, so rereated out of the station in search of a taxi or tuk-tuk driver for help. Woke up a tuk-tuk driver who sot of thought he knew what we were after. Delivered us to a whore-house who charged for the room by the hour. Stunned at this, retreated again and aimed for somewhere to eat. Managed to communicate that we were hungry and got fed. The guy there seemed to sound as if he could sort us a room. This turned out to be bogus and ended up with us standing on the pavement of a highway. It was getting late and very tired so quit and aimed for Bangkok. A songthaew, a bus and a skytrain later.... Arrived back at the guest house I was in when I first arrived.... Absolutely shattered, but at least with a bed for the night. Had been travelling since noon and spent many hours on the road with not much to show for it other than many bus tickets and sore feet. Just goes to show that not all of Thailand is easy to navigate. Much mis-information, large areas where nobody speaks any english, and buses that folk will say goes where you want but it doesn't.
