Dear Steemit Friends:
Travelling to South East Asia has given me the opportunity experience some of my ancestrial, indochinese culture in completely new and fascinating ways. Often these experiences amount to small things, exemplified by the local traditional way of life. One example would be the Damnoen Floating Market, an entire market built on the river canals of local residents. These kinds of local markets really carve out Thailand's unique landscape, both figuratively as well as physically, leaving an unforgettable experience in the hearts of all who visit.
Locals have thrived with the tourist industry booming, as such, the markets have had a second life in Thailand. Once, they were a place for bartering and trade amongst locals, now they serve an international audience. Perhaps some aspects of their produce have adjusted for the benefit of the new influx of visitors, but in other aspects, strong traditions remain.
Today, I'll be taking you on a trip to another one of these special markets. This one is famous because the market is built on top of an active railway track!
Join me and let's see some more..
The railway market and floating market are located just a short 20 minute drive away from each other. When I arrived, I was set down beside some rail way tracks, unbeknownst as to why they were there. Perhaps it might be some place of interest ?
Moments later, I was surprised to find myself picking up the sweet scent of Coconuts and other various cold drinks which drew my attention over for a closer look.
A paradise of freshly squeezed fruit juice.
With just one chop, the sweet fragrance of the coconut seeps out inviting you to drink from it!
This railway market is also known as Maeklong Food Market.
This is the Maeklong Station. Trains going to and from Maeklong station will go through the Maeklong market, and this is the the main reason why the market is so famous. Amazingly, the train is able to traverse through the market with just centimetres of clearance. This is why the market is also known as the worlds most dangerous market, what with trains crossing through it, throughout the day (8 times a day). Maeklong Market has therefore become a hotspot because of this unique arrangement.
One hundred years ago, this market was only open for business on Sundays and served only the residents of the Samut Songkhram province. In 1905, Bangkok decided to connect this little town to it's rail network but in doing so, threatened the closure of this long standing market. After a while, no agreement on compensation was made between the traders and Bangkok, reluctantly, the government allowed the market to stay. To the surprise of many, this little town's market remains as popular as ever, mostly due to it's unique situation of having trains pass through it several times a day. It has even been called one of the 8 great marvels of Thailand.
You can't help but be amazed when you step into the market. Stalls on both sides of the market are only the width of 2 people apart. The tracks are left clear for the shoppers and obviously the train.
First let's take a look at the various fruits and vegetables the locals come here to buy. It's quite interesting how they are arranged, some are placed in bowls, others in steel pots. They also use these bamboo woven lanterns to light up the fruits making them extra enticing. How many of these fruits and veg can you recognise?
Next up, we have the seafood. My eyes were bedazzled looking through all the different kinds of seafood on offer. Not only is there such a wide variety of fish, and shell fish, they're all arranged in quite unique ways. For instance, one stall was selling fish inside Hong Kong dim sum style steamer baskets, another was selling fish in rice boxes. Others were put in pots and pans. One stall arranged the fishes in a flower like pattern, no doubt catching the eye of many prospective buyers (and mine). Compared with fish markets in China, this market has so much more imagination !
Dried fruits in every colour under the sun.
There are also loads of little snack foods, the names of which I cannot tell you as I am a bit rusty with my Thai!
It's not just humans who visit the market too, I spotted a fair few of these cute cats roaming around the market !
Beautifully dressed flowers!
As I was busy browsing the markets and starting to really get into it, out of nowhere, I heard a loud and urgent whistle sound, and just as the sound was heard, all the shop keepers around me started packing up their stalls. Some even had some clever little wheels and their own tracks to pull their whole stall back. In a matter of seconds, the market suddenly became wider!
The stall canopy's were also drawn back, within 1 minute, like magic, the full rail tracks could be seen extending all the way through the market!
After the frantic tidying up, everybody stood facing the direction where the loud whistling sound came from. As if they're awaiting a celebrity to appear on the red carpet. Not a single person was without a camera / phone or video camera, all getting ready to record this wonderful moment.
Here comes the train! Everybody moves to the side, unfortunately there is so little space that there isn't even a security barrier or safety line drawn for people to stand behind. The best people can do is stand well inside the stalls as the train passes by. As you can see, there are still some salted fish on the ground, but not to worry, the train misses them by a hair, completely untouched!
The train leaves such little room as it passes by, it's almost touching my face! When I was taking this picture, the train honked its horn and scared me a little. I thought I was going to get hit on the face. What a thrilling experience!
This experience is surely one I'll remember for the rest of my life. I hope you enjoyed this little blog about the Train Market at Maeklong, if you do visit Thailand, then I would highly recommend you go experience this century old tradition. You'll walk away with bag of fresh fruits and veg, but most importantly, an intimate encounter with a train quite like no other!
来到曼谷，我最大的热情就是逛极具泰国本土特色文化的集市了，泰国的集市各有特色，有在水上面漂浮的神奇集市，例如前几天我们一起探索的丹嫩沙杜艾水上市场，还有在火车铁轨旁的集市，听起来是不是有些冒险，接下来就带你们去探索一下吧！铁路集市和水上市场距离很近，从水上市场出来，再坐20分钟车就来到了一个铁轨旁。下了车，我还没有领悟到，把我带到铁轨边干什么，难道也是个景点吗？惊讶了两分钟后，我迅速被路边椰子和各种冷饮飘来的清香所吸引。
铁路集市又叫作“美功菜市场”。 这里是火车的美功站，美功铁路因经过美功菜市场而出名，从美功站往曼谷方向会穿过美功菜市场，重点是列车穿过的菜市场宽度不足2米，所以被人们称作世界上最危险的集市。在一百多年前，在周末开市的美功集市只是满足夜功府小镇居民的生活需求。到了1905年，曼谷连通夜功府的“美功铁路”正式通车，因为铁路横穿了整个“美功集市”，导致市场几乎被迫搬迁，但由于政府赔民众的偿金问题没法达成共识，最后政府只好同意把“美功集市”保留下来。大家都没想到，这个小小的集市竟然因为铁路出名了，并被大家叫做泰国的“八大奇迹”之一。听到这里，我和大家一样，已经迫不及待要去火车集市探探险了。走进集市，这个场景真的让我惊讶，铁路和两旁菜市场的距离基本上是挨着的，中间的铁道也就是2个人的距离。先来看看泰国本地人喜欢逛的菜市场里的新鲜蔬菜水果吧。它们的摆放真的很有自己的特色，有些摆在盘子里，铁锅里，并用竹子编著的竹筐等照着水果，好有意思。最有趣的是他们卖鱼的方式，有些鱼被装在吃港式下午茶的蒸笼碗里卖，有的被装在饭盒里，盆子里碗里，有的小鱼被精心摆成了好看的圆形，花得样子，和中国卖鱼的方式很不一样，好有泰国的民俗特色。
正在我逛的很享受的时候，突然，不知从哪里传来了几声急促的哨音，商户们瞬间忙碌起来，开始把所有摆出来的货品全部收进自己的商铺，有的货铺好先进，桌子腿装了轱辘和轨道，可以慢慢把一整桌货物推回商铺。紧接着，又把自己家的阳棚收起来，一条完整的延伸向远方的铁路像变魔术一样在1分钟以内，露了出来！接下来大家像，等待电影明星走红毯一样，拿出手机相机，准备照相录音，记录下这个奇妙的瞬间。火车来了，大家都靠边。地上的咸鱼尾巴几乎就在火车的车轮下，巧妙地摆放，竟然让咸鱼们毫发无伤。火车和人的距离好近，这是我第一次和火车距离这么近，基本是贴着我的脸开过去的，那轰轰的声音让我合影的时候还会有些担心被碰到，真的好惊险呀。这个经历会是我一生中很难忘得体验，希望你们喜欢我介绍的铁路市场，下次去泰国，你们不妨也去感受一下，提着一袋子菜和火车亲密接触的瞬间。
Thanks for all the inspo this post gave me, I have always wanted to visit Asia. I think I will follow you in hope of more travelling stuff!
Thank you dear, welcome to the club!
that was close!
holy moly!
funny ...everyone's really holding a cam on the pic that shows the approaching train
and Asia - the fish! I've been craving for crabs - it has just labeled up! @sweetsssj this post made me miss the Java - apples and the longgans
O_______O Updated and followed this is incredible..!!
Yusaymon thank you!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following categories:Congratulations @sweetsssj!
That last photo of you is the best photo of you I've ever seen! It so sums up you classy character as always @sweetsssj :) Stay cool my hippy friend (hippy as in hips! ;) I'm currently waiting at Ben Gurion airport for my Aegean Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Krakow, Southern Poland ... Steem on wee sexy one!!
Thanks mindhunter, gosh my face is rather big in that one, are you sure that's the best photo of me you've seen?
Yes it is the best photo I've seen of you - like me you have a round face - as do many Asian women :)
Having a round face means that you inherently have a lovely look with cherub cheeks that does not fade with age or time. You'll still be a good looking women in your 40s when it comes ... like it has for me now!! ... I still retain my youthful dimples too :)
I do love your posts as they are really charming ... unlike 99.9% of all the other posts on here. Keep up the good work @sweetsssj. Your one of my favourite Steemers, as your very cultured and sophisticated . A rarity on here indeed! :) @mindhunter <3
Coconut!! Train!!! :D
Always great articles, nice work!
Thanks arcanebear!
of course! we often enjoy your travel blog.
My friend a happy trip. I hope you enjoyed this trip
I did indeed, thank you!
Very beautiful and colorful post. Everything so attractively displayed in such a small space. Must be so much work to achieve. Also, the cat laying near the fish being displayed. How in the world could they trust it to behave among the fish?
It certainly looks like a lot of work to pack everything into such a small space. It's quite interesting that they've put wheels on most of the tables to be able to quickly pull them back though. That's a lot easier than taking everything off the table and lifting it back. As for the cat.. I think if you give it more than it needs to eat, it will leave your food alone!
nice....upvote and resteem for your post...
great story and good pictures.
upvoted followed
Maeklong Food Market looks like it was a really interesting place to visit! I'm sure your travels were a lot of fun in South East Asia! :)
The fresh foods look so good at the markets!@sweetsssj
Upvoted!
Interesting indeed, I must say, the train really made it that much more special!
Oh I can imagine that is was special! I remember when I was traveling throughout Romania and I always enjoyed riding the trains!
Your pictures help to take us to the places you visit! The fresh cut flowers are really beautiful in the market!
@sweetsssj If you haven't had the chance already, I invite you to follow me @breakingtonight
Wow, what a story. And what a market it looks like. Must be some experience. :) The part with the train was just amazing. Thanks for sharing!
It really wowed me when I was there for sure, an experience I will definitely never forget. Thanks for dropping by :)
I started to follow you yesterday and I'm happy I did. Thanks for having me! xxxooo
As always your post are full of beautiful pictures and color. A joy to follow you on your travels.
thanks suzie, Thailand really does make it easy with all the dazzling colours they use for everything..
那火車開進市場的畫面也太逗了哈哈 真有趣
是的呢 我都不能想像火車能過得去！
Beautiful pictures with such vibrant colors! I felt like I was there. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks jdawg! I have to give credit to the photo subjects being so colourful!
A full professional article and totally overdelivered with amazing, colorful photos. Thanks for sharing :-)
Thanks lichtblick , you're very welcome and thanks for taking a look! 😃
Great story! I visited those two markets a few years ago, and both were memorable experiences. Thanks for sharing!
I'm always happy when I hear others have also shared my experience(s) , you must have some really good memories of them for sure!
I recall eating a delicious lunch alongside the river . But I missed the train coming through Maeklong Market. We stayed there only about 30 minutes. I should go back and take train photos!
Have you been to Chiang Mai? I went to Tiger Kingdom there to pet the tigers.
Oh, that's a bit unlucky, I'm sure you'll make it next time you go though! Certainly worth it if you ask me! I haven't actually been to Chiang Mai, but I did get the opportunity pet tigers else where. I'll write about that soon !
I recommend Chiang Mai. It's a very different atmosphere from Bangkok and the beach cities to the south. More laid back, and still very international. I need to upload some of my photos from that trip.
That sounds like a great place, I will certainly put it to my travel list, thank you! Oh please do share your photos from your travels there, I'd love to see!
Will do, in the next few days. I have a holiday now - duanwujie. :-)
Thanks for the journey together with you this market. This abundance of different products and in such quantity. Many of them I don't even know, because they are exotic to my country. Beautiful journey!
Thanks madlenfox , curious to know which part of the world you're from?
I'm from Russia. The City Of St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, many fruits do not ripen due to the cool climate. But if they are brought from other countries, it is not as fresh looking as in Your photos. Excellent tour. I also really liked the pictures of the fish. A lot of interesting. Thank you @sweetsssj !
Oh that's interesting. I love the architecture of your city. It has it's own unique character. I do need to visit again sometime!
Our city is welcoming at any time of the year. Welcome !
I really enjoy your posts. Very informative and it makes want to go and visit some of these places! Keep up your wonderful work!
Upvoted and followed for the love of travelling :)
Have a nice day! Gococonuts@sweetsssj
thanks gococonuts, I really like your name by the way. Coconuts are my favourite :)
all this fresh food, I would really try... it looks very good. I'm just jealous, and this market, there will be a very good street photography to do :)
foxkoit! You sensed it without me saying! I do love street photography, so much so that I carry a big DSLR with me everywhere I go.. Luckily, it was well worth it this time!
Good :)) I like use small cameras.. it is easier and lighter and my neck is not painful. but this market is very cool. I have a number of videos viewed this region. Because I live so far away, then I look at videos... I am in Estonia :))
Greetings to you in Estonia my friend. I'm also thinking of buying a smaller camera. Maybe a Sony A7. My shoulders and neck always hurt after a long day carrying my DSLR around..
I recommend Sony A6500 :) it is good :)
Woooooooow! Visiting thailand just made my bucketlist. Everything looks sumptious. What model of camera did you use? I have to get myself one.... will be following your journeys
Yay! Be sure to document your journey here when you do!
I use a Canon 5D MKii with 50mm f/1.4 lens. Thinking of upgrading to a newer camera soon but this one still does a good job!
Yeah! Will definately do. Might be quite a while though. But will be posting about my journeys through Nigeria. Be sure to follow
Taiwan also has a place called Pingxi line.
Just like this that train through the market.
It is so cool.
Ahh Taiwan, I miss you.. I will need to check that out when I visit again. My last visit was quite a while ago now.. already yearning to go back!
There is no need to for me to travel anywhere.
Swetsssj takes me around the world every day.
I hope I don't deter you from actually going for yourself!
Hopefully one day when I become a steemlionaire
Oh, well that's just a certainty waiting to happen then!
from all indications, you really enjoyed your trip
Can't lie, you're very correct!
Very Nice travel. Very nice pictures. I like it.
Thanks, more to come!
softness of yours with the hardness of coconut melts my emotions...enjoy life!!
Thank you! That sounds almost exotic
looks like a good place to get an abundance of fresh fruit, i like those big platters they have there never seen any that big in the market lol are those money flags too? those green bills in the straws? very strange, always enjoy seeing these vibrant posts of yours and following along your journey to other parts of the world. thanks for sharing with us
Thanks! Yes they are money flags! I think they're not worth very though, about 35 cents. It's more auspicious I suspect !
Congrats for this extensive presentation. It's like we were there to see with our own eyes!
Thank you dear! Glad you liked it!
I always love to visit the local markets when I travel oversea!
Great article and I particularly enjoyed the photos of the fresh coconut, lol.
You know what, coming to think of it, I seem to always end up at markets when travelling abroad too. I guess we're quite similar in that regard! Coconuts are <3!
Great minds alike, lol...
This is such a fascinating place. The market is filled with such lovely foods it's hard not to get hungry. Beautiful photos and post @sweetsssj, you're doing great!
Thanks sandstorm, most of it needs to be cooked though! Quite a different style to the night markets where you can eat as you buy.
Yes, indeed @sweetsssj. Two different styles of markets, thanks for mentioning that, that's an important point, as mostly the Thais or expats would be buying a lot of that seafood and bulk fruit, not the tourists.
what a story....a thousand thank you's !!! do these travels ever discuss bitcoin use or steem or other crytpo's?
You're welcome. Are you asking whether people I meet on my travels ever discuss crypto? Or do I ever discuss crypto?
both....what are you seeing? Do you share as well? Thank you in advance :-)
Well, I do try to advertise Steemit as much as possible with my collection of Steemit clothes + hat! But talking about the currency, I don't tend to do that too much as it's not my forte. @heiditravels does some terrific crypto blogs and videos, I highly recommend her!
you are living it....which is even more powerful :-) congrats to you.
Beautiful pictures. I would love to visit Taiwan!
(This is in Thailand) but very beautiful too!
I'm sorry. I really meant Thailand. :)
Wow, so many photos! Haha I really love some of those train shots. What camera do you use to take these? Or I guess what camera does your travel buddy use?
Trigger happy on the shutter! The camera I use is Canon 5D MKii. Currently my favourite lens is the 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, but i'm thinking about 'investing' in a 70-200mm one, that or one of the new mirrorless full frame cameras from Sony which would be lighter to carry around.
Niiiice, but yeah that sucker is heavy I bet. I have a little Sony a5000, nothing fancy but it's so lightweight I can just tuck it along everywhere with me
Can't wait to see more of your photos!
Superb food market.
And lovely photos.
I love this:
It's such an odd scene to see, and yet, it really happened!
A wonderful trip! Thank you @sweetsssj for an exciting photo! Very interesting story! You traveled many countries! You would have liked in our town?
Very nice! upvoted! :D
Some great content, do you mind if I share a link to your post on my Thailand related fan page with tons of Thailand fans on Facebook? I think it might help attract some people to Steemit or in the very least create more awareness of Steemit.
Thanks azfix, that sounds like a great idea, feel free!
Awesome, here is a link to the page so you can see the likes and shares it generates https://www.facebook.com/Thailandadventure/ I will follow up with a post about the results in a few days. The page has 96,000+ fans that love Thailand so I expect it to do well
loved ur article u might like might please up vote and follow if you do:
https://steemit.com/food/@whitedolphin/nortoriously-delightful-nortorious-burgers-in-carlsbad-ca-review
yes i love travel my dear
Beautiful , as always.
Cheers cosmiccowboy~
Wow cool post! I am exited to see all this myself soon ;)
Glad to hear~ make sure you blog about it!
Sure I will. Let me know if you want to meet up somewhere on my world trip ;)
Market scenes are very colourful. I really love your picture. Great job @sweetssj.
Upvoted and following
Thanks timoshey. The colours are so vibrant, thanks to the large variety of goods at the market. Surely a street photographers dream!
I'm so happy that you didn't get hit by the train and had a nice adventurous day instead! You have a great page and I'm happy to have discovered you! ✨✨
Aww thanks jangaladesigns,great to connect with you =)
Likewise my friend! I would be very honored if you check out my artwork if you have a chance! I'm glad to connect as well! :)
haha. i saw this place in some travel show before and the way the move the stall shelter when the train passes is quite funny really.
It is rather funny ~ more so because it's a frantic rush to get out the way !
There are similar market like this in my town, quite a few actually,..but the big difference and make this place unique was that train!..wow its look dangerous but its been many years since and nothing happen. Anyway thanks for sharing this great post again..you are lovely traveler..
Yeah the train makes this market rather unique. Even when the market goods seem quite standard!
Great pics and story! Makes us miss Asia, luckely we will be there again soon.
Lucky you! Where will you be visiting?
In July we will go to Japan and after that we're going to Bali!
Awesome Information for people who wants to visit here.
Check out my Photos. Upvote if you like
I love to travel too, at least couple of times in a year. I hope that I can use some of your tips in my visit to Asia and other places! :)
Great photos!Love it @sweetsssj!
I'm really happy to hear I've given you some ideas of where to go, much of the travel industry is based on peer reviews! What a good example use of Steemit wouldn't you say!?
Yes, the best use if you ask me! I love watching others photos of traveling, it is like a brief trip in thoughts :)
Wow! The story of your trip is so interesting and the pictures are amazing. I will follow you. I hope to read others posts.
Hi, I've seen some of your publications I'm going to follow, follow me and let's collaborate together =)