I now know what a floating market is. Families and lovers come to the floating market to eat…what else is new? This is Thailand, where they only eat one meal a day, from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep!
Sylvia and I went to a kinder gentler market called Taling Chan, on the other side of Bangkok, mainly because it was close and apparently off the tourist beat. After getting out of the taxi, we walked down a road which was your typical market to the banks of the canal where there were about 10-15 boats docked, essentially making lunch for people. On the dock, families and friends were eating the fresh fish literally just caught from the boat, drinking and making ‘sanuk’ or happiness. What a great way to spend a week-end day.
It also happens to be election day for the Senate in Thailand. I watched people voting, not as many as for the general election, but enough. At the voting tables, scrutinizers and election officials had to clear away plates and plates of food before they could even put down the ballots. The electors were then given ballots and what is typical in Thailand is that they were also given envelopes to put it in. They then went behind the counter and marked their ballot, then put the ballot in an envelope and then put both into the ballot box. What a waste of paper and manpower opening the envelopes! This is typical in Thailand as everything is wrapped in layers and layers of paper everywhere you go. Street sellers get mad at me when I ask them to just hand me the product without wrapping it is cellophane and then putting elastic bands around them.
As we were examining the food being sold from the boats (you can get a look for yourself if you look at the pictures) I saw various longboats docking, taking and bringing people to the market. Sylvia and I decided to take a two hour boat cruise down a few of these local canals. Bangkok, as you probably know, is built on a series of canals with the houses built on stilts. What is incredible about the houses, and we saw this last week also at Koh Kred, is how open they are. It never gets cold in Thailand and as a result, there is no reason why the houses should be closed. The bottom floor is typically open to the elements and you always see a hammock and rocking chairs as family members relax on a week-end with breezes (hopefully) coming from all directions. Upstairs are the bedrooms with the windows typically wide open.
We also stopped at an orchid farm and saw the most amazing colours and textures which you can see in the pictures. Close by the farm, we were supposed to buy bread to throw to the fish ( you can see the pictures) but we ate the bread instead. It was fantastic. Sort of tasted like Chalah from Bathurst and Steeles and all for 10 baht or about 30 cents.
Since we were close to the river anyway, we went to the Sheraton Hotel for a hamburger, a special treat. Actually, it was quite lousy but had fancy prices. Tomorrow, Ricky is coming so we should be having some fun finding new places to explore.
Sylvia and I went to a kinder gentler market called Taling Chan, on the other side of Bangkok, mainly because it was close and apparently off the tourist beat. After getting out of the taxi, we walked down a road which was your typical market to the banks of the canal where there were about 10-15 boats docked, essentially making lunch for people. On the dock, families and friends were eating the fresh fish literally just caught from the boat, drinking and making ‘sanuk’ or happiness. What a great way to spend a week-end day.
It also happens to be election day for the Senate in Thailand. I watched people voting, not as many as for the general election, but enough. At the voting tables, scrutinizers and election officials had to clear away plates and plates of food before they could even put down the ballots. The electors were then given ballots and what is typical in Thailand is that they were also given envelopes to put it in. They then went behind the counter and marked their ballot, then put the ballot in an envelope and then put both into the ballot box. What a waste of paper and manpower opening the envelopes! This is typical in Thailand as everything is wrapped in layers and layers of paper everywhere you go. Street sellers get mad at me when I ask them to just hand me the product without wrapping it is cellophane and then putting elastic bands around them.
As we were examining the food being sold from the boats (you can get a look for yourself if you look at the pictures) I saw various longboats docking, taking and bringing people to the market. Sylvia and I decided to take a two hour boat cruise down a few of these local canals. Bangkok, as you probably know, is built on a series of canals with the houses built on stilts. What is incredible about the houses, and we saw this last week also at Koh Kred, is how open they are. It never gets cold in Thailand and as a result, there is no reason why the houses should be closed. The bottom floor is typically open to the elements and you always see a hammock and rocking chairs as family members relax on a week-end with breezes (hopefully) coming from all directions. Upstairs are the bedrooms with the windows typically wide open.
We also stopped at an orchid farm and saw the most amazing colours and textures which you can see in the pictures. Close by the farm, we were supposed to buy bread to throw to the fish ( you can see the pictures) but we ate the bread instead. It was fantastic. Sort of tasted like Chalah from Bathurst and Steeles and all for 10 baht or about 30 cents.Since we were close to the river anyway, we went to the Sheraton Hotel for a hamburger, a special treat. Actually, it was quite lousy but had fancy prices. Tomorrow, Ricky is coming so we should be having some fun finding new places to explore.
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