Bangkok Floating Market Taling Chan

[dirtydog]

Bangkok Floating markets

Vibrant, noisy, colourful, busy, smells, aromas, sewage, BBQ, chili, all these describe your typical Thai market, even more so when it comes down to a floating market in Bangkok, so back on the river boats and off to Taling Chan pier and Taling Chan Floating Market, again only a few baht if traveling from the Chao Phraya River, or you can get the bus 79 from Ratchadamnoen Klang Road or Siam Square.

This floating market, of which there are quite a few in Bangkok is on the Chak Phra canal, open every weekend with local farmers and small businesses selling their produce and goods they manufacture, ie just about every thing you can think of.

From cut flowers to flowers in pots, also the clay flower pots, fertiliser and other flower related products.



A nice selection of orchids are available at the Taling Chan Floating Market but it is probably better taking one of the boat tours to a dedicated orchid farm in the local area.



Want to feed the fishes? They have some stalls selling fish food pellets and there are plenty of hungry catfish out in the canal waiting for some of those pellets, here they are eating some bread.



If your looking for something sweet to snack on then look no further than this toothless old ladys stall, yes she obviously has a fondness for what she sells, I believe it is mulched up dried fruits, ie the really sweet stuff, that are then covered in syrup to add just a bit more sweetness, aroy aroy she said with a toothless grin.



Always something going on at the larger markets and Taling Chan is no exception, had a couple of live bands on the boats having a bit of a sing song, well it is the weekend



Hold the music, he has a phone call.



Obviously markets are generally for food and this one has it all, obviously too many photos to post them all, but had some weird fruits from Vietnam and China, plus of course your more normal box standard Thai fruits. Also seems to be that Durian is back in season, that certainly adds to the sewage aromas found at these markets.



Time for lunch I reckon, absolutely amazing amount of different Thai foods available, including plenty of muddy tasting catfish if thats your thing, thank god for BBQ chicken.

The main seating area for eating at the market, this was taken just before it got busy, yep packed solid.



Fish, small crabs, mussels and squid, all nice high protein foods, prefer my crabs to be a bit larger as they do take a lot of work eating them.



Big Black Thai Mama and her chicken BBQ canoe, now chicken I can relate to, well eat anyway.



BBQ fish and prawns, but wait, these are tiny little fishes, almost babies, no such thing as catch and release? Or maybe something a bit more filling?



Yep, these look more like it, 1 and 1/2 foot of BBQ fish per person, who needs cod and chips in Thailand.



Anybody ready for a sweet sickly Thai dessert? Coming up now, sickly sweet and sickly colours, anybody eat this stuff?



Didn't work out what this boat was selling, could be Thai curry or maybe noodle soup? Curry of sorts is where my money is going, sadly I don't really like the Thai curries.



Time for a fry up, this boat has a nice size frying pan, make a nice English breakfast in that, seems she is making some Thai dish that involves some mashed up shell fish, think she said mussels, don't hold me to that though.



So lets see what lunch consisted of, got to have some normal food so a Penang style chicken satay with a small cucumber salad as a condiment, these are delicious I might add. Click the link for the recipe, easy to make, even I can make it.



Up comes a plate of the crushed shell fish, I don't mind this but they always leave tiny bits of shell in it which is a bit of a pain, plus of course it has egg in it.



Somtam Spaghetti? Boiled liver worms? No idea, that be Thai food and I aint venturing there today.



All in all at 30 baht per dish and a couple of drinks this isn't going to break the bank, and if your really into Thai food then you got more choice here than you could imagine, not many small restaurants could carry this amount of various different Thai foods so just for a lunch it is worth a visit.

Damnoen Saduak is the most famous of the Bangkok Floating markets, although it is a long drive from central Bangkok and most tours leave for there at 5am, some of our members visits to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
A trip to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (Damnoen Saduak Floating Market)
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
A visit in the 80s (Damnoen Saduak floating market)

Taling Chan also has private boats running from it, you will find the booths in the market area, speedboats for 3 hours that take 6 people cost 99 baht each per person, also they have long tail boats that cost 1,000baht for a 2 hour hire, you can choose where you want to go and where you want to stop so that makes it worthwhile.

Other local floating markets include Wat Sai Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำวัดไทร), 11 Moo 2, Ekkachai Road (bus 43 and 120 from Wongwien Yai). 06:00-09:00 daily and situated on the Sanam Chai Canal.
Klong Lad Mayom Floating Market which probably isn't worth visiting unless you want to see the small boat museum there, naa, sod it, give this one a miss.

Bangkok Markets

[Rural Surin]

Nice series of Bangkok Markets threads you're providing.

Keep it up!

[Chairman Mao]

Those fish with the veg sticking out of their mouths, a nice place I used to go to used to insert all the stuff (shoved in as far as they'll go, and then BBQ them while the fish was still wriggling.




Tastes great!

Probably the same in most places in Thailand/the 16th century. They're probably the reincarnations of really nasty people anyway so they probably deserve it.

[Farang Ky Ay]

Nice report! Talin chan is OK if you don't expect a "real" floating market (Damnoen Saduak 's style), there're only a few stalls selling plants and flowers and some eating places who were OK in my memories (I've been there 2 years ago)

Instead of Damnoen Saduak I would advise people to go to Amphawa (same distance from BKK, less Farang but it's popular with thai so there're many thai tourists...)