Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (Thai: ตลาดน้ำดำเนินสะดวก) is a floating market located in the Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Bangkok, Thailand.[1][2] It is established primarily as a tourist attraction and relies on this industry which includes both domestic and foreign tourists.[1][2][3][4][5] It is often considered the most famous floating market.[2][3][4][5]

History

From 1866 to 1868, by order of King Rama IV, the 32-kilometre (20 mi)-long Damnoen Saduak Canal was constructed to connect the Mae Klong and Tha Chin rivers.[4][6] Many floating markets arose from the canal, and about 200 ancillary canals were dug by villagers.[4][7] The main floating market was called Lad Plee market (ลัดพลี, RTGS: Lat Phli) which adjoined a Buddhist temple and remained active until 1967, when the development of roads replaced the need for water transportation.[4] This pattern was seen with other old floating markets which disappeared by the mid-twentieth century due to the development of modern land infrastructure.[4]

In 1971, the Tourism Organization of Thailand (now Tourism Authority of Thailand) made the Lad Plee market a tourist attraction for foreigners.[4] The market had boat vendors and shops on the canal banks.[4] In 1981, a new road was built to Ton Khem canal, and private entrepreneurs established the modern Damnoen Saduak Floating Market along this canal.[4]

Description

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market consists of a maze of narrow khlongs (canals), and can be navigated by boat.[1][8] Female traders, often wearing traditional mo hom apparel (blue farmers' shirts) with wide-brimmed straw hats (ngob) use sampans (small wooden boats) to sell their wares, often produce that comes directly from farms.[1][8][9] These boats are often full of vegetables and colorful fruits that are photogenic, and these images are used for tourism promotion.[2] The market is often the busiest in the morning around 7 am to 9 am, and is active until noon.[1][9]

The floating market comprises three smaller markets: Ton Khem, Hia Kui, and Khun Phitak.[1][8][10] Ton Khem is the largest market and is on Khlong Damnoen Saduak.[1][8] Hia Kui is parallel to Khlong Damnoen Saduak and has souvenir shops on the canals banks to sell goods to larger tour groups.[1][8] Khun Phitak is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Hia Kui and is the smallest and least crowded market.[1][8]

The floating market is crowded with tourists and is considered a tourist trap.'[11] As such, the wares tend to be overpriced.[11] Bargaining is a common practice, although usually the prices of souvenirs and food are generally fixed within a few Thai baht. Canoe cooks can be found preparing and selling boat noodles.[8][5] The floating market also has been noted to lack cultural authenticity, although it remains a popular destination for both foreign and domestic tourists.[4][10][11][5]

The market has been featured in several films. A canal chase scene in The Man with the Golden Gun with Roger Moore as James Bond was filmed at the market,[12][7] and the 2008 film Bangkok Dangerous starring Nicolas Cage includes a scene that takes place at the market.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dorling Kindersley (2 August 2010). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Thailand. DK Publishing. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7566-7422-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Andrew Burke; Austin Bush (2008). Bangkok. Con Pianta. Ediz. Inglese. Lonely Planet. pp. 235–6. ISBN 978-1-74104-858-2.
  3. 1 2 Lonely Planet; Mark Beales; Tim Bewer; Joe Bindloss, Austin Bush, David Eimer, Bruce Evans, Damian Harper, Isabella Noble (1 June 2016). Lonely Planet Thailand. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 302. ISBN 978-1-76034-164-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cohen, Erik (June 2016). "The Permutations of Thailand's "Floating Markets"" (PDF). Asian Journal of Tourism Research. 1 (1): 59–98. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Austin Bush; China Williams (2009). Bangkok Encounter. Lonely Planet. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-74220-512-0.
  6. ↑ Philipp Meier (2012). SPOT-ON IN ASIA. Lulu.com. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-4716-0711-0.
  7. 1 2 Taylor, Bob (2014-08-02). "Thailand's floating markets: A riot of color and confusion". Communities Digital News. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ron Emmons (1 September 2010). Top 10 Bangkok. DK Publishing. pp. 20–1. ISBN 978-0-7566-8850-9.
  9. 1 2 Phil Macdonald; Carl Parkes (3 March 2015). Thailand. National Geographic Society. pp. 122–3. ISBN 978-1-4262-1464-6.
  10. 1 2 Andrew Spooner (28 February 2013). Thailand Dream Trip. Footprint Travel Guides. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-907263-67-5.
  11. 1 2 3 Pile, Tim (2017-01-19). "Bangkok - the good, bad and ugly sides to the Thai capital for visitors". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  12. 1 2 Marek Lenarcik (31 May 2013). This Is Thailand. eBookIt.com. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4566-1726-4.
  13. ↑ Coplans, Chris (2008-10-03). "Bangkok Dangerous: not so dangerous after all?". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-29.

Coordinates: 13°31′09″N 99°57′33″E / 13.5193°N 99.9592°E / 13.5193; 99.9592

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