Damnoen Saduak Floating Market: Thailand

Our first day outside of Bangkok was welcomed, as we were both anxious to see the countryside. Getting just beyond the sprawling skyscrapers, you quickly feel like you are seeing the real side of rural Thailand. Our first destination was the floating market, followed by an afternoon at the Rose Gardens. 

Barely outside Bangkok's traffic jams, it becomes apparent that the majority of Thai people are subsistence farmers, and even more so, they have a small plot system. Even though Thailand is accredited for its enormous progress and development, the vast majority of its people are rural, and the country is still characterized as an agricultural society.

One of the better examples of this type of livelihood was along the polluted waterways we maneuvered through to reach the floating markets. Scattered along the banks, between decaying dwellings, were small plots of coconut farmers working beside ten-foot-tall mounds of hollowed-out coconut husks.

The water would be repulsive to most Westerners, as would the living conditions along these remote canals. I am thankful this is not my first or last experience with undeveloped living conditions. Through travel, my parents gave me a world perspective that most people are unfamiliar with. As a professor, I became even more aware of my students’ lack of understanding of the everyday struggles of most people on earth. That might have something to do with my ambition to bring real-world examples of every topic I discuss into the classroom and have a face for my students to associate with every devastation, situation, or livelihood I present.

To say the least, the ride is enlightening about the lives of these small-plot farmers and provides a glimpse at the living conditions of millions of people living along the waterways of Southeast Asia. As we snaked past mildewed huts on our way to the floating markets, our guide told us the story of the original Bangkok, or “Venice of the East.”

Bangkok’s history is deeply connected to the Chao Phraya River and the canals that connect it and bring life to all city corners. Even today, the canals and rivers are very important; I see all types of people, from monks to tourists and businessmen, riding on water taxis to travel all over the city. As I think about what the landscape would have looked like before the towers sprawled out, I can vividly understand why early visitors to Bangkok described it as the “Venice of the East.” The floating markets we explored are reminiscent of how people bought and sold goods and food in Bangkok.

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market we visited is a very popular tourist destination and, on first appearance, would probably be written down in my book as a “tourist trap.” However, once we stepped down into another small flat boat for about two dollars, we better understood how these markets would have looked and operated before we, the tourists, invaded them. We had fun looking at the boats full of fruits and women making food and drinks right in their laps on these tiny little boats. You will not be disappointed if you look past the multitude of replicated souvenirs and focus on the people.

 It’s a place full of complete chaos, as the women hook your boat and pull you up to theirs to get a better look at what they are selling. As your boat and all the others continue to slide past and over each other, the atmosphere never settles but continues to be full of surprises. So even though it's touristy, if you have a little imagination, you will find the value in seeing a piece of history under the noise and color of a tourist trap.

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