BANGKOK DAY THREE!

We had a BIG tour scheduled for today—one that we had to set an alarm to wake up to—UGH, never like alarm days!  But, would you believe, we were WIDE eyed and BUSHY tailed hours before said alarm was due to go off!  Mmmmmmm, that meant lots of coffee time for us!

On the agenda for our third full day in Bangkok was the floating market and train market!  In all the times we’ve been here, we have never taken this tour!  We were excited!

The tour company picked us up at our condo and after about an hour drive, we stopped for a quick look at the Bankalong Salt farm.  What looked similar to rice paddies were actually salt fields!

This was where we boarded the train that drove us to the market!

The first official stop of today’s tour was the MAEKLONG TRAIN STATION.  OMG!  Can you say utter CHAOS, INSANITY, HAVOC?  Words (even these words) cannot begin to describe this market.  

Merchants line the train tracks with their merchandise and whenever a train comes through (eight times a day), awnings have to be pulled back and merchandise moved!  This was how it looked when we got to the market—note the unobstructed train track. (And the people—Oh my Lord, the number of people!) 

The train stopped, we got off, and walked right into mad chaos!

Once the train continued on and left the market station,

the awnings were pulled back out over the tracks,

merchandise was put back out and people began shopping again like nothing had just happened!  It was completely CRAY CRAY!

DAMNERN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET was the next stop!  We boarded a long boat and slowly made our way through the floating market, along with (I kid you not!) a gazillion other long boats.  It was utterly insane!

Boats passed by (going against the flow of traffic, mind you!) with locals grilling and selling satay (skewered meat), drinks, sweets—you name it, they were selling it!

There was every kind of merchandise being sold from both sides of the canal—fruits, vegetables, trinkets —if you wanted it, they had it at the Damnern Saduake Floating Market!  Even Spider-Man was there selling his wares!

It looked like a lot of the boat drivers actually lived along the canal, as we saw rickety shanty’s with boats and docks and shrines on our ride.  (Waterfront property at its’ best!)

We were EXHAUSTED after we returned from the tour!  But we quickly got re-energized when we arrived in Chinatown (not far from where we are staying).

It was Chinese New Year so the streets were decorated and people were out celebrating!

We found a restaurant that served Peking Duck (one of our favorite dishes) that had an air-conditioned room upstairs!  It was HEAVENLY (both the food and the cool air!)

A day in Bangkok would not be complete without a Tuk Tuk ride,

and yes, you guessed it, a massage!

Ahhh, it was a CRAZY GOOD day here in Bangkok!