Train to Maeklong

Highlights

• Buddha wearing sunglasses
• Maeklong Railway Market
• Swimming monkeys
• Wakeboarding
• Amphawa Floating Market
• Temple in the Tree

Itinerary

1. 06:30 AM

   Wong Wian Yai Railway Station

   For your Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa Floating Market tour, you need to be at 6:30 AM at the ticket window of Wong Wian Yai Railway Station. Make sure you arrive in time, as we take the 7:00 AM train to Mahachai. If you are too late, we are gone.

2. 06:30 AM

   Check-In & Briefing

   Your guide checks you in and informs you about the tour itinerary.

   
3. 07:00 AM

   Train to Mahachai

   Take the train to Samut Sakhon, formerly known as Mahachai, an old fishing port at the mouth of the Tha Chin river. Lean back and enjoy the scenic ride that passes so close alongside locals’ homes that you almost feel like driving through their kitchens and living rooms. Once Bangkok’s skyscrapers become smaller in the distance, the train passes through green rice fields before terminating in the middle of a huge fresh market. Outside, vendors place their trays of vegetables, fruit and fish on the rails of this odd but little known line, which until today is still being used to carry fresh fish from the fishing ports to the markets in Bangkok.

   
4. 08:00 AM

   Seafood Market

   Visit one of Thailand’s largest fresh seafood markets, where seafood producers from around the country go to sell their catch. Try some dried seafood and shrimp paste, which Samut Sakhon is famous for.

   
5. 08:45 AM

   Buddha wearing Sunglasses

   Learn about the story of the Buddha image and the relation between the sunglasses he is wearing and pink eye, an infection of the eyes. Outside the temple, there are also two monk images wearing sunglasses and two sacred logs believed to inhabit a spirit to be found. Worshippers rub their bark in the hope to see the winning lottery numbers on their fingers.

   
6. 09:15 AM

   Breakfast with River Views

   Have breakfast at one of the riverside seafood restaurants while enjoying views of the Tha Chin river.

   
7. 10:15 AM

   Train to Maeklong

   Take the train to Samut Songkhram, locally known as Maeklong, a fishing port at the mouth of the Maeklong river. Besides fishing, Samut Sakhon also has a fair-sized industry in salt production, as can be seen from the train. Learn about the salt harvesting process while seeing the people work on the salt fields. Keep an eye out for the thousands of birds here.

   
8. 11:15 AM

   Maeklong Railway Market

   Visit the famous Folding Umbrella Market, the railway market where vendors fold up their umbrellas as the train approaches leaving just enough space for the train to pass by. Your guide shows you where to get the best views. First you see the vendors pushing back the market stalls from inside the train, later you see the vendors pulling back and – again – pushing back the market stalls from outside the train. In between there is time to explore the market.

9. 12:30 PM

   Swimming Monkeys

   Escape to a simpler way of life by visiting a small community along the coastline in Samut Songkhram. Take a boat ride to see how the local fishermen live and to meet the community’s famous swimming monkey. Your guide knows what fruit to buy, so that you can feed the monkeys and see them swim.

10. 01:00 PM

    Wakeboarding (Optional)

    Hunt and catch cockles on a Thai ‘skateboard’ or try the local style of wakeboarding. The cockle collecting is included it the tour price, but the wakeboarding costs THB 500 extra per group. The costs need to be paid in cash to the guide before the tour departs and can be shared among the other travellers in the group who want to try the wakeboarding. Do not forget to bring your swimming wear if you want to try any of these activities!

11. 02:30 PM

    Amphawa Floating Market

    Visit the famous Amphawa Floating Market and enjoy a meal at one of the riverside restaurants or at one of the vendors on a boat. You are free to explore the Amphawa Floating Market on your own for around one hour using a map handed out by your guide. Ask your guide for recommendations about local food or the best places to buy souvenirs.

    
12. 03:30 PM

    Another Boat Ride

    Take another scenic 1 hour boat ride to and from the Temple in the Tree that takes you through Amphawa Floating Market’s canal and the Maeklong river. Underneath the Maeklong river live the world’s largest freshwater fish, giant stingrays some of them nearly as large as cars. See traditional Thai houses and get a taste of Thai country life.

    
13. 03:45 PM

    Temple in the Tree

    Visit a temple completely covered by Bodhi trees, one of the original “Unseen Thailand” attractions and situated at the site of a fierce 18th century battle between Siam and the invaders from Burma. This is the closest thing to Angkor Wat’s “Tomb Raider Temple” that can be found in Thailand and a unique sight to behold. Besides the temple’s main attraction there are also many life-sized Muay Thai statues, several fighter planes ánd a zoo. Feed the deer, horses, goats and sheep and take selfies with the dromedaries, ostriches, buffalos, crocodiles and wild boars.

    
14. 07:00 PM

    Evaluation & Goodbye

    At around 5:00 PM you take a minivan back to Bangkok, where you arrive about 2 hours later. Evaluate your Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa Floating Market tour and say goodbye to your guide and the other travellers in the group. Your guide helps you to get back to your accommodation or any other place you would like to go from Bang Wa BTS Station.

Useful facts

Local transport we may use: Bus, Van, Songthaew, Metro, Skytrain, Train, River Express Boat, Cross River Ferry, Longtail Boat, Taxi, Tuk Tuk, Motorbike, Rickshaw, Bicycle, Walking.