The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is located in the Ratchaburi province, and it's a good hour or so drive outside of Bangkok. But is it worth the journey and hassle to get there? If you ask me, not really...
The concept of getting in boats and floating down a klong to shop dates back to ancient times in Thailand and is the old-fashioned and traditional way for people to buy fruits, vegetables and other goods. These days, floating markets still exist, but most are tourist destinations and their authenticity is questionable.
When we arrived at Damnoen Saduak, the parking lot was already filled with giant tour buses and the concourse was packed with people. When we finally figured out what was going on, we were told that it would cost us 600 Baht (over $20) per person to get into a boat and experience this this ancient tradition (with no discounts for children). When we rolled our eyes in disgust and started to walk away, the price magically dropped to 200 Baht per person, but we just got in the car and drove another 30 seconds to the actual market. We didn't ride in a boat, but we walked around and discovered that all the stuff for sale was basically the same stuff that you can find on the streets of Bangkok on any given day. We didn't need any t-shirts, trinkets or knick knacks, so we just hung around for a bit and took these photos.
Basically, I was not very impressed with the Floating Market concept and would only recommend it to someone who is Hell-bent on checking out.
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