Grilled seafood
From the boats to the canal steps.
Rmunsvila — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Igor Ovsyannykov igorovsyannykov — CC0 · This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Feel free to use any of my images, but please mention me as the author and may send me a message. (สามารถใช้ภาพได้อิสระ แต่กรุณาใส่เครดิตผู้ถ่ายและอาจส่งข — CC BY 4.0 · Zeugma fr (talk) (Antoine FLEURY-GOBERT) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rangan Datta Wiki — CC BY-SA 4.0
An evening floating market on the Amphawa canal in a small town near the Maeklong River, preferred by Thais themselves over the touristy morning markets. Old wooden houses along both banks have become cafés and little shops, and moored boats grill seafood, prawns and squid to serve to people sitting on the canal-side steps. The market starts in the afternoon and peaks at sunset, when lanterns light up over the water. After dark small boats set out on the Maeklong River to watch fireflies glowing in the mangrove trees along the banks, for a token fare per person on shared boats, one of the loveliest sights in the area on clear nights. The town also has a memorial park to King Rama II, who was born in Amphawa. The market runs at weekends only, Friday to Sunday, roughly from three in the afternoon until nine or ten at night, and entry is free. Seafood dominates, but ask how dishes are cooked if you avoid non-halal food, as many are made with pork or pork stock. Saturdays are very crowded. It is about an hour and a half by car from Bangkok and under a quarter of an hour from the Maeklong Railway Market, so the usual plan is the railway market in the afternoon, then Amphawa into the evening. Anyone staying overnight will find quiet guesthouses on the canal.
From the boats to the canal steps.
Lights in the mangroves at night.
Old timber homes turned cafés.
Khlong Amphawa, Amphawa town, Samut Songkhram
No: it runs Friday to Sunday only, from afternoon into the evening, and Saturday is the busiest day.
After dark from boats on the Maeklong River; they show best on clear nights without a bright moon.