Taling Chan.

Today we took a short trip to Taling Chan floating market located in Taling Chan District, Bangkok. Before coming to Bangkok we had heard a lot about how life in Bangkok/Thailand is based on the riverways and canals (called khlongs). We visited Damnoen Saduak floating market a week ago and it was a great trip. Damnoen Saduak is huge and sells all types of food, handicrafts and souvenirs. However, we had heard that Damnoen Saduak was no longer a true Thai floating market. That it had become commercialized since tourists started to travel there in droves. We wanted to see more authentic “floating market” and decided to try Taling Chan just north of Bangkok city proper.

Taling Chan is located across the Chao Praya River, northwest of the Royal Palace in what used to be Thonburi village until it became incorporated into Bangkok.

We took the sky train to Saphin Taskin Station (co-located with the Chao Praya River’s Central Pier). We then rented a long boat for a trip up the Chao Praya River to Khlong Chak Phra canal and traveled northwest to the market.

It was a nice little market–we could have spent a lot more time there. The food was fantastic. The boys had fun getting coconut drinks (which Sam wanted for weeks but then was utterly disappointed that the coconut milk wasn’t chocolate milk) and buying little wooden guns (which the sky train security staff inspected with skepticism at each train stop/transfer).

Next weekend we are heading to Chonburi Province to spend the weekend on Ko Si Chang island–at the beach!