For the new year we, along with X's family, went to the Bangnamphung floating market, in Samut Prakhan province near Bangkok. Traditionally, Thai markets were congregations of boats in canals. Nowadays these have all been replaced with modern malls, but a few semi-floating markets still exist. Here we found old-style Thai foods, snacks and drinks difficult to find in most other places. Standouts were a purple juice made from a flower called dok un-chan, khao haw bai bua (fried rice in lotus leaf), and som chun (sweet and sour chili paste in oranges and tart vegetables).
We rented an old-style Thai canal boat and paddled our way up and down the canal (with me in a ngob, or Thai sun hat), to the smiles of many Thai families who chuckled at a foreigner like me in such a traditional Thai setting. Amazingly, I only steered the boat into the concrete retaining wall two or three times!
At the Chao Phraya river ferry crossing, from Bangkok to Samut Prakhan.
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