One thing that I was completely unaware of when I visited Ratchaburi was that the most famous floating market in Thailand: Damnoen Saduak Floating market, is actually not far. When I decided to visit Ratchaburi, I haven’t done a lot of research, so this was a cool find as I was not expecting to be able to visit this place from Ratchaburi.
Damnoen Saduak Floating market
Damnoen Saduak Floating market, the most famous of its kind in Thailand and the biggest floating market in the kingdom is about 25km away from Ratchaburi and about a 30 min ride by motorbike. So, it would be perfectly fine for a day trip by motorbike.
I thought that the market’s hustle and bustle are supposed to be in the early morning, just like the most famous floating market in Vietnam that I have visited before. So, I was aware that if I wanted to see a bustling market I would have to wake up very early, an effort that I was capable of doing.
My idea was to get there at 6:30 am maximum, so I could see loads of boats at once in the river channels. I arrived there at about 6:40 am and I confess that I was already stressed that I was going way too late. The street to get to Damnoen Saduak Floating market is easy and good, across many villages and through a kinda quiet street.
When I finally arrive at Damnoen Saduak Floating market I saw absolutely nothing going on!!! I thought to myself that it was not possible that the market had already finished so early in the morning… I even considered I was at the wrong location… I thought this was actually a local market that is still operating as it would back in the years, and it was a traditional Thai custom, a market made for local trade and for locals that would have some tourists visiting. But I couldn’t be more wrong. I left the Damnoen Saduak Floating market thinking exactly the opposite, that it operates mostly for tourist purposes…
The place was almost empty at 6:40 am. There were a few people that I could count on my fingers. I was very confused. Was I too late, was I too early, was I visiting on a wrong day? Well, I don’t think I was on a wrong day, I just think that it is a tourist attraction and because there are no tourists, the market is empty. I visited Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in May 2022 when there were still a few tourists traveling in Thailand due to the Covid pandemic, and I think this is the reason why I didn’t see the bustling market that I have seen in so many different pictures of this place.
I wanted to do a boat trip around once I got to the most famous floating market, but I completely changed my mind when I saw such a “dead” place. There was still one local guy with a boat that tried to sell me the tour, but no way I would pay for a whole boat tour by myself because there was absolutely no one else in there. Why would I do the tour if there was nothing to be seen haaaa
Anyway, that was truly disappointing because what I planned to do there was exactly the boat tour. As it made no sense to do it, it was even more frustrating to wake up so early and reach a destination where I have absolutely nothing to do!
I decided finally to walk a bit past the closed souvenir shops to discover that it is possible to walk along the river channels, something I had no idea about. This actually turned out to be such a pleasant walk!! Finally, my early morning wake-up was starting to be a bit more exciting.
So, that was exactly what I have done in Damnoen Saduak Floating market, walking along the river. The place was quiet as an early morning should be. I could hear the sounds of the birds and some boats that passed by very casually. The area was very charming for a walk. Very peaceful, with many cute houses along the sidewalk and coffee shops that were obviously closed. They would have been a great place to stop and admire the water’s hustle during normal times. The houses look so cute! What a beautiful place. People actually live there. Their houses are right in front of the channel and I can imagine that waking up with that view must be very cool and relaxing, but very noisy on the days before the pandemic, so I kind of enjoy meeting the place this way. I walked to admire the architecture of the place and the silence it was offering. A bit later more and more boats were showing up. Not a lot of them, but it was clear that I didn’t arrive too late because things started to become more lively after 7 am. There were a few ladies selling breakfast on their boats and I ended up having mango sticky rice by the river. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market was obviously getting more crowded but still nothing compared with the pictures I have seen of the place.
Finally, I decided to head back to Ratchaburi because I was really tired, and the quiet place didn’t make me feel more awake, on the other hand, its silence made me feel even more sleepy ha!
Therefore after about 1h spent at the place, I headed back just to lay down and sleep a bit more.
If now, I wouldn’t have gone so early, but I thought this was like the Mekong Delta floating market where if you go later than 7 am nothing else is going on. But I guess that is because it is made for Vietnamese people and not just a tourist attraction. As the Damnoen Saduak Floating market felt just like a tourist place, I think that the rush hours might be happening for way longer, but I can’t tell for sure because as I mentioned, due to Covid, things were very different.
Train market Thailand
Another fact that I was completely unaware of was that the famous train market where the train crosses a few centimeters away from the goods is about 20km away from Damnoen Saduak Floating market, so it would be a good idea to visit it after the floating market as it would take about 20 min by motorbike to reach it. But the thing is that the train has specific schedules and I don’t know what is the best hour to be at the market to see the train crossing the line. This way, I thought it was not worth the trip, also because waking up so early made me really sleepy. I didn’t visit the train market, but I should mention here that this combo should be a great self-made day tour from Ratchaburi. If you plan to visit these places on your own, I think Ratchaburi would be a great stop to do so.
Wat Mahathat Worawihan
To finish the day I visited Wat Mahathat Worawihan which seems to be the oldest temple in town with architecture that reminds me of the Khmer temples in Cambodia. The temple was very quiet and empty, a nice place to enjoy the silence. I visited it because I had nothing else to do in the city and it is not far from my hotel.
And that was all I have done in Ratchaburi. I stayed 3 nights and that was enough to meet the surroundings and the best the city has to offer.
