For this day trip, we booked the tour at a local travel agency in Khao San Road. Local travel agency offices are everywhere in Thailand and there is perhaps one in your hotel. Beware though of tours sold online as they are usually twice or thrice the price than booked onsite. There is no need to worry about a tour being fully booked because the Thais will find ways to accommodate new business.
The tour we booked is a combination tour of the Floating Market in Ratchaburi province + Elephant Show in Nakhon Pathom province. They are not far from each other so they are easy to throw in together for a day outing. I am crazy about markets and my mom wants to see the elephants in action, so we are both happy campers that we can combine the 2 in a day’s trip. My dad is game to do whatever we want really.
We paid close to 1,000 Thai Baht per person for the day trip. Transfers, lunch, 1 boat ride and entrance fees were included in the tour price.
I also would like to add that there are a variety of other sightseeing and activity tour combinations available. The travel agents will be more than willing to accommodate your requests. They have a lot. You just pick and choose and they will put together a tour for you.
This is our Ratchaburi and Nakhon Pathom day trip agenda:
1. Pick up transfer from our hotel
2. Ride to Ratchaburi province where the floating market is located
3. Boat trip to Damnoen Saduak village – floating market
4. Time at the Floating Market
5. Lunch at a Floating Restaurant in Nakhon Pathom province
6. Proceed to the Elephant Show (+Crocodile Show)
7. Ride back to Bangkok
This is the route of our day trip and I will blog each activity separately in different posts.
So we were picked up really early at 07:00 in the morning at our hotel. Then we proceeded to Khao San Road to pick up the rest of the day trippers and off we drove to Ratchaburi province. After an hour and a half we arrived in Damnoen Saduak.
To arrive at our first destination – the floating market, we will have to take a short long-tail boat ride. This is included in the tour price. It looks like the boarding area for the long-tail boats are exclusively reserved for tourists, and there is even a photographer taking pictures of each person boarding the boat. Once you are seated the camera is lodged before your face before you can even smile. When you are back from sightseeing in the floating market your picture is ready for a few Bhat. It really cannot get more (mass) touristic than this.
Because the boat is very low, and with no proper seating, my mom had trouble getting in. We have even caused a little commotion because of this, haha. For people who are invalid and overweight, it can indeed be a challenge but its not impossible. Just take extra care when boarding and make sure the concerned individual has a good seating. My mom used her bag to sit on.
Here is the short video of our long-tail boat ride:
Personally, I like the idea of taking the long-tail boat to the floating market. We passed by some green marshlands and many traditional wooden houses along the canals. It was a very interesting sight and experience as well to see Damnoen Saduak village from the boat. And a little peek of the Thai countryside was very much welcome too.
We alighted as soon as we arrived at the floating market. Pictures of the floating market will be in my next blog entry.
There are actually several floating markets in Thailand, but this one in Damnoen Saduak is by far the most popular and most busy in the country.
Travel Period: November 2015
Destination: Damnoen Saduak (Ratchaburi), Thailand
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