Day 4: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

If you want to go to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which is about 100 km from Bangkok, and is one of the 'main' floating markets, you must read this post.

Pay attention to the pictures.

Look for these signs:

1) If your cab driver charges you 1500 to 2000 baht for the journey to and fro the Floating Market, be on the alert.

2) If he takes you to this place (taken from the 'pier'), beware ... because you are about to be 'chopped'. You will see many other cabs parked at the place - a sure indication that other 'carrots' are already there.

3) You will see a boat-providing monopoly. The only one there, so you have no bargaining power.
4) You will see this loser ang-moh who resides in a comparatively less developed country than his native country and prowls around to cheat his own kind.
5) He will show you this 'floating market map' and tell you where the boat is going to ie. the Coconut Sugar Farm first, then the Floating Market. He tries to 'value-add' the expensive service by 'advising' you not to get out of the boat 'no matter what'.
6) This is the ultimate conman who issues the '1000 baht' ticket and shows you he is not going to bargain with you no matter what you say. He just backs down and keeps quiet until your companion eggs you to give in.
7) Within 4 or 5 steps to the boat, there will be another man collecting the bogus ticket from you so that you cannot bring the ticket out of the 'pier' as their incriminating evidence.

The 'carrot-chopping' boat

And so we began our journey

As part of the 'package', we got to see some dilapidated houses by the canal.

We paid 2000 baht for the boat ride, so we should 'eat' everything in the 'package'. Got Coconut Sugar Farm, so we just got down to see what there was.

Just some locals arranging the lumps of sugar

After being conned of 2000 baht, instead of the 300 baht per boat, we became extra careful. Before drinking the offered sugar drink, we checked that it was stated 'Free'.

Might as well take a picture on the pirate ship Things sold at the artificial architectural structure by the river
Finally, we saw an indication of a 'floating market', selling coconuts - we felt like one.
They sell drinks too
T-shirts
Hats ... we are about there
We reached the Floating Market

More coconuts - like the many tourists there, all ready to be 'chopped'
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
At 11 - 11.30am, there were more tourists than locals or sellers




End of Floating Market. The sign was misleading.



We thought even their dogs look different from the ones in Singapore
We felt like these - coconut husks - chopped and done with.

Review on Damnoen Saduak Floating Market:

Unless you are travelling on your own there, I feel that it is not worth it taking a cab there, especially when it is past 9am. It appears that the Floating Market starts as early as 6 or 7am, so if you reach there past 10am, it is considered late. I heard that it closes at 1pm.

It was a last-minute decision to go to the Floating Market. The shopping in Bangkok was disappointing, so I thought I might as well have a dip in the local culture, but more disappointingly, as we found out, 'floating market' is no longer a genuine culture, but more to entice tourists or rather, to cater to tourists to earn their monies. Like I captioned above for some of the pictures, there were artificial structures set up just so that the locals could display goods by the river to sell to the tourists. I thought any other places could have that easily. Not just Thailand.

I had read that hotel staff in budget hotels could collaborate with cab drivers to bring tourists to expensive places to cheat their money. Like many unsuspecting tourists, I did not think we would be so unlucky. The hotel staff appeared really helpful. Although I told William I did not have a good feeling about the arrangement - the hotel staff volunteered to arrange for his friend's (Charlie) car to take us to the Floating Market for 800 baht (to and fro) - I went ahead with the arrangement despite multiple delays because it was the last day and I thought it would be such a shame not getting a whiff of the local flavour.

The driver was supposed to pick us up at 8.30am, but he came at 9.30am. I thought it suspicious when the hotel staff kept walking away from the counter and using his own handphone to call the driver. But by then, we did not have much choice unless we cancelled the trip.

The driver turned up in his own car and appeared to be a Chinese. He did not speak much except to tell us we would reach the destination in 10 minutes' time.

He stayed at the pier while we went on the boat ride.

I supposed he would have split the profit earned from us with the pier-owners in our absence.

Knowing that there is another pier with multiple boat companies, he brought us to this carrot-chopping pier, I feel the act was despicable and low-down.

If I were there alone, I would have walked away. I had done my research online and read that each boat ride cost 300 baht (per boat). A jump of 1700 baht (S$71) was too much. Unfortunately, my companion immediately remarked,"Your research is ALL WRONG! Look at his tickets. They are priced at 1000 baht. How can your research be right?"

Before I had more time to think, he continued,"Let's just pay them. We've come so far. You're not thinking of not taking the ride, are you?"

So paid we did.

Upon arriving at the actual pier where the Floating Market was, everything came together: we should have come to that pier instead. There were different boat companies there and that was where we could have bargained. It was later when we were having lunch at Nam Sing (Yaowarat) that I called up my tour guide to check with her on the rate to pay that I realised each motor boat should charge just 200 baht per pax.

We hopped on another cab to return to our hotel. The driver saw us and knocked on the car window. We ignored him. When we reached the hotel, I confronted the hotel staff and told him I could not pay him more. He nodded his head and said,"Okay okay ..."

The more exasperating thing was: the hotel staff pretended to be ignorant. He said he only arranged for the transport and he knew nothing about the boat ride. When I told him what my tour guide told me, he asked me if I have instructed the driver on which pier to go. How idiotic of him to feign ignorance still!

If you do not mind going to the Floating Market yourself, instead of subjecting yourself to the cheating drivers and hotel staff, try these directions I got from online:

How to get there:
1) From Khao San Road, take Bus 124 at Phra Athit TAT or Bus 78 to Sai Tai(Southern Bus Station).

2) When in Sai Tai, buy bus ticket at window 2, Airbus single trip 72B(Bus 996, 78),non-air bus 41B(different selling spots).

3) Boat hiring
When arrived at District Centre Bus Station, You can hire a boat (1 hr 300B/boat, can seat 6~8 people, need bargain) or walk to the floating market. There are two other floating markets -Khlong Hia Kui and Khlong Khun - that are only accessible by hired boat.