Today we’re going to take a break from Bangkok and get out of town. We’re going to take a train ride to Mahachai, a seaport town on the Gulf of Thailand. We’ve signed up for a tour with a guide. We’ll take a train to Mahachai, where we’ll tour the local market and have lunch.
After lunch we’ll hop on another train that goes to a town named Samut Songkhram. There’s a market there that sits right on the tracks. It called the “Folding Umbrella” Market. More on that later. C’mon… it’s time to go.
We met our guide and tour-mates at a hostel near our hotel. There would be six of us, plus the guide. The hostel was overflowing with college-age kids apparently touring the world on their own. The “kids,” who were mostly girls, and their belongings were spread out everywhere. They looked like they’d been roughing it.
Walking Through the Bang Rak District in Bangkok
We left the hostel to walk to a nearby BTS Skytrain station. From there we’ll catch a train to another station where we’ll board the train to Mahachai. Just walking around Bangkok was interesting, especially with someone to point things out and provide explanations. Our guide was low key, pleasant, and easy to be with.
On a quiet side street, we walked into a Buddhist temple complex. We were the only people around. Even though we were in the middle of Bangkok, it was a quiet, serene space. The smell of incense was in the air. There were several buildings, built in different styles. The building that seemed to be the main temple was incredibly ornate. Our guide told us this was a temple, but also a Buddhist school.
We walked a couple more blocks and came to a Chinese temple or shrine. Our guide said it was OK to go in and take a look around, which we did. We went inside to where people go to ask for blessings. It was another peaceful, enchanting space. It had obviously been here a long time.
The BTS Skytrain station was just across the street. After a 5-minute wait, a modern-looking train came into the station and we got on board. The ride lasted only a few minutes, but we descended in a different part of the city. From here it was a short walk to the next train station. After another short wait, we boarded the train the Mahachai. We were on our way out of the city.
Next Stop: Mahachai
The BTS train was new and modern. The train to Mahchai, on the other hand, had been around for a while. A long while. Not that we were expecting the Orient Express. I mean, we are in a different part of the world. Things are supposed to be different. That’s part of why we travel, no?
Take the train’s lavatory facilities, for example. The lavatory door was latched in the open position, and from my seat I had a fine view of the “toilet.” To be more precise, I had a view of the hole in the floor where someone not used to squatting would have hoped a toilet might have been. Alas, there was no toilet per se, however, there were strategically placed outlines in the floor indicating where to put your feet. (Depending on your particular activity, I suppose, but never mind!)
Don’t get the wrong idea. The train ride to Mahachai was really neat. It was a warm, but not hot, day. The windows were mostly open, so a warm breeze flowed through the train car. All kinds of “country” smells wafted through.
Outside, vegetation of all kinds was everywhere – some of it in the form of groomed orchards, but most of it wild-looking. Crops grow like crazy around here, that’s for sure. We gently rattled along, watching the countryside go by. No doubt about it – there’s something nice about riding on a train.
We passed a lot of small towns. I imagine they’re a lot like farm towns everywhere. Each town had its temple or shrine, brightly-colored and ornate-looking, towering above all other structures in the town. They reminded me of how in France, when seen from a distance, each village has its church spire towering above everything else.
Mahachai Market
It took about two hours to get to Mahachai. We got off the train and stepped right into the local market. I read that Mahachai is a huge fishing center, and a walk around the market bore that out. Vendors were selling anything and everything that comes from the sea. (In this case, the western-most part of the South China Sea). Everything was fresh, of course, and in this neck of the woods, “fresh” means “still alive.”
Our guide ordered some bar-b-qued duck that would become part of our lunch later. A lady wielding a wicked-looking cleaver deftly whacked the duck into bite-sized pieces and boxed it to go. I think she’d done that a few times.
We were in the market when just like that, the sky turned dark. Two minutes later it started to rain – hard. Really hard! I’m thinking to myself, “Monsoon! Roads will be closed! The trains will stop running! Etc.” Then, after ten minutes or less, the rain completely stopped, and everything went on as if nothing had happened. Wow.
We left the market and took the short walk through town to the restaurant where we’d have lunch. We sat in an outdoor, but covered, room that overlooked the Tha Chin river where it drains into the sea. The scene wasn’t one you’d see in the typical post card from Thailand, but it was neat to see all the goings-on on the river.
Lunch was awesome. There were several main courses, some from the restaurant, and some created around things our guide purchased at the market. It was like most Thai cuisine: super fresh, healthy, and good! That duck from the market was my favorite.
After stuffing ourselves, we crossed the river on the local ferry. We walked a short distance to another station, where we caught the train that would take us to the Mae Khlong market. This market sits literally right on top of the train tracks. (I guess the vendors figure that the best spots are the ones closest to customers in-bound on the train).
When the train rolls slowly toward the nearby station, vendors on either side of the tracks lower their awnings, which would otherwise be right over the tracks. As the train passes, the awnings go back up one-by-one, like a string of dominoes falling over in reverse. The scene has become something of a tourist attraction. As a result, the Mae Khlong market is also known as the “Folding Umbrella” market.
When we arrived, to our surprise, the place was jam-packed with tourists waiting to see the spectacle. While we took pictures from the back of the train, throngs of visitors were taking pictures of us taking pictures! (Was someone famous standing behind me??) It was crazy. Apparently no one famous was standing behind me, because when we got off the train, no one rushed up to get an autograph. My fifteen seconds of fame were over. Hey, I thought it was supposed to be fifteen MINUTES.
Then it was back to Bangkok and back to the real world for us. We returned to town by minivan, then got to the hotel via water taxi. It had been quite a day. There wasn’t any one thing that was particularly amazing, but getting out and seeing a different side of Thailand was great.
Tomorrow is our last day in Bangkok. From here, we’re going to take the short flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. But before we leave, one more Thai adventure awaits.
To be continued…
For more information on the tour we took, go to the “Travel Notes, Bangkok Page,” here.
