The Floating Market & Elephant Ride

What a day!

I was picked up from the hotel at 7:30, on our way south of Bangkok about 1.5 hours, headed to the famous Floating Markets.

On our way, we stopped by another market - there are thousands of these open air markets everywhere.  This one was unique because a train passes through it at 9:00 every morning.  Not sure why, but it didn't happen today.

This place went on forever and it was so crowded.  Just when you thought you'd reached the end, there was miles more to see.  

Outside of market

This is what the neighborhood looked like
outside the market.

All kinds of stuff for sale.

More stuff.

There was fresh, cleaned and ready-to-cook frogs - not just frog legs - but whole frogs.  Some were smoked.

Pan on the bottom right holds the fresh frogs.
Bon appetite!

There were chicken parts of all kind, including chicken feet.  Terry and I used to fight over these growing up.

Chicken parts. 

There were crabs and clams and pork.

The pan in the middle holds pig feet.  Yum!

There were fish of every kind - some big, some little, some with a stringy mouth.

I asked my guide what this was.  He said, "Fish."
That much I got.  I wanted to know what kind,
but the question was lost in translation.

There was every imaginable kind of spice and flowers.

Lots and lots of flowers.
Many are used in the make-shift altars seen everywhere.

There was fruit, fruit, and more fruit.  All of those exotic ones that I'd tried out since living in Abu Dhabi were all here.

Then there was just stuff - for the house, to wear, to use.  Stuff, stuff everywhere!

Next we stopped by a coconut farm.  The palm trees here grow coconuts.  In the UAE, they grow dates.  You see dried coconut shells along the side of the road by the thousands.  They are used to make beds and sofas - which sounds pretty lumpy to me, but I didn't see any, so I can't say for sure.

The man is holding a coconut flower.
Iside the stalk-like leaves, are the coconuts.

There were many other products of all kind made from the coconut shells - purses, balls, lamps, dishes, utensils . . .

There was a demonstration on how coconut sugar is made.

Coconut sugar drying.
It looks and tastes a lot like the brown sugar we're used to.

Fascinating.

I also learned how coconut milk is made when you squeeze the meat.  If you heat it, it makes oil used for cooking or for putting on your skin before sunbathing.  Sounds like you'd be cooking your skin, but I don't know much about sitting in the sun . . . on purpose.

Coconut meat.  Squeeze it to make juice.
Heat it to make oil.

After this enlightenment, we were off to the Floating Market.

What fun!

We drove to the dock were dozens of boats were awaiting passengers.  Each boat can carry about 6-8 I think, but ours just had two, the tour guide and me.  We had to sit in the middle of the boat, in the middle of the seats, to keep it balanced.

Boats used to ferry folks to and from the Floating Market.

We rode through a canal that was between 15-20 feet deep, for about a half hour. Some places it was narrow, others wide.  Mostly the shore was lined with homes. Some very, very modest and others very, very nice.

Picture from inside the boat.

Lovely dining area on the water.
This is the front porch of someone's home.

Beautiful home along the way.

Big, foreboding Buddha sitting next to a
magnificent temple on the water.

It's a windy body of water.  We slowed down to turn about a half dozen times, and there it is.  Scores and scores of boats with women selling their goods.  Some other women are lining the waterway and you have to shop by boat from them.

Picture I downloaded so that you could see a decent panoramic view.
Awesome!

The boat driver slowed down and we hopped off.  You could shop from the bank and there were lots of things for sale on the dock.

I'm watching the ladies cook on the boats.

You can't see it, but some of the women are cooking -
frying food, with piping hot grease - on the boats!  Yikes!

Another downloaded shot where if you look closely,
you can see some boats filled with colorful fruit.

So, so cool.

Yes, this Floating Market is probably mostly for tourists, but this one had a ball getting to it and shopping in it once we were there.

Yep.  Me again.

I found this video that does a great job of showing the highlights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBqr2feVCeI

As we were leaving, the tour guide mentioned that we were close to a place where you can ride elephants and he asked if I was interested.

Absolutely!

What a treat!

I bought the ticket and climbed a two-story structure where there is an opening - it would be a gate, if there was a door - and climb onto the seat.  It's designed for two, but I sat in the middle to keep it balanced.  The kid who was guiding the elephant was riding on her head.

You can't see me, but I've just boarded the elephant.

Yes, it was a girl.

Old woman, really.

She was 60 years old!

Me and my buddy.

I'm sure the folks saw me coming and knew I needed an elephant that was old and s - l - o - w.

She was wonderful!

We travelled along a paved path.  At one point she stopped because she knew this is where there were good leaves located for her to eat.  she was encouraged to move along, and she did.

Smart girl.

The kid got off of her later to take pictures of me, and for a while, it was just she and I, plodding along.

Me and my buddy . . . again.

She was a good girl.

It was a hot day.  Humid, too.

As we were heading back, she dipped into a canal running parallel to the path.

My first comment was "WHOA GIRL."

My guide calmed me down and said the water wasn't deep.

Well, that's relative.  The elephant was up to her neck in water, but like the guide said, we were fine and dry throughout this cooling off dip for her.

So much fun!

Tonight I pack for my journey home, but it with a heart of gratitude for having the best summer of my life!

As always, thanks for taking this ride with me.