Ayutthaya is a crap town! We thought we would take a day trip up to Ayutthaya from Bangkok to see its water market. Thai water markets are meant to be absolutely photographically amazing. As per yesterday's experience at the Artist's Village, historically Thai people moved and traded along the various canals and waterways. Thus, the water market.
Not only are the water markets great for trade, but it also makes for great James Bond action sequences. If you've seen the movie Man with the Golden Gun, you may remember a scene involving a water market. That James Bond action sequence took place in one of Bangkok's water markets.
However. the problem with finding the right water market to go to is three-fold:
After hours of searching, we decided that the market that fit the criteria of a) open on weekends, b) not as touristy, and c) not as far was Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is about a 2.5 hour train ride away. The train costs a whopping 50 cents. I had wanted to go to Ayutthaya initially because it is the original seat of the Kingdom of Thailand. Prior to Ayutthaya's founding in the 14th century, what is now Thailand was primarily ruled by the Cambodian Khmers. As Ayutthaya and its leaders strengthened, they captured more land and founded Thailand. Ancient palaces and temples, all surrounded by a water and a floating market to boot! Sounds pretty cool, right?
Wrong! After we got off what felt like the slowest train ever, we were immediately met with the kinds of Thai people we had been warned about. Tuk Tuk drivers wanting astronomical costs to take us to the water village. Information people telling us that there is no mini-bus to take us to the water village when we know there is one, etc.
We decided screw them, we'll just walk the 3-4 kms to the water village. After a hot walk, we finally got to the water village and..... it was a fake! We had been duped. It was a replica of a water village - and not the kind that is even trying to fake you out into thinking it was real. We were so disappointed by the entire experience that we decided to get the next train out of town. No exploration of ruins. Nothing. We saw some ruins on the overpriced tuk tuk we took back to the train and called it a day.
Oh, did I mention we didn't eat anything during this entire day either! Okay, one half of a sandwich for breakfast. By the time we reached Bangkok at 5 p.m., we were hangry, exhausted, hot, sweaty, AND disappointed. We know travel is a bit hit and miss - but missing is darn frustrating.
(PS - I did make up for the food with super yummy dinner + dessert. I was basically an eating monster.)
Not only are the water markets great for trade, but it also makes for great James Bond action sequences. If you've seen the movie Man with the Golden Gun, you may remember a scene involving a water market. That James Bond action sequence took place in one of Bangkok's water markets.
However. the problem with finding the right water market to go to is three-fold:
- Most water markets only take place on weekends or, if they are open on a weekday, they are only open between 7-10 a.m.. We are on a bit of a timeline at present, so sticking around until Saturday-Sunday isn't really an option. Also, 7-10 a.m. is just painful when you add in the fact we are staying on a crowded party area in Bangkok and the sounds of bad 80s cover bands do not make for effective lullabies.
- Most of the most colorful and crowded markets are about 90kms outside of Bangkok. Also, the more colorful the market, the more touristy (and inauthentic) the market.
- The authentic markets that are nearby aren't very colourful. There are 7 boats instead of a multitude of boats.
After hours of searching, we decided that the market that fit the criteria of a) open on weekends, b) not as touristy, and c) not as far was Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is about a 2.5 hour train ride away. The train costs a whopping 50 cents. I had wanted to go to Ayutthaya initially because it is the original seat of the Kingdom of Thailand. Prior to Ayutthaya's founding in the 14th century, what is now Thailand was primarily ruled by the Cambodian Khmers. As Ayutthaya and its leaders strengthened, they captured more land and founded Thailand. Ancient palaces and temples, all surrounded by a water and a floating market to boot! Sounds pretty cool, right?
Wrong! After we got off what felt like the slowest train ever, we were immediately met with the kinds of Thai people we had been warned about. Tuk Tuk drivers wanting astronomical costs to take us to the water village. Information people telling us that there is no mini-bus to take us to the water village when we know there is one, etc.
We decided screw them, we'll just walk the 3-4 kms to the water village. After a hot walk, we finally got to the water village and..... it was a fake! We had been duped. It was a replica of a water village - and not the kind that is even trying to fake you out into thinking it was real. We were so disappointed by the entire experience that we decided to get the next train out of town. No exploration of ruins. Nothing. We saw some ruins on the overpriced tuk tuk we took back to the train and called it a day.
Oh, did I mention we didn't eat anything during this entire day either! Okay, one half of a sandwich for breakfast. By the time we reached Bangkok at 5 p.m., we were hangry, exhausted, hot, sweaty, AND disappointed. We know travel is a bit hit and miss - but missing is darn frustrating.
(PS - I did make up for the food with super yummy dinner + dessert. I was basically an eating monster.)
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