Rivers, canals, water – the blood that runs in the vein of Bangkok, the fluid life energy that outdates roads and pollution, that still flows and pushes forward, with the soft sound of a boat rowing slowly to the market place, almost unnoticed, making only the slightest ripples on the surface, bringing food and produce to the long docks that awaits at the famous Bangkok floating market.

There is no shortage of markets in Bangkok, and some may say there are too many, or that the city in itself is one big market divided into sections, but a floating market does bring a special kind of nostalgia with it, a special charm.

Getting there early is a good idea, and I would even say that getting there too early is better, as seeing the whole area start to wake up, with lights coming on even before the dawn , reflecting in the canals, and slowly small boats start to appear , blessing each other with a good morning , stopping for a chat with the floating neighbor or to look at what is in the water bound mobile store today. Fresh mangos just off the tree? Oh these spring onions look good, where did you get that fish?

In every market there is magic, in every market there is charm, it is one of the last reminders we have that we are humans in a society, that we have existence also outside of isolated cold marble malls and glass screens of social interaction.

In every market you can see the real energy of life, the original life force, that basic trade that feeds us, clothes us, makes us a group, makes us a culture. In the floating market, as I said before, this is just so much more apparent, more obvious, more clear to even the nakedest eye.

No one goes to the floating market to get rich, no one makes any big deals and schemes, and other than touristic value it is almost insignificant. Well,being  insignificant is what kept it so beautiful, as everybody that sells there is a local farmer or merchant, the interactions are those of a real community, hiding from the mass just a stick throw away from Bangkok,  no big logos, no brand names, just a market.

Another reward for getting there early is that you will have a tourist free zone, and it might be not polite to say, but that is something that is dearly lacking these days.

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