**NAKHON PATHOM / REVIVING TOURISM
Foods galore at floating market**
Story y Karnjana Karnjanatawe, photos by Arthur Jones Dionio
(Bangkok Post dd. 23 maart 2006 // DN)
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Dried and preserved fruits on sale on an especially erected 270-metre-long wooden platform.
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This 100-year-old wooden barge takes tourists on a cruise of Tha Cheen River.
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Unlimited choice of food at affordable prices await visitors.
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Feeding fish is a popular family activity for tourists visiting the floating market.
Every weekend the Lam Phraya floating market in Nakhon Pathom is crowded with families and children. They are there not only to pay their respects to a revered 1.7-metre-high statue of Luang Pho Mongkolmalanimit, but also for an array of inexpensive food, fresh vegetables, fruits and hand-made products that are on sale.
“I am here almost every weekend because fruits and vegetables are cheap,” said a shopper in her 50s. The products are fresh from farms in the vicinity.
The floating market by Wat Lam Phraya opened in 1999 with the objective to draw tourists.
It started as a small market where vendors came in boats to sell their products. Today it is well developed. There are more than 50 shops selling food and other items on a 270-metre-long wooden platform complete with a roof.
We spent more than 20 minutes hopping around the wooden platform trying to figure out what to have for lunch. Every dish looked so tempting: duck noodle soup, Pad Thai or fried noodles with river prawns, dim sum, fish cakes, coffee, strawberry frappe and coconut juice.
When we asked the vendors for suggestion, they recommended grilled snakehead fish (120-140 baht depending on size), a set of pork satay (30-50 baht), that is meat on skewers served with an overly sweet peanut sauce and grilled bread. Another dish we were recommended was Hormok, minced fish steamed in noni leaves.
On land next to the floating platform are shops selling fruits, vegetables, sweets, dry fish and hand-made goods such as baskets woven from dried water hyacinth and herbal products.
The floating market also has a traditional Thai message outlet where visitors can relax or they can use their free time feeding fish in the river.
During the early Rattanakosin period, the banks of Tha Cheen River were inhabited by two different communities.
The west bank was home to Mon people who moved in from Sam Khok in neighbouring Pathum Thani Province during the reign of King Rama III. They were farmers and cultivated plants by the river.
The east bank on the other hand was the home of immigrant Chinese who by profession were traders, which explains the coming into being of the floating market where Chinese and Mon people met to buy, sell and trade in goods.
The Lam Phraya temple was built around 100 years ago. It’s believed that its name is derived from the word “Phraya” which refers to members to the Thai nobility who were apparently ordained as monks there.
Visitors to the floating market have a choice of five routes to admire attractions along the Tha Cheen River.
They can either hire a boat to a Chinese shrine (25 baht per person) or take a regular commuter boat to temples such as Bang Phra (60 baht), Bang Pla (60 baht), Sukwattanaram (50 baht) and Phasee (50 baht). And don’t forget to pack your own meals. Each trip lasts around 90 minutes.
Also available is a two-day/one-night tour package that takes visitors to a huge herbal garden as well as a bee farm. It costs 800 baht per person.
The market opens only on weekends and holidays from 8am to 4pm.
For more information on the market, visit its web site at www.lampaya.com or call its information centre at 01-659-7371, 01-763-4179 and 034-391-1626.
**MORE INFO **
If you are driving there, take Borom Ratchonnanee (elevated road) to Nakhon Pathom. Follow the road sign to Mahidol University’s Salaya campus. After passing the university (on your left) make a left turn at the first intersection, then turn right to Bang Len and follow the road sign. Lam Phraya floating market is about 24 kilometres from the main road.
For those travelling by public transport, take the van plying the Pin Klao-Bang Len route from Kungluang Restaurant in Pin Klao area. The van service starts 6:30am and is available until 7pm daily, with vans departing every 30 minutes. The fare is 40 baht per person.