Doug and Kerry Hudson return to Bangkok, Thailand, South East Asia

World Trip >> Asia >> Thailand >> Damnoen Saduak

Our return journey from Sukhothai to Bangkok was an epic bus journey of seven and a half hours. The bus driver prolonged the journey somewhat each time he decided to shop for Valentine's Day gifts for his wife!

We arrived back in Bangkok to a storm that surpassed all storms we had ever experienced. We climbed off the bus and landed in water ankle-deep. A taxi driver had been waiting for us for some three hours, the poor guy! Anyway, he whisked us off to another bus station about 45 minutes away.

We spent the next 45 minutes with our hearts pounding in our chests and our knuckles white from clenching the door handle. The guy drove like a bat out of hell, changing lanes rapidly, nearly missing motorbikes, tuk-tuks and cars and pushing his way into gaps that were practically non-existent.

Despite all the danger, we did arrive safely for our next bus, to Damnoen Saduak. We spent the night there in readiness for the next morning, when we would see one of Thailand's most enduring images: the floating market.

We had booked a longtailed boat. This took us to and around the market. Here, locals were selling their produce. Some ladies even had little gas stoves on their boats and were cooking pancakes and soups for people to buy. We tried many of the local fruits including the coconuts, the rambutan and the mangosteens. Delicious! The nicest thing about of this style of shopping is that if you want something, the lady paddles over to sell it to you!

The investment of spending the night in Damnoen Saduak had proven to be wise, as after a couple of hours, the market was flooded with tourists. We quietly slipped away, catching the bus to our next destination: Hua Hin.

World Trip >> Asia >> Thailand >> Damnoen Saduak

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006