Mae Klong Railway Market Day Trip

Samut Songkhram is a quiet town 100 km south of Bangkok, on the road to Hua Hin. The placid town has become famous thanks to its Mae Klong Railway Market, and the spread of its video posted on You Tube. The market, locally known as Talat Rom Hup, meaning the "umbrella pull down market", it is like many other colourful markets around Thailand, where it is sold fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and clothing. The atmosphere is pleasantly cluttered. The customers walk along the stands observing the merchandise, all enriched by the usual strong and penetrating smells of Thai street food. The special feature of this market is that is located inside the railway tracks of a small local line, not connected to the rest of the country's railways, which ends at Mae Klong Railway Station in Samut Songkhram. Local trains run several times during the day with long whistles of a warning when they come, and seem about to engulf the whole market including dealers and customers. Whenever a train approaches, the show is so special and almost unreal that you do not believe. In no time the curtains are withdrawn, the stalls equipped with wheels are moved back from the rails and the trains, which slow down but do not stop completely, pass undisturbed. Once passed the last wagon the stalls are pushed into their original location, the curtains are immediately reopened and everything resumed as usual. The Maeklong Railway is a railway that runs for 67 km between Wongwian Yai, Bangkok, and Samut Songkhram, at southwest of the capital. The line consists of two sections: the Mahachai Line, which runs between Wongwian Yai and Samut Sakhon with 18 stations; and the Ban Laem Line, which runs between Samut Sakhon and Mae Klong Railway Station in Samut Songkhram with 15 stations. The two stretches of railway are separated by the Tha Chin River at Samut Sakhon, accordingly the only possible connection between Mahachai, the last station of Mahachai Line, and Ban Laem, the first station of the Ban Laem Line, on the opposite side of the river is by boat. Seventeen trains run daily in each direction between Wongwian Yai and Mahachai, while four trains run daily between Ban Laem and Samut Songkhram. The railway is definitely one of the slowest in all Thailand; the average speed on the whole line does not exceed 30 km/hr.
What to Expect: the day tours to the Mae Klong Market from Bangkok are usually associated with the visit to Amphawa Floating Market, a one-day trip to discover two of Bangkok’s most unusual markets. The Day Tour costs between 1,600 and 2,100 THB, depending on the tour operator, and includes: the transfer round trip from your hotel in Bangkok with departure in the late morning, 1 hour trip outside the city center up to Mae Klong Railway Station, site of the Rom Hub Market, exploration of this busy market with good photo and video opportunities, transfer to Amphawa Floating Market for your second stop of the day. Known locally as the city’s second-most popular market, it’s located about 50 km outside the central area of Bangkok. You’ll explore the array of produce and food stalls along the streets and canals of this floating bazaar. If you get hungry the market offers a lot of Thai street food for the lunch, not included in the tour. The return to your hotel in Bangkok is in the late evening. Note: Due to Amphawa Floating Market is closed on weekdays this tour operates on Friday, Saturday, Sunday only.Read More