This is the Maeklong Railway Market in Thailand, arguably the most fascinating train in the world. Sometimes spelled “Mae Klong” or “Meklong”, it’s all the same small town. Believe it or not, the Maeklong Railway runs right through the middle of a busy market multiple times per day! You see some strange, weird and wonderful sights in Thailand (such as an abandoned 747 in Bangkok?), but this has to be one of the weirdest of them all.
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Maeklong is a small market town about 50 miles (75 km) from Bangkok. It’s possible to arrange a private taxi between Bangkok and Maeklong or you can take a public transport. Just take a van from Victory Monument – it takes around one hour and costs around 70 baht ($2.30, £1.40). You can get to Victory Monument by BTS. Then just ask the van drivers which van to take. You can also arrange a private taxi between Maeklong and Bangkok.
While it’s possible to take the train to Maeklong, we don’t recommend this unless you’re intimately familiar with the Thailand train system. This particular destination requires a change of trains at Mahachai Station followed by a ferry ride across the river.
Maeklong Market Train Schedule
There are only 4 trains per day scheduled to arrive and depart from Maeklong station, but it’s best to get there early in the morning, as some trains might be cancelled. Also, the market is more full at that time. This means it’s a much better photo opportunity than when the market is emptier later in the day. But don’t rely on the times on the timetable, as the trains are often late, even by an hour or two. So you could have lots of time waiting for the train to arrive.
The trains are scheduled to arrive at Maeklong station at 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40.
The trains are scheduled to depart Maeklong station at 06:20, 09:00, 11:30 and 15:30.
Floating Markets Near Maeklong
There isn’t much else of note in the town of Maeklong, but there are two floating markets nearby. One is the famous Damnoen Saduak floating market, and the other is the more Thai Amphawa Floating Market. As Damnoen Saduak is at it’s best very early in the morning, we chose to go to Amphawa instead. A van to Amphawa from Maeklong costs 20 baht (65c, 40p).
Amphawa Floating Market is a very authentic Thai market that has lots of food stalls. Everyone sits on the steps and orders food from the boats below. The food is then passed to the customers in a basket at the end of a long pole. This is also used to get the money from the customers. There are also lots of arts and crafts for sale. On the day we visited, one of the Thai princesses passed through the market.
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