Exactly a year after my first visit to floating Khlong Lat Mayom I returned again this November with the main agenda to explore everything it has to offer. The previous year’s boating trip to the village was not bad but left us with little time to explore the market itself.
Let me say this upfront – Khlong Lat Mayom is not a real floating market but more of a food market (with occasional housewares on the rack) based on the sides of the canal. 95 percent of the food were sold on the ground and only a few peddlers were on boat, parked at the side.
The dreary looking entrance of the market
The market was divided into four parts, two parts separated by the canal and separated again into another two by a bridge and road, 2X2=4. One can enter from any four parts but do not be put off by the dreary looking entrances.
It was a Saturday and the small home decoration section were not fully operating and very much void of crowd. Just when we were thinking we should have come here on a Sunday, we walked into the food section with boisterous crowd.
This lady selling live prawns, so alive that they keep jumping out of the trays!
A section that were selling mostly fruit and fruit byproducts.
Khlong Lat Mayom is mostly visited by locals and Thai tourist themselves with a handful of outsiders like us. The traders tend to write their price tag in Thai or no tag at all. Many times, we had to ask “How much?” and got the replies from them in hand signal.
This time I wasn’t apprehensive in buying and eating the food here. As far as I had observed, this place is cleaner than most of the hawker centers I went in Malaysia.
Boating trip starts from the dock
If anyone had read about my previous boating trip at Khlong Lat Mayom, please note that the trip is still under the care of the stuck-up man. The trip will take 1.5 to 2 hours to visit a few houses at the upriver. Just remember to buy coffee at a petite stall in the village, it was good.
Grilled seafood were every where that you can take a look at many stalls and compare the prices.
Passing the dock and further up, we were spoilt by choices of food – grilled seafood, deep fried porks, pork sausages, boat noodles and even fish maw soup. Eating here was not unlike a food court where you buy the food and seat at one of the available tables. No restriction as to where you can sit. None of the tables belong to a specific stall.
Buy your food and look for a seat. There’s plenty of seats for grab.
A section for the kids to unleash their artistic side.
Note that this market can be very deceiving and can easily makes you think there’s not much to explore anymore when you walked into a dead end. We found a wooden bridge that connects to the opposite side of the canal and found even more food.
More food on the opposite bank.
Caffeine addiction kicked in again and were curbed by a few selection of coffee stands available.
I had been dying to try the Thai specialty – grilled fish covered in salt and after looking around, this particular stall with eight corner container box and green Thai character on it, was the most popular. Not all fish were priced the same. Our seabass (siakap) was 260 bath and each set comes with free raw vegetable in cold water. We skipped the vegetables. Travelers’ eating rule number 1 : always go for hot food, omit the raw food.
The skin were not meant to be consumed as they will be very salty and grainy. The flesh was best eaten together with the chilies given. CS likes the red chili sauce while I love the green bird eye chilies. This is a very satisfying meal. If only we were not too full for the grilled crab and prawns.
How to get to Khlong Lat Mayom
Take the BTS Skytrain to Bang Wa station and take the exit 4 to the taxi queue. Bang Wa station is the last station on Silom line but as this is a rather new station, not all BTS maps show it.
Ask the taxi driver for “Khlong Lat Mayom” or show them any picture from this blog :). The taxi ride should cost less than 100 Bath both from going the main road, or cutting through the village roads. To get back to the station, hail a taxi at the entrance with a sampan displayed.
Our visit at Khlong Lat Mayom lasted till late afternoon and we had to adjust our itinerary to Platinum Fashion Mall or simply known as Platinum Mall. I had to emphasize just how much I hate getting to Platinum. Because for its notoriety as the cheap (if not cheapest) place to buy clothings, all independent traders, locals and tourists flocked to this place, and that, promises a hell-like traffic in the area. Hence this time, we took to walking without hesitation, although it’s still a good 20 minutes walk from the nearest Chit Lom BTS station.
After a long walk to reach there, clothing is not the first things I grab, but cold ice blended fruit smoothies.
I personally found nothing of interest in Building B of the mall and always focus on the Building A. The shops were constantly changing and moving, so it’s pointless for me to recommend a specific floor or shop. The going rate for ladies T-shirts are usually 100Bht (lowest) to 250Bht but I’ve always thought 150Bht is the best balanced in quality and value.
Ended the day with late dinner at T&K restaurant in Yaowarat road.
