I have always been wanting to go to Samut Prakarn's 100-year old market, one of the must-see places in Thailand. I finally was able to do so this Saturday afternoon and I invited Ruby, a friend and a colleague, to come with me. I know I should have prepared more than writing the name of the market and its address but being in Thailand for almost two years now made me a little bit careless since I almost always got to destinations of interest with my map or simply asking directions from Thai teacher assistants in school or from colleagues who may have visited the places that I am interested in. We got lost - sort of - and here's the story. Ruby and I hailed a taxi right out of Parkland and the driver (as most Thai drivers go) just 'sort of' nodded when we told him of our destination. He started speaking in Thai, though, and no amount of "No pasa Thai" (I don't speak Thai) can stop him. So we finally made him stop but only after he had made the U-turn going to the Nation Tower side. We called Ruby's Saturday helper, Aum, and asked help from her. It turned out that the taxi driver really did not know where we wanted to go so we alighted from his taxi (after paying 45 baht). We hailed another taxi but the taxi driver cannot figure out where we want to go even though I showed him the market's name and address in my iPhone ( I know, I should've included how it is written in Thai, too) so we hailed another. We told him where we wanted to go and he radioed his 'homebase' and asked for help but it is still apparent that he's not able to figure out where we were really headed. So I called Kay, our librarian and asked her for Khun Rung's mobile number. Rung, a Thai, is the library assistant and have brought Kay to the 100-year old market sometime early last year. I called Rung but there was no answer in two attempts so I just sent her a message. We are, by the way, nearing Chang Erawan now and finally Aum called Ruby and asked to speak with the driver. After they chatted, the driver finally 'knew' where we wanted to go. About 30 minutes later, we arrived in this big complex with many structures and a stupa that is still under construction. Both royal and Thai flags adorned the small bridge leading to these structures. Little did we know that the driver took us to Bang Phli Market not the 100-year old market. We knew because he spoke with a motorcy driver and I think asked if this is the 100-year old market. Apparently it isn't and he tried to tell us that it's still very far from where we are and that he will take us there but not on meter. Ruby and I of course alighted in no time after we paid him. In Thailand, never go on a taxi without the meter turned on. This is also true in my country too, the Philippines. Anyway, since we were in the Bang Phli market, we explored it and stayed there for around 30 minutes. We then hailed another taxi and asked to be brought to the 100-year old market. And thankfully this time, Khun Rung was able to answer my call, chatted with the driver, and after around 32 kilometres, we finally arrived in the 100-year old market. I love the market although not too many shops were open and not too many shoppers were around since it was almost 4:00 P.M. when we got there. Many items on sale are found in Chatuchak or just about any market but what struck me the most is that a lot of old people were manning the shops - it really IS an 'old' market. And of course, another thing of interest is the food. One will never be disappointed with the food that are on sale in a Thai local market. I love the experience though, I'm never one to easily get frustrated with a few surprises. :) By the way, after some communication through actions with the driver, we were able to ask him to stay and wait for us while we explore the market. We did this since getting a taxi back to Bangna-trat is very difficult.
Below are some pictures of both markets.
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