Ampawa Floating Market

Since the Tourism Authority of Thailand has promoted ‘Nostalgia Tourism’ for domestic tourists, floating markets are becoming more and more popular as they used to be a major part of Thai life.

Nostalgia Tourism refers to a tourism that brings us back to the past. Outdated destinations remarket themselves by adding new aspects to the old favorite to keep the original charm and create new excitement.

Ampawa floating market is extremely famous among local Thai people. Located only 37 miles south of Bangkok, Ampawa market opens only on weekends (Fri-Sun) from 2PM to 9PM. Both sides of the canals lined with houses, shops and restaurants. Boats pull up near the stairs leading down to the water, letting tourists buy and eat their food fresh from the vendors.

Food at Ampawa floating market is extraordinary, ranging in variety from seafood to Thai desserts. Some creative dishes can also be found here such as mango ice cream with sweet sauce topping or guava ice cream with pickled plum topping.

At sunset, a fleet of tourist boats travel upstream to witness Ampawa’s hidden treasure - firefly. Firefly watching is considered to be the highlight evening activity of Ampawa floating market. Many home stays are open to tourists to spend the night at the market and get a glimpse of the typical Thai lifestyle.

When in Bangkok - ride like a Bangkokian!

Bangkok is legendary for its traffic – with tremendous number of cars on the roads, bumper-to-bumper traffic in rush hours – it is no surprise that Bangkokians need their transportation alternatives to travel around town.


CARS - I still need my car to go to places. Mostly I drive to malls, restaurants and places with sufficient and reliable parking spaces. Like many big cities out there in the world – parking space is difficult to come by. Most of the time we really do need to race for the precious parking spots – finding one is like hitting a jackpot!!


Driving in Bangkok needs skills, tactics and concentration as you have bikes, motorcycles, buses, taxis and sometimes elephants on the road – but I don’t mind driving, I become familiar with the system that I feel complete comfortable with the arts of Bangkok driving. However, trouble with parking is something that I can’t bear – so I find my favorite alternatives.


BTS and MRT. The newest forms of transportation in Thailand’s capital which I personally fall in love with its punctuality, comfort and commercials shown on BTS TV.

BTS skytrain(Bangkok Mass Transit System)has been in service since 1999, where MRT underground train (Mass Rail Transit) has begun its operation in 2004. Both BTS and MRT provide safe, convenient and environmental-friendly way to get around Bangkok. The trains run daily from 6am to 12midnight with the fares that are based on the distance traveled.

River Express Boats
With many klong or waterways, Bangkok offers one of the most fun boat rides that are not affected by the road congestion. The river express boats service along the Chao phraya River, the main river in Bangkok, with 33 stops in total. The boat trip is very cheap and a lot quicker than equivalent journey by road.

Buses run throughout Bangkok with extreme bargain price. Buses range from regular bus to air-conditioned bus. Taking a bus is my favorite way to get around but the fact that it has to stop frequently, taking a bus when you’re in a rush is definitely not a way to go!!

Motorcycle taxi. What a great way to get from point A to point B in Bangkok through road traffic with a bit of challenge and excitement! You can find motorcycles service at every corner of the streets. You can easily spot them by their bright-colored vests. Motorcycles service offer not only a ride for people but for packages as well – next time you need a fast delivering service in Bangkok traffic don’t forget to use motorcycle service at the next street corner.

Tuktuk is a motorized rickshaw offering the same service as taxi. The name of tuktuk comes from the sound of the engine. Tuktuk is famous for tourists or local Thais who want a faster journey in heavy Bangkok traffic as tuktuk can easily zigzag its way through. Tuktuk is not necessary the cheapest way of getting around town as you need to bargain for your own fare. I hardly get on one now because TukTuk becomes harder to bargain and the open-ended structure of Tuktuk exposing passengers to Bangkok pollution and it offers no protection in case of accident, so it’s not something that I want to take if I need to travel a long distance. The art of riding a tuktuk is to bargain hard and hang on tight!

Taxi is another favorite transportation of mine. Bangkok is full of taxis ranging in all spectrum of colors (my personal favorite is pink!!). Finding a taxi in Bangkok is not a difficult task either - just stand anywhere along the road – put your arm out and Voila! A taxi should be at your service! The flagfall rate starts at 35 baht or around 1USD. Tipping for the driver is not a practice in Thailand, though rounding up the fare is more of a common manner.