I should have learned by now that it best for me to take English speaking tours at the beginning of my visits to new cities. It makes a huge difference. The guides always welcome you in with history of the area and point out things you may not have noticed, or if you did, you didn't understand. I booked a tour with Absolute Bangkok Tour. My tour guide for one of the floating markets was "Mod". This wasn't her real name, but it must have been the easiest shortened version for westerners. She was very friendly and told me history and information about Thailand, Bangkok, and Buddhism while we drove to the floating market.
We caught a boat at a pier that was far enough up river that we rode for a while watching homes on the canal pass by. I thought to myself that these seemed like pretty good places to live...on the water with shade trees. But, of course, in this part of the world, there is always the struggle to feed and take care of your family. I had to remind myself that these were not weekend lake houses, and it's not like these people were driving into the city to their cushy jobs during the week. They were mostly farming and selling at markets or trying to make some retail sales at the over saturated tourist markets.
Mod was a wonderful guide and made sure I was happy and comfortable the entire tour. The floating market was a unique experience that i will not soon forget.
Mod was a wonderful guide and made sure I was happy and comfortable the entire tour. The floating market was a unique experience that i will not soon forget.
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