Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market

Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market

 

"Talad nam" or floating markets in Thai broadly means a market by the river or canal where water-borne trade is conducted. In the past most communities lived along or near rivers or canals.

Residents who had homes by the river or canal opened shops and sold from their shops to the waterside residents, those living nearby brought their goods to set up stalls by the walkways.

Boats vendors selling all kinds of goods plied the waterways selling their goods along the way. Frequently these boats will gather at a popular location and start a market there. Boat vendors were more numerous then because the waterways were the main thoroughfare.

Even the Government Savings Bank has a boat service that serves the waterside residents till today!

However road development, cheaper and more convenient land transport spelt the end of the boat vendors. Furthermore sluice gates across some canals have blocked the movement of boats to some of these markets further reducing the number of boats.

When we think of floating markets in the English context, we imagine the presence of boat vendors. In Thai such waterside markets even if they are without boats today are still called “talad nam”. The Khlong Lat Mayom floating market however has a considerable number of boat vendors.

 

Khlong Lat Mayom

The Khlong (canal) Lat Mayom was dug to link Khlong Bang Ramat (Bang Sai) in the north to Khlong Bang Phrom in the south, a distance of 2.3 km. The two longer canals, Khlong Bang Ramat and Khlong Bang Phrom join the Bangkok Noi Canal to the east and lead eventually to the Chao Phraya River.

 

Layout of the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market

Most of the stalls in this market are located along the east bank of the Lat Mayom Canal that runs in a north-south direction. Bang Ramat Road cuts across the market dividing it in half.

There are a few stalls on the west bank linked by a road bridge and a narrow foot bridge. There isn’t much activity on this side of the canal probably because of the narrow footbridge that only allows a one-way flow of traffic.

The market is located among houses and orchards of the local community giving the place a very natural atmosphere.

 

Tour of the Lat Mayom floating market

We started our tour in the northern sector and proceeded for something to eat first. Suan Jiam Ton is a section of the market in the northern sector which includes a quaint noodle shop consisting of wooden stalls, tables and chairs.

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