Visiting the Railway Market in Thailand
If you have the time when visiting Thailand, taking a trip to the Railway Market located in the Samut Songkhram Province, is highly recommended. That is one of our top experiences in Thailand.
So quick background on the train market or officially known as the, Mae Klong Railway Market. Basically, a train track was eventually built through this market and instead of the market moving, they decided to keep the location and deal with a train coming directly through the market at least eight times a day. Now talk about making the most out of a tough situation.
The experience of watching the owners take down their canopies and watching this massive train barrel through inches away from products, is seriously an experience worth seeing. Not to mention the market itself is an experience itself. So many different types of fish, food, and souvenirs.
Definitely recommend getting to the market with enough time to see the train go through the market and ride the train out of the market. Both experiences are an absolute blast. You can buy the tickets to ride the train at the market. We took the last train out of the market for the day and we were surprised how few people there were on the train. The train arrives at Mae Klong Station at 8:30 am, 11:10 am, 2:30 pm, and 5:40 pm. Then departs the station at 6:20 am, 9:00 am, 11:30 am, and 3:30 pm.
Getting to the train market is not a direct route, so if you are pressed on time you can book a guided trip with transportation directly to the market. If you have the time, traveling to the train market using public transport is such a fun way to get to there. We ended up splitting the cost of a shared ride, using the Grab App, with two other friends getting to the market. On the way back to Bangkok we took the train that rides through the market, took the ferry, and then the BTS subway back to our hostel. For more details on how to get there, this is a great website.
Honestly, if you are going to go to a market in Bangkok, this one should definitely be on the top.
