Maeklong Market
Samut Songkhram, Thailand
[Located approximately 1 hour outside of Bangkok]
A commuter train runs right through Maeklong Marketplace - 8 times per day!
There’s one big difference between Maeklong Market and any other outdoor marketplace in the world: a train literally (yes, literally) runs through it 8 times a day! In order to wrap your head around this, let me explain. Maeklong Market, located 1 hour outside of Bangkok, looks like any other open-air marketplace in Asia: people sell locally grown fruits such as lychee, durian, and mango, freshly caught seafood, dried spices and peppers, and other local foods. Locals weave their way in between vendors, picking up whatever they need that day, while tourists curiously marvel at the more unique foods at the market such as fried frog on a stick. The only (big) difference? Train tracks run right through Maeklong Market.
One moment, it’s a normal marketplace. The next moment, you hear a piercing siren on the loudspeakers, signaling to vendors that the train is approaching. They hurriedly pull their goods to the side, pull up their canopies and get ready for the commuter train to come through. Within minutes, the train is literally passing straight through the market. It is such a tight squeeze that the train is touching the fruits, vegetables and everything else at the marketplace.
Once the train passes, everything goes back to normal. It is surely a sight to see! It’s a jaw-dropping experience, leaving you with the question: “did that really just happen?” You’ve got to see it to believe it.
Just your average marketplace..right?
You’ll notice that train tracks run right through the market:
Dried spices and peppers:
A popular snack: fried frogs:
Move out! The train is coming…
It’s coming through…Stay to the sides!
Move out for the train!
The train literally touches the fruits and vegetables at the market…
Too close for comfort?
Twenty and Counting 