Once the Covid-19 outbreak is under control and it’s safe to travel again, here’s a destination you won’t regret going to. Everyone who’s ever visited Bangkok has remarked that the Maeklong Railway Market is a must-see. As its name suggests, this market is set-up along the railway tracks and has been that way for years.
Apparently, the traders refused to relocate even after a railway track was built down the length of it. As a consequence, the market is now sitting along an active railway track where traders continue to conduct their businesses like it was the most normal thing to do.
Since it is a fully operational railway track, trains pass by the market stalls a few times in a day. When that happens, the traders hurriedly move their belongings away from the track to let the trains pass. Once the train has passed, business will resume as usual.
Without the train around, this market is just like any other selling local produce. While the locals usually come here to buy food supplies, most tourists are here for the surreal experience of catching the train cutting across the market.
Getting to the market
There are several ways to get to Maeklong Railway Market. Apart from booking a seat on a local tour, if you are from Bangkok, you can get here by bus. However, the more adventurous option would be to take the train from Bangkok.
If you intend to do this, take the train from Wongwian Yai Railway Station (near the BTS station on the BTS Silom line). It takes around two and a half hours.
You will need to change trains and cross the river by ferry at Mahachai Station (Mahachai Pier). Then, continue your journey at Ban Laem Railway Station straight on into Maeklong.
Alternatively, if you are from Hua Hin and are thinking of visiting the Maeklong Railway Market, it is just an easy two-hour drive away. Just follow the signs heading towards Bangkok. Turn off at Exit to Highway 35 (Samut Songkhram), The market is just a few minutes’ drive away from there.
The train schedule at the Maeklong Railway Market
This is an important question. If you arrive at the wrong time, you will leave disappointed. However, if you do go there unprepared, there is this one coffee house which posts the train schedule on its wall.
If you see the traders there starting to fold their umbrellas, pull their baskets of produce in and tell their customers to stand behind the line, you can rest assured that in a short time, you will hear a long, low honk after which a train will be seen slowly chugging down the tracks.
The experience
All the reviews, articles, photos and videos on the Maeklong Railway Market are nothing close compared to the first-hand experience itself. Once the train leaves, everything snaps back to normal and life goes on undisturbed until the next train comes along.
Khai and wife Amira are Malaysian travel bloggers who blog at Kaki Jalans. Their travels have taken them to almost all the countries in Asean and five countries in Europe. They are still actively travelling and adding to this list.