Maeklong railway market (Talaad Rom Hup) and salt farming (Na glua)
The fun activities close to Bangkok with something very unique about ‘Thainess’ to see is the market along the sides of the railway tracks called Rom Hup market (romhup means folding the umbrellas), one of the famous markets in Samut Songkhram province. Since it is not far so it is possible to just spend a bit more money, pay the taxi to bring you to there with reasonable price. Or, the easiest way is to join ‘day-trip’ using one of the many tours, combining a few other interesting places in the same area. But, if you do have enough time to spare for the whole day for this place so that you can see it slowly and experience enough it might be a good idea to go there by the local way. To get there from downtown Bangkok is actually quite easy. Simply take BTS to Wonwian Yai BTS station and then walk to Wongwian Yai railway station. You better check out the train schedule at least a day before leaving on this trip so that it would help to plan. Get the ticket for Mahachai station, there are a few leaving in the morning (it is only about 33km and takes around an hour). Once arrive at Mahachai, cross the river by the local ferry (3 baht per person) to Thachalom town on the other side. From that side take another train leaving to Maeklong station where the market is located. This leg is also only 30km and takes another hour to arrive there. It would feel a little bit strange to arrive there by train because there would be quite a lot of people both locals and tourists waiting for the arrival of the bright-colored-train. The tourists would raise their cameras to take photos so you would feel like you were one of the celebrities (actually the tourists take photos of the train, not of you).
Even though tourists like to go there but the products sold in the market are aimed mainly to the locals who want to buy fresh meat, vegetables, various types of tropical fruits, and some ready-cooked food. The market itself is not very different from other fresh markets in the whole Thailand but the uniqueness of Rom Hub is about the sellers who have shops along the 2 sides of the railway tracks putting their goods very close to the tracks, have to fold/ close their umbrellas and the plastic sheets when the trains are reaching to make enough space for trains to pass.
If you still have enough energy after exploring the market, it is worth visiting one of the nearby several picturesque sea salt farms that not just produce the salt but also open to visitors for snapshots opportunity as well. The technique is simple but interesting. The salt farmers pump the sea water into the fields where the water slowly evaporates until the salt grains are visible. At this stage they start to pile the salt up and then put in the bags. Salt farming is done only during the dry season, between November and May of the next year (June to October is too wet, too much rain).
