Floating Market

No visit to Thailand would be complete without a visit to a floating market. We took a ferry to Bang Nam Phueng and walked a half hour to the market. On the way, we made a stop for refreshments at a delightful shop called Coffee Toys. (If you go, order the fresh pineapple and passionfruit smoothie, you won't be sorry.) Old toys of every variety decorated the walls and veranda. From a teapot at the table, the owner served us a small glass of complimentary tea with a beautiful smile, “For good health. I make fresh every day.”

The vendors bring their wares to the market on a boat and set up shop. There are so many different vegetables and fruits that I've never seen before, though sadly I was too busy enjoying the sights to take many photos.

We had dessert for lunch, banana crepes, coconut ice cream, and fresh juice. It was almost as fun watching the vendor make the simple crepe as it was eating it. She took a ball of dough a little bigger than a golf ball and skillfully pressed and stretched it to a 12 x 12 square, cracked a brown egg into a cup, whipped it with a fork, and sliced a banana into the mix. She threw the crepe into an oiled wok and poured the egg and banana mixture in the middle. The sides were folded in to make a nice envelope. She put the dessert on two sheets of fresh paper, sliced it into small squares, drizzled it with condensed milk and sprinkled it with sugar, and put it in a container with three slender sticks. We blew on the speared pieces just until they were cool enough not to burn our tongues and went back immediately when it was done for a second crepe.

I paid 10 baht for a small bottle of juice that looked the same deep orange color as the juice in Chiang Mai. Jackpot! We went back and each got a 20 ounce bottle for 50 baht, which is about $1.50.

Our only nod to real food was a skewer of chicken cooked over a brazier with a tomato and a pepper that looked like, but definitely was not, a pepperoncini. My mouth burned for some time, even though I didn't finish it.

Joshua is continuously on the hunt for a coconut ice cream he’s happened upon here and there in Thailand. It’s always from a street vendor so there’s no knowing what brand it is. “Maybe this one,” he said. The gentleman had a huge silver drum on a platform on the back of his bike, from which he served ice cream with a small silver scoop. It was delicious, creamy, and not too sweet, with soft chewy bits. “It’s close but I don’t think this is it,” Joshua said. That didn’t stop us from getting second servings when the vendor passed by us later on in the afternoon. One for the road!