Floating Market, Damnoen Saduak, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

There are quite a few floating markets around Thailand but apparently the one at Nakhon Pathom is one of the better ones. I thought it was rather touristy to embark on this little excursion but I heard that even some of the locals frequent this floating market, giving it a little more credibility.

After we parked our vehicle, we took a short walk to the canal where it begins and was greeted by a variety of little boats selling food.

And many other little boats selling deliciously ripe-looking fruit.

The first food boat we stopped by was this little one selling this savory dessert of sorts. I know that sounded weird but this stuff known as "sak koo" has coconut, sugar and chili in it making it really neither here nor there in the confines of dining courses. Apparently, it's an appetizer.

Here's a heap of that sweet coconut with peanuts and chili thingy which is a major component of sak koo.

A variant of it comes with thin rice paper rolls filled with more of that sweet coconut and served with chili and fried shallots. When I first saw this, I was hoping it would taste like banh cuon, er because it looked like banh cuon, but unfortunately, the sweet, spicy, salty flavor was really a taste I could not appreciate.

We stopped by this little shop which processes coconut sugar. The coconut nectar is harvested and boiled under charcoal to form solid coconut sugar.

When it's half-way to the end product, it may be served in the form of this diabetes-inducing beverage. Much as I appreciate the flavors of raw sugar, this was like a big sugar anvil crushing down on me. Pretty sweet, no doubt.

Boil it long enough and it'll thicken and caramelize until it hits a thick brown gooey consistency which is then placed on waxed paper in little blobs (resembling? Let's not go there haha) to cool and solidify.

The sugar is then packaged and sold here for about 35baht (1usd) a kilogram.

Desperately craving something savory at this point in my life, we headed to this boat selling noodles.

A decent soup noodle with barbecued pork slices, fish balls and a good dash of salt and pepper. This was just what I needed.

This stuff was so good, we ordered another version of it which was spicier and redder.

Even though I knew I had enough sugar for the day, just before we were leaving, our host suggested we try the white coconut dessert "kanom twai".

This stuff was actually pretty tasty. For starters, it wasn't too sweet and the rich taste of fresh coconut milk is always nice. Not too bad at all.

Touring the floating market was pretty enjoyable. It's abit like taking the "It's a Small World" ride in Disneyland except without the annoying music and a lot more food.

Oh and did I mention they have alot of fruit?

D