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The Samut Sakhon Railway Market
Mahachai Line - One of the best train rides in Thailand is this short, workaday, commuter line. It begins near Bangkok and famously terminates smack dab in the middle of a wet market.
Start at Thonburi’s Wongwian Yai train station, just across the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok, where hourly trains go to Samut Sakhon (known by locals as Mahachai). From the window you can peek into homes, temples and shops built an arm’s length from the passing trains. Further on, palm trees, patchwork rice fields and marshes filled with giant elephant ear perennials and canna lilies line the route, punctuated by whistle-stop stations.
The farms evaporate as you enter Samut Sakhon. After disembarking and walking through one of the most hectic fresh markets in the country, you’ll reach a harbour clogged with water hyacinths and wooden fishing boats.
Take the ferry across to Baan Laem, where you'll board yet another train, this time for Samut Songkhram. You’ll emerge directly into a hubbub of hectic market stalls. Between train arrivals and departures these stalls are set up directly on the tracks and must be hurriedly cleared away when the train arrives. It’s an amazing scene.