Floating markets in Bangkok are one of the city’s main attractions. Almost every traveller visits at least one on their first trip here. The colours, chaos, flavours, and atmosphere make them a unique experience, and the novelty of buying a snack from a passing boat can’t be beaten. However, many are put off by the distance, the price of the tour, and the ridiculously early wake-up time you need to get there early enough to properly enjoy the experience.
A floating market is where goods are sold on boats. If history is to be believed, the concept of the floating market originated in Bangkok. Bangkok’s most famous floating market is Damoen Saduak in Ratchaburi. It is a tourist draw. Here you can easily find vegetables, fruits, spices, and other food floating on boats.
Floating markets in India
There is also a floating market in Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Here too, people sell floating goods on boats. Here, more than 200 vendors sell their goods sitting on boats. Fish, fruits, vegetables and spices are sold on boats.
In the backwaters of Kerala, there is a floating shopping mall that offers subsidised retail prices. The floating Triveni Super Store was opened in 2012 by the Kerala State Co-operative Consumers Federation.
In January 2018, a floating market opened in Kolkata’s Patuli, on a canal on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass where more than 200 vendors and 100 boats sell fish, fruits and vegetables. The market, in recent times, is struggling to stay open as sales are declining. It is reported that lighting used by the municipal authorities and shopkeepers has driven migratory birds away from the area.
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