ThailandDescription and Is It Worth Visiting
The village and market of Maeklong are located 80 kilometers from Bangkok in Samut Songkhram Province. It's a great place for a day trip from Bangkok to spots little known to tourists, to see a unique tourist attraction on the one hand, and an everyday phenomenon for Thais on the other.
The thing is, this is where the famous railway market is, where vendors with their goods and stalls set up right on the railway tracks. It's also known as Talad Rom Hub, which translates as "the market of folding or closing umbrellas." Where that nickname comes from – you'll understand for yourself once you've been here.
Guides and tour sellers call it deadly dangerous and shocking, though in reality, objectively speaking, there's nothing dangerous here. Trains appear only 4 times a day strictly on schedule, and vendors clear all their stalls and goods off the tracks in advance. The train poses a danger more to tourists who climb right under the wheels with their cameras to capture a "unique" selfie. Tourists, by the way, are so numerous here that you'll have to fight for a good spot to take photos. Honestly, it's hard to see or photograph anything here at all without selfie-taking Asians ending up in your frame.
To see it all in action, you have to come here and wait for a train to arrive or depart. They arrive daily at 08:30, 11:10, 14:30, 17:40, and depart at 06:20, 09:00, 11:30, 15:30 (see the current schedule below and check the official Thai railways website – https://www.railway.co.th). The market itself is open from 08:00 to 18:00. The route from Bangkok passes through Maha Chai village, where you'll need to switch from one train to another.
Besides the actual train passing, which lasts at most a minute, you can stroll around the market and buy local souvenirs and fruit. Prices here are reasonable, so feel free to buy something, but don't forget to haggle with a smile. "Signature" tourist cafes have also appeared here – one of them, for example, serves ice cream shaped like a train.
🕐 Opening Hours
Trains arrive daily at 08:30, 11:10, 14:30, 17:40, and depart at 06:20, 09:00, 11:30, 15:30.
💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Price
Free.
🚶 How to Get There
The railway market is located in Samut Songkhram Province in Maeklong village, 80 kilometers from central Bangkok (market on the map). From Bangkok, you can visit it as a day trip on your own by train, minivan, or rented transport. You can also visit it from Hua Hin, best by rented transport. Travel agencies offer tours here even from Pattaya – usually a stop at the market is one of the points on day tours to Bangkok or during multi-day trips to Kanchanaburi (River Kwai). Ask about such tours at travel agencies in town or look for them online on Trip.com (accepts Russian cards).
If you decide to visit on your own without rented transport, the only reasonable starting point is Bangkok – from other places you won't make it in a day. We recommend a combined approach: come here by bus and leave by train, and you'll have a great one-day adventure:
By Bus
You can get here by bus from Bangkok's southern bus terminal Sai Tai Mai. Minivans depart roughly every 30 minutes, the trip takes just over an hour, fare from 100 baht / 2.97 rub. In Mae Klong, these minivans arrive at the bus station, which is just a few minutes' walk from the market and the railway station. This way you can get here ahead of one of the train arrivals, watch it arrive, and take the same train back to Bangkok with a transfer in Maha Chai village, as described below.
By Train
At Wongwian Yai Railway Station in Bangkok, board a train to Maha Chai village (fare 10 baht, 1 hour en route). In Maha Chai, walk a couple of minutes from the railway station to Mahachai Pier, where a ferry departs frequently (as it fills up) to the other side for 3 baht. On the other side of the river, walk another 5 minutes to Ban Laem railway station. At Ban Laem station, board the train to Mae Klong station and the market (fare 10 baht, 1 hour en route).
| Bangkok (Wongwian Yai Railway Station) - MahaChai | |||||||||||||||||
| Departure | 05:30 | 06:25 | 07:00 | 07:40 | 08:35 | 09:40 | 10:40 | 12:15 | 13:20 | 14:25 | 15:25 | 16:30 | 17:05 | 17:35 | 18:35 | 19:10 | 20:10 |
| Arrival | 06:23 | 07:27 | 07:58 | 08:39 | 09:28 | 10:36 | 11:39 | 13:10 | 14:15 | 15:22 | 16:27 | 17:26 | 18:02 | 18:36 | 19:30 | 20:04 | 21:00 |
| MahaChai – Bangkok | |||||||||||||||||
| Departure | 04:30 | 05:20 | 05:55 | 06:25 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:35 | 10:40 | 11:45 | 13:15 | 14:25 | 15:25 | 16:00 | 16:30 | 17:35 | 18:10 | 19:00 |
| Arrival | 05:23 | 06:16 | 06:53 | 07:28 | 07:56 | 09:03 | 10:31 | 11:38 | 12:43 | 14:13 | 15:18 | 16:19 | 16:55 | 17:28 | 18:25 | 19:01 | 19:59 |
| Maha Chai (Ban Laem Station) - Mae Klong | ||||
| Departure | 07:30 | 10:10 | 13:30 | 16:40 |
| Arrival | 08:30 | 11:10 | 14:30 | 17:40 |
| Mae Klong - Maha Chai | ||||
| Departure | 06:20 | 09:00 | 11:30 | 15:30 |
| Arrival | 07:20 | 10:00 | 12:30 | 16:30 |
Schedules may change, so it's best to check them before your trip on the official Thai railways website – https://www.railway.co.th
And finally, a reminder that it's much more interesting to explore Bangkok's attractions with tours, so we recommend checking out options with online booking and reviews on these Russian-language tour aggregators: