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As I've noticed in many of the places, the tourbooks are always warning you against hiring random drivers to drive you from the airport. Luckily, there's quite an orderly process in Bangkok that costs an extra 50 Thai baht (about US$1.50). You tell the person behind the booth your destination and they write it in Thai for you. This last part is quite important and makes getting to your place much, much easier.
The vehicles on the road in Bangkok were different than what I expected - they were not only quite colorful, they were also quite "green" as a number of them looked to be powered by CNG.
Along the way to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which was a good 110 km away by car (about a 2 hour drive) from downtown Bangkok, we saw a number of fields being harvested. We were later told the fields were yielding salt. (Our driver told us it was for soap, but couldn't convey to us exactly what it was. We thought it might be grain, but it wasn't rice or barley.)
At the Floating Market, our driver dropped us off at one of the motorized canoes. It ended up being like sitting in an SUV on the water compared to one of the manually-rowed boats. We unfortunately didn't follow this posting's advice ("Do not get suck in by the boat tour operator at the bus station. They want "Standard" price of $1000 B for one hour long tail boat tour. Instead, walk outside the parking lot and turn left to town. A short 10 - 15 minutes walk and you will arrive at the bridge over looking the floating market. You can then hire a non-motor boat tour for $100 - $200 B at the floating market."), which was right on the money. Anyway, at least we were able to go quite quickly:
Versus ...
In the actual market, the waterway gets quite crowded (alternatively, we realized you could actually get into the market area and just walk around on foot if desired).
Boats were used for all sorts of things, including cooking WITH REAL FIRE!?!
Back in Bangkok, we took a ride on the BTS Skytrain to get to the Chatuchak Market.
This bypassed a lot of the traffic that dominated the streets.
At the Chatuchak Market:
At Wat Phra Kaew:
Notice the rules for entering Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace! (Basically, you have to wear proper attire which means no sandals or shorts.)
As evidenced at how the cultures in the region are so intertwined, there was even a miniature model of Angkor Wat!
The Emerald Buddha:
(Okay so not such a good shot, but they wouldn't let amateur cameras inside.)
Outside the Grand Palace:
At Wat Pho there was a different entrance for Thais and visitors. One required a ticket.
Inside the Wat:
And with that, the weekend was quickly over!
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