Surasi Military Camp Floating Market

Surasi Military Camp Floating Market isn’t a market that grew up around a waterway — it’s a 700-million-baht film set. The Royal Thai Army’s 9th Infantry Division built it inside Surasi Camp in Kanchanaburi to shoot Tamnan Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat (“The Legend of King Naresuan”), director Chatrichalerm Yukol’s six-part historical epic about the 16th-century king who declared Ayutthaya’s independence from Burma. Over roughly six years, crews cleared about 1,500 rai of forest and raised semi-permanent walled recreations of an Ayutthaya-era Siamese quarter, a Burmese royal court, and a Khmer palace — some of the most expensive sets ever built for a Thai production.

Once filming wrapped, the army opened the compound to the public rather than tear it down, turning the walled film set into Kanchanaburi’s first floating market. Vendors now sell food, Thai desserts, and souvenirs — including Royal Project goods — from stalls and boats along the canals threading through the old sets, and a costume photo studio lets visitors dress in Ayutthaya-period outfits for pictures against the painted city walls and gate towers. The mix of movie-set architecture and market stalls is the actual draw here, not a generic “market meets military” atmosphere — the walls and gates are genuinely part of Thai cinema history, not props dressed up for tourists.

Bring cash for the entrance fee and stalls, and expect a warm, open-air walk between buildings with limited shade — the later afternoon and evening opening hours mean you’ll mostly avoid the harshest midday sun anyway. Call ahead (0 3451 0428) if you’re planning around a specific date, since access can be affected by military camp scheduling.