Old Bang Phli Floating Market, Samut Prakan

The Old Bang Phli Floating Market — ตลาดโบราณบางพลี — runs for nearly a kilometre along Khlong Samrong canal in Bang Phli, Samut Prakan, beside Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai on the eastern edge of greater Bangkok. Despite the “floating” name, this is a canalside market of century-old wooden shophouses rather than boat vendors — open mainly Friday to Sunday, and free to enter.

What the Market Is Really Like

Set the expectation first: the trade here does not happen from boats. Two rows of two-storey timber shophouses with curved roofs line a covered walkway above the canal, running close to a kilometre — you shop on foot, and the boats on the water mostly ferry people across. The stalls lean to old-style food that’s getting hard to find: boat noodles, grilled river fish, coconut macaroons, bah-jang (sticky-rice dumplings), pak mor steamed dumplings and trays of Thai sweets, sold mostly to local families. Far fewer foreign visitors make it out here than to Damnoen Saduak or Amphawa, which is the point — prices are local and nobody is steering you onto a paddle-boat tour.

A 160-Year-Old Trading Post

The market goes back to around 1857, when Chinese merchants opened shophouses here under the name Siri Sophon Market. It sat on the cargo-and-passenger route from the eastern seaboard into Bangkok, and much of that original timber streetscape still stands — worn floorboards, old shopfronts, families who have traded the same spots for generations. That age is the real draw: this is a working antique of a market, not a built-for-tourists replica.

Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai Next Door

The market wraps around Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai, and stalls spill inside the temple walls too. The temple houses Luang Pho To, a large and much-revered bronze Buddha, and is tied to the era of King Naresuan. It’s worth stepping in between bites — the grounds are calm, and the mix of market bustle and temple quiet is the real character of the place.

Getting There

From central Bangkok, take the BTS Sukhumvit line south to Samrong, leave by Exit 3, and pick up an orange songthaew (around 8 THB) heading toward Big C Bang Phli — tell the driver “talat Bang Phli.” It drops you by the Big C; walk through and cross the short bridge over the canal to reach the market. Allow about an hour each way from the city centre. If you drive, park at the Big C and walk across.

Insider Tip: It opens around 10am and runs into the evening, so late afternoon is the sweet spot — cooler than midday, with the food stalls and the temple both in full swing. Come Friday to Sunday; midweek the market is largely shut.

Watch out: It’s cash only and ATMs are scarce — bring small notes. And check the day before you travel: a wasted hour out to Bang Phli for a near-empty weekday canal is a common letdown.

For a half-day out of Bangkok that trades the tour-boat circus for an ordinary, working Thai market with real history behind it, Bang Phli is hard to beat — and pairing it with the temple gives the trip more than just lunch.