Inching our way through bank to bank longboats at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market was a voyage to food nirvana. I love raw ingredients - the colors, textures, shapes of fruit and vegetables fascinate me - it's eye candy. The food end of the market did not disappoint despite elements of romance missing on the klong tour in general (check out Smile for the Python).
Not quite the iconic floating market scene depicted on travel posters - more of a jigsaw made up of colorful pieces allowing fractional glimpses of a now lost picture. The days when the market functioned solely for residents are long gone. The market unabashedly performs now during prime-hours for tour bus visitors. I was aware of local trade being conducted, of buying and selling between residents but for the most part I felt as though I was taking part in an elaborate production - one of many picture-snapping extras on the set.Squeezed between longboats carrying tourists from around
the world didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the visuals. Glorious 
mounds of dragon fruits, star fruit, mangoes, tiny, oh so sweet-finger-sized bananas, and my new favorite - pomelo - filled the painted boats - floating market stalls replete with quick witted vendors offering a bargain. Most were under the command of women wearing the lampshade style hat that typifies the region. The entrepreneurial spirit was evident in the rapid-fire sales talk and equally adroit dicing and slicing of juice-dripping pineapples into plastic bags - the knife dipped into the klong for cleaning! One gal had a different technique - she managed to slice the fruit while it was in the bag, her knife not breaking the plastic.
Coconut sellers deftly whacked off the tops of husk-wrapped nuts, popped a straw into the hole and presto - fast food Thai style. Other boats were floating kitchens. Tantalizing smells of chicken and pork sate, chile encrusted scampi, dainty coconut cream crepes, huge pots of simmering broth and noodles. Scoops ready, the stall-holders dished, chopped and ladled to order.We avoided the freeway on the return trip and drove narrow roads bordered by prawn farms, rice paddies and fruit - grapes, mangoes, papaya - so ripe that they scented the air.
I was lusting for a kitchen! I would love to shop a market like this, fill my basket, head home and cook. Instead I had to be content with a bag of the freshest pineapple I've ever tasted - all in all not too shabby a compensation prize. And once again luck was on my side . "So sorry," said the guide, "No time to stop at the snake farm - you come back". For the market , yes!
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