I went to the Damnoen Floating Market this morning. I left bright and early from Khao San Road at 7 am. The drive was close to two hours. I didn’t realize it would take so long otherwise I would have eaten breakfast. Damnoem Saduak is 104 km south west of Bangkok. I suppose I should have read clearly what I was getting into. It was a scenic ride though; I did get to see some of the countryside in all its glory.
After reaching our destination, (I was with two Swedish girls) we got in this big paddle boat, where our two guides paddled us through the canals. It was fun to see all the people selling their junk along the canal. When we were interested in something the guide would stop the boat and wait for us to finish. I didn’t buy anything except a coconut drink, grapefruit and a weird sounding frog. All in all it was good fun.
Of course before we headed back to Bangkok, we had our mandatory shopping stop. I tried some coconut pancakes. They were more like tacos filled with coconuts and creme. They were wicked. I better lay off them though because some Thai guys were yelling at me later on in the day saying I was “big, big”.
On the way back to Bangkok, I was joined by two Japanese girls. They were really fun. Our driver, Peter, who was now awake told us stories of Thai gangsters and foreigners getting ripped off and killed in Bangkok. It was a pleasant way to end my tour. Peter let the three of us off at the pier, where we went to the Siriaj Medical Museum and the Congdon Anatomical Museum.
Now let me get this straight. I was not planning going to these museums. I was freaked out when the girls told me they were going but decided to go anyway. The Condon Anatomical Museum was very grisly. On display were all kinds of body parts that were severed or incomplete. We got to see cadavers and fetuses and other gory sights. I nearly lost my coconut drink on the floor. But this was nothing compared to the Siriraj Medical Museum.
There we were introduced to the evolution of pathology in Thailand, human organs and tissues in various diseases. There were exhibits of many objects from homicides, suicide and accidents. Skeletons of important Thai scholars were mounted in display cases. When you think about it, it’s really something to marvel at. I felt like I was back in biology class with the smell of the formaldehyde. I was happy to note that the Japanese girls were as grossed out as I was, and they weren’t some kind of Japanese murderers or something.