This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase. Read Disclosure.
Tucked behind the urban roar of central Bangkok’s metropolis is a place where someone has pressed the pause button. The Khlong Lay Mayom is one of several floating markets in Bangkok, but this floating market is the most authentic, and the most flavorful.
Here you’ll find boats packed in like sardines, each filled with the sizzling smell of skewers, and with vendors ladling out aromatic curries and noodle soups.
Wander along the boardwalks, and the smell of incense and jasmine fills the air; at Khlong Lat Mayom, every turn is a taste, every taste a tale, and every tale leaves a lasting impression.
If you want to explore Bangkok’s authentic side, here is everything you need to know about visiting the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, a place where most foreign visitors don’t know about.
About Khlong Lat Mayom
A floating market is exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a market that floats…well, on boats. In Bangkok, there are several winding canals that meander around the small neighborhoods outside the city center.
The waterways were once the main form of public transportation in the city before bridges and roads were made, and were how traders got from neighborhood to neighborhood selling their goods and serving unique foods.
Not much has changed today. Locals still use the canals as a way to get around, and also to sell produce and meals from their traditional long-tail wooden boats. You can find people selling everything from ceramics to houseware goods to fresh fruits and vegetables to street food.
But these markets don’t just pop up anywhere. There are a few dedicated spots for vendors to sell their goods from their boats, otherwise known as floating markets, and the Khlong Lay Mayom floating market is one that the locals use.
If you ask any tour operator what is the most famous market, they will say Damnoen Saduak Floating Market or Amphawa Floating Market. These markets are touristy and only for foreigners. They are tailored towards western culture and is where you can buy touristic souvenirs, but you won’t find many locals there.
If you want the authenticity of a local market culture…ask the locals, and they will probably say visit Khlong Lat Mayom.
Khlong Lat Mayom has been a canal used by the locals for transport since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the early 2000s, community leaders revived the area as a floating market, transforming Khlong Lat Mayom into a vibrant market on the water’s edge.
Kanom Tarn
The market is a fairly young market and is made by joining of lots of small local markets in the nearby canal neighbourhoods together – it doesn’t have as many boat vendors as other markets, but there are some, and the food is fantastic.
Our local expert guide, Tim, shares with us a little about the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating markets. He describes these markets as a way of life for the local people.
“Not spoilt by tourists. No tourist goods or souvenirs. It’s a market made for the local people and Thai tourists.”
Video: Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Markets
Want to see what the floating market is like? Here’s our video of the Khlong Lat Mayom floating market:
Getting to Khlong Lat Mayom
The Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market is only about 20-30 minutes from Bangkok on the Thonburi side of the river. There are two ways to get there, by taxi or ride-hailing app, or by boat trip.
There’s no direct BTS or MRT stop, but you can get a Grab bike from Bang Wa station (Blue Line), which is the closest MRT metro stop to the market and would be the easiest and cheapest route. There is also a shuttle busfrom Bang Khun Non MRT Station.
The entrance to the market can be found here (the full address is: 30/1 Moo 15, Bang Ramat Road Khwaeng Bang Ramat, Khet Taling Chan, Bangkok 10170):
You can also get a boat tour. You can find some boats departing from near Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen temple, or you can book a boat tour in advance and save you having to negotiate a price with the boat drivers.
Booking in advance also means a hotel pick up, which saves you the hassle of public transport, and take you to other attractions in the area such as Artists House and the Orchid Garden.
Things to see and do at Khlong Lat Mayom
Khlong Lat Mayom is the sort of place travellers love – authentic local markets that offer a glimpse into Thai daily life. I envisioned a few years down the track the invasion of the falangs (foreigners) once word began to spread.
Load up on street food and snacks
The biggest draw card to the markets is the food stalls. There is no Thai dish you cannot find here. The hardest decision is narrowing down your choice to one or two, or maybe five.
Thai Green Chicken Curry
You can find everything from Noodle Soup to Pla Pao, a salt grilled fish delicacy that’s famous in the market. Some other popular dishes to try here are Hoi Tod (Oyster Omelet), Kanom Jeen (Cold Rice Vermicelli), and Gai Galae (Grilled Chicken).
We walk past a few stalls and I mentally pick out several dishes to come back and try.
Colourful Sticky Rice
My grin widens and my tummy rumbles even louder at the prices of the meals, 20 baht for fish cakes, 30 baht for a curry, sticky rice – we certainly were in the locals market.
Shop for souvenirs
We arrive early and we’re immediately thrust into an exotic experience. Luckily at this time, there’s plenty of space to move amongst the colourful stalls. The crowds thicken at Lat Mayom during lunchtime – peak hour.
Squashed in amongst the food and low tables lining the canals are stores selling handicrafts, plants, and clothing.
“Thai people love shopping. After we’re full, we look for beauty and things that give us enjoyment,” Tim chuckles as she steers us through the markets. There’s no room in my suitcase for the things that give me enjoyment, but there’s certainly room in my stomach to get full.
Take a long-tail boat tour
Tim takes us to the long tail boats waiting on the canal. We climb in and begin exploring the canals.
I grab a bag of Kanom Tarn from a long tail boat first. The moist sponge cake, topped with shredded coconut – one of my fave Thai desserts – is perfect for the gentle boat ride to the village. Not too sweet and is silky smooth. Catfish jump out of the water beside the boat to try and get some.
We’re content as we putter through the back canals of suburbia Bangkok. We gaze over the homes on stilts, many of which large gardens on the edge of the canals, a place to sit in solitude – almost unheard of in Bangkok. I took to it immediately.
We pull up at the dock, cross a low bridge, and walk along a footpath to the row of homes that open their doors to the odd passing tourist. Mangos, papayas and bananas dangle over our heads and we stop to point them to the girls.
We enter the first garden, there is a pretty red swing the girls sit on and play with the colourful balloons the owner of the house gave to them. They are happy. We walk around the gardens soaking in the serenity before moving to the next house.
Grandma sits on a little wooden stool in the shade, a steel cauldron sits on a small cooking stove in front of her adding to the already stifling Bangkok heat.
Here by the canals, a slight breeze blows, but still the beads of sweat run down her face. For 30 minutes she sits and patiently stirs, eyes on the green gooey pandan.
We become just as mesmerized as Tim describes how she will make the popular Thai dessert.
Once cooked, she’ll take the pandan, run it through a hand-operated machine which cuts it into worm-like noodles. And then she’ll pour coconut milk over the worms and top it with shaved ice. It doesn’t look too welcoming, but the sweet freshness is exactly what I need on yet another hot Bangers day.
A store set up in a room outside the house also sells variations of small sweets made from coconuts. At 10 baht a container, how could you say no to three different types?
Tim takes us to the end house, a guest house for those wanting a village stay. It’s a quirky wooden shack with unusual furnishings. Strange eclectic folk tunes play in the background as we wander upstairs to have a poke about.
I could picture myself spending a weekend here to escape the madness of Bangkok. The sun chair out the back beckoned me to sit with a glass of wine and a good book.
We walk along the footpath and around the corner to meet the boat. A cyclist rings his bell and waves hello, a little further down an elderly man with a long Ho Chi Minh beard patiently chops washed up debris from the previous years flood to make charcoal, and we are soon tooted out of the way by the village postman on his motorbike.
Once again Bangkok is fascinating Kalyra as her young mind tries to grasp why the postie is riding around on footpaths. The trees, vines and vibrant flowers surround us and the air is fresh and clean.
Fish Cakes
We pick up a bag of fish cakes before boarding the boat back to where the real eating would begin.
Get lunch from the boat vendors
Rows and rows of Thai food stalls line the riverbank and by now it was getting difficult to move. We see only the odd falang (foreigner), their heads bowed down in worship to another bowl of cheap, authentic Thai noodle soups.
There’s seafood, fresh fruit, BBQ chicken, pork skewers, thai pancakes and much more. As I mentioned earlier, lunchtime (around midday) is the time to visit the market for the vibe, it’s when all the locals come here for lunch.
Lunch time is popular with Thais 
Red Fish Curry 
BBQ chicken 
Lots of seafood 
Thai’s relaxing at lunch by the canal 
Thai pancakes 
Thai pancakes 
Fresh Pineapple
We could have spent all day eating, but with two small girls who hate crowds, our time was pretty limited. We didn’t have long before the meltdown would begin.
We watched as a lady stood rolling large balls of eggs and mixed seafood in a hot muffin tin. Tim told us they were omelettes. A little egg mixture was placed in the container, seafood filling was added, and the balls continually rolled around and around until they cooked. They were delicious and hearty and a good lunch for little Savannah.
Seafood omelettes
Kalyra settled for her favourite Pad Thai, brought from the boats cooking it on the canal. It came folded up on white paper, very typical of Thai street food. The taste was on par with it as well.
Pad Thai 
We leave with full bellies, but enough space to move to our next restaurant back in inner-city Bangkok. It’s a famous one for Thai people, and yes, in Thailand, there is always room for just one more authentic dish.
Khlong Lat Mayom opening hours
Colourful canals
Khlong Lat Mayom is a weekend market on Saturdays and Sundays and is open from 8:00 am to 5.00 pm. If you visit in the week, you will be disappointed to find no boat vendors, but the markets on the edge will still be open and serving food.
I would suggest arriving for opening time, as it gets pretty busy around lunchtime, unless you want to visit for the vibe.
Final thoughts
For us, the highlight of a floating market visit is the food and the authentic charm. You can clearly see that the locals embrace their deep roots and traditions in keeping these markets alive and running.
Before you go, remember you’re visiting the Khlong Lat Mayom, which is not a tourist floating market, but a way of life for those buying and selling here. So be respectful when taking photos.
Make sure you remember to carry cash with you, as many of the vendors don’t accept credit cards.
More Travel Tips for Bangkok
Are you looking for more inspiration about Bangkok? Then you might enjoy these resources!
Are you planning to visit Khlong Lat Mayom? What are you excited for? Share in the comments.
Please visit:
Our Sponsor