Mostly frequented by vistors on day-tour packages, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is blighted by a proliferation of tourist tack and dust-catchers.
Despite it not being the authentic experience one hankers for as a traveller (and really, what can remain authentic when every single sightseer wants off the beaten path?), there still are beautiful moments floating along the canals.
A scene that stays with me is the one where a Buddhist monk paddles through the market, collecting food alms from the stall-owners. He stops at a stall where a woman and her little boy kneel with folded palms while the monk makes a blessing. It is a tender instance of pure faith suspending the banal bargaining for magnets and elephant-shaped keyrings.
There were so many other pictures to be made but I forgot to pack a spare battery for my camera. I shot the following images with my phone.
