May 4
Today is our 16th wedding anniversary and we
awaken quite early and head off to 7Eleven to buy coffee and croissants for
breakfast since we are to be up and out before our breakfast service
starts. No matter, Ohm is ready and
waiting and offers us a freshly cooked meal before our 7:00 departure. We head off in a minivan with about 5 other
people toward the Damnoen Saduak floating market. It takes a little longer than expected, but
we arrive around 9:00 and depart the bus in favor of a longtail boat. We venture off through the canals that are
lined on each side with homes and businesses that snake through the watery
highway. Alongside the canal is a very
long and narrow sidewalk that allows residents to walk to each other’s home or
business without the need of a boat. We
soon arrive at a dock area and disembark the boat. This is an openair market area that is
available on solid ground. There is an
extra fee to travel around by boat to shop among the boat vendors that wind through
the canals. As I have been feeling a
little nauseous lately, Hudson and I decide to hang out on land and the others
venture off in a boat to tour the wares that are for sale. We check out some of what is for sale on our
end of things, but find it to be very similar to what we have seen in countless
other markets in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. I suppose if we had come here when we first
arrived in Thailand instead of waiting until the last day, we might have found
the products more unique and interesting, but at this point we have purchased
pretty much all of the stuff we plan to get before we leave for Hong Kong. Once we are rejoined by Paulie, Annie and
Sam, we do end up finding a small set of salt and pepper shakers in the shape
of a ying yang and we end up getting those as a joint anniversary gift. The market is the jumping off point for a
number of other attractions including a Cobra Show and Elephant Rides, neither
of which is of interest to us so we stick to the boats. We return to our meeting place at the
appointed hour and return to Bangkok via the minivan. Once we get back, we go to our room to cool
off and shower. Soon, Annie, Sam and I
are off for our last leg massage which we savor. We return to the house before dinner and all
agree to return to a nice Indian Restaurant for our celebratory meal. After dinner, do some last minute shopping on
Khaosan Road and then we return to the hotel and have a somewhat early night.
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