Self-Guided Walking Tour Bangkok: Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market Canal Food Tour Explore what keeps this narrow brown-green canal country on Bangkok's west side, older than the city's name and its roads, so full of life that Thai families still spend their Saturdays here. Who this is for Hungry travelers who want to eat the way Thai families do on a Saturday, from salt-crusted grilled fish to a 100-baht long-tail boat ride, and walk among working canal-side temples without tour-bus crowds. About Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market: Canal Food Tour Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market: Canal Food Tour is a self-guided audio walking tour of Bangkok, Thailand, covering five stops in the Taling Chan district on the Thonburi side, from the stalls of Khlong Lat Mayom to Wat Kanchana Singhat on Khlong Bang Phrom. You'll Learn About the Canal Country Behind Bangkok On this tour you'll learn how West Bangkok's canals still run on the old rhythm of water, weekend markets and temples, and why Thai families still choose them for a cheap, glorious Saturday lunch. Long-tail boats are a common sight, taking passengers to Wat Champa's morning chant and to the temple built by a merchant named Thong on Khlong Bang Phrom. At Khlong Lat Mayom, vendors prepare whole fish with salt and lemongrass, while the scent of hot oil and charcoal smoke fills the air. You'll learn why the vendors are not calling out in English, why the bargaining is not staged for a camera, and why a boat ride costs foreigners around 100 baht and Thais about 60. At Song Khlong, inside the grounds of the working temple Wat Talingchan, you'll learn how the plant stalls near the entrance give way to the water, where you pick your fish and watch it cook. An elderly gentleman taking his turn at the karaoke microphone is part of the scene. Wat Champa was established in 1822; its ordination hall is older still. The gable, built in the Western-influenced Wilanda style, lacks the typical naga finials and gilded woodwork of a traditional Thai temple. Beside it rises an enormous, scaffolded new ordination hall. Inside the old hall sits Luang Po Chok Di, the Buddha of Luck, framed by mural paintings, and monks hold a chanting ceremony there every morning. You'll also learn the story of two brothers, Thong and Ngoen, both magnates, whose temples face each other across Khlong Bang Phrom. The temple on the northern bank, originally Wat Thong, the Merchant's Temple, is now known as the Golden Lion Temple. Its compound stacks three architectural worlds, starting with boundary stones set in the earth around the ordination hall that point back to Ayutthaya. Read more in our articles on Khlong Lat Mayom, Wat Champa and Wat Kanchana Singhat. The Route: 5 Stops in Bangkok Khlong Lad Mayom Floating: a slip of a canal lined with stalls, grills and gardens, where salt-crusted fish and batter hot from the pan feed Thai families and a longtail boat leads into canal country no road reaches. Know Before You Go: weekends and public holidays only, about 15 kilometers from the city center, with a 90-minute boat ride and posted prices. Song Khlong Floating Market: a market that grew up inside the grounds of Wat Talingchan, where you pick your fish and watch it cook. Wat Champa: a canal-side temple with a Western-style ordination hall, the Buddha of Luck, and a colossal unfinished hall beside it. Wat Kanchana Singhat: the Golden Lion Temple, built by a merchant named Thong and tied to its twin across Khlong Bang Phrom. Practical Details The tour is self-guided and runs at your own pace, with five stops in the Taling Chan district and no required order. Khlong Lat Mayom opens only on Saturdays, Sundays and Thai public holidays, roughly 8am to 5pm, so plan the day around the weekend. Come hungry. Take the Khlong Lat Mayom Canal Food Tour Download the app for the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market: Canal Food Tour, a self-guided Bangkok audio experience centered around food, water, and temples.
