Private Tour: Thaka Floating Market & Erawan Falls

In the past, daily commerce in Thailand was conducted mostly along its river and canals. The water networks were busy as locals came to eat and farmers sold their wares. It is not surprising that this different lifestyle would attract many foreign tourists eager to experience this special atmosphere. Over the past 100 years or so, tourism and general modernisation has seen many floating markets disappear altogether. Some remain, but are usually only able to provide a glimpse of the past.

Thaka Floating Market is considered one of the most authentic floating markets that still remains. Just outside busy Bangkok in Samut Songkram province, the rural surroundings and easy-going lifestyle of the locals is partly why Thaka is still a genuine, operating floating market and a visit here should be A MUST for all travellers wishing the most real experience of a dying tradition.

You will meet your personal guide for the day at your hotel in central Bangkok and hit the road at approximately 7.00am. Not far outside the city limits, you will move off the main road and drive past coconut plantations before coming to a hive of 'weekend-only' activity, that being Thaka Floating Market. Here you can try Thai coffee and have a light breakfast, relish the tastes of local delights, fruits and snacks at unbelievably cheap prices.

Combine your visit to Thaka Floating Market with other fascinating places nearby for the ideal full-day Private Tour. Travel the scenic countryside past typical Thai homes, farmland and markets to Kanchanaburi, a province infamous for its World War II history.

On the bank of the River Kwai is the JEATH Museum, which is run by the monks at a neighbouring temple. A brief stop is made to go into the reconstructed bamboo hut resembling the POW's living quarters to see paintings, drawings and photos of, and by, the prisoners.

Step into a long-tail speedboat and zoom upriver. Close to the Bridge over the River Kwai is the restaurant where you will sit down and enjoy a delicious Thai Set Menu Lunch.

The famous Hollywood film was full of historical inaccuracies, so your guide will advise you of a fascinating, yet sad past, as you walk on the railway tracks and across the Bridge.

Hop into your vehicle to see nature at its most beautiful, being the 7-tiered Erawan Waterfall with emerald green ponds. This stunning park consists of limestone hills, plains, a number of streams, caves filled mostly by mixed deciduous forests.