January 11, 2026
A Two Ferry - Two Train Day
Leaving Bangkok via the Southwest
A Two Ferry - Two Train Day
The day I had thought about for years was finally going to happen. I was always interested in seeing if we could cross the Chao Phraya River with our bikes to the Thonburi side and ride the short distance to the Wongwian Yai Train Station. From there a little train runs 23 miles to the end of that line - the Maha Chai Station - which is in the town of Samut Sakhon. Back and forth all day that train takes the short trip.
From the Maha Chai Station we would take a quick ferry across the Tha Chin River and ride a very short distance to the next little train station, -the Ban Laem Station - and catch another train which, like the previous train, runs 23 miles to a dead end at the Mae Klong Market Station. You may have heard of the Mae Klong Market Train because for the past few years it has become quite a hit with foreign tourists.
The Mae Klong Market is right near the terminus of the train route and the market takes place right on the train tracks. When the train is arriving all the vendors pull up their canopies, fold up their umbrellas and pull their produce out of the way of the slow moving train. They do all of this preparation in seconds. I had seen videos of how the tourists have really taken to this fascinating spectacle. The spectators have multiplied to the point where now there are huge numbers of crazed tourists lining the tight area between the train tracks and buildings just to see the vendors prepare and then see the train's arrival. I mean, crowds to the point of being ridiculous, Being on the train we couldn't be one of the spectators nor did we want to be. But being on the train we would be participants in some way. We could film the crazed tourists! That train ends at the Mae Klong Market Station which is next to the Mae Klong River which we had followed for some distance coming from Kanchanaburi.
We simply wanted to take the train to get somewhere, specifically out of Bangkok to get on our way to the south under our own pedal power once through the congested suburbs and big highways. We needed the help of the two ferries and two trains. We didn't know if the trains would allow bikes. Same with the ferries. We hadn't heard of anyone else exiting the megalopolis of Bangkok in this way so we were pretty uncertain as to how the day would proceed.
But it all went quite well and was very much fun. No train person batted an eye about our bikes. We were charged a bit more for the bikes but that was to be expected. The fares for us were super cheap. The per person fare was just under $1 for the two trains and two ferries combined. The per bike fare was just over $1 for the day. So, great fun for a very unique day all in all.
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It was also very interesting to finally spend a little bit of time riding through a tiny portion of Thonburi, the other side of the Chao Phraya River from Bangkok. It is so amazing that just a stone's throw across a river from a huge, modern, foreign-tourist-oriented city like Bangkok is a large city that is totally Thai. I had always wanted to go over to Thonburi to experience it and I loved it. Once again, the people were super friendly, curious and helpful when we asked directions to the train station. We had to avoid some construction on a main road and went a-weaving through alleys and tiny side streets which felt as if we were in people's kitchens and we loved it. They loved it! We were met with big smiles everywhere. They simply don't get foreigners on that side of the river except at Wat Arun - the Temple of Dawn - which is right on the Chao Phraya's river bank. But go a few blocks inside Thonburi and it is pure Thai. I'd love to go back and stay in Thonburi sometime.
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Part of my plan was a little bit frustrated and ultimately denied however. After the first little train I had wanted to visit the huge fish processing plant in Samut Sakhon owned by Thai Union Group. I didn't want to see or smell the fish, I wanted to see Burmese people. I think pretty much all the employees of the fish processing plant are Burmese. It was Sunday and I knew that was their day off and inside the plant is a market with restaurants. The Burmese all get dressed up and go to those restaurants on Sundays. Ever since I saw all of this on a YouTube video by OTR showing the scene I've wanted to experience it. No foreigners ever go to it and I know the Burmese would have welcomed us. They would have been honored that a couple of tourists were showing an interest in their hard lives as refugees and workers in a fish processing plant.
We only had to ride our bikes maybe three miles to the plant but in the end we were thwarted by a huge highway that was too scary to cross. We would have had to go up and onto the highway for a bit and it was way too dangerous. I was very disappointed because I had planned it perfectly so that we would have arrived at the Burmese restaurants around noon. It would have been quite a scene to see the Burmese all dressed up and happy on their day off from work. We had seen a couple of Burmese women get on the train obviously going to the gathering. In the OTR video it was said that there are so many Burmese working at that fish processing plant and living in the immediate area that it would constitute the 15th largest city in Burma! Next time we will have to figure out a different way of getting there. I'm sure buses could take us from Thonburi.
So, disappointed as I was, we continued on our trip. We found the ferry across the Tha Chin River and caught the next little train to Mae Klong Market Station.
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As that train approached the station it slowed way down so as not to run over any of the jam-packed, crazed tourists wanting to film the train's arrival. I videoed the scene from the train window and it seemed every single person was holding up a phone trained on our passing train. It was hard to believe how many tourists there were. They were squashed together alongside the train, on and on for many minutes, and the thing I take away from seeing them is how happy every single person was. I thought it would be a rather gross sight but to see all those smiles was as if they transferred a whole bunch of happiness to everyone looking out the windows of our train. They were not just happy but what I saw on their faces was sheer childlike joy! I wasn't expecting that. I have never seen anything like it in fact. People from all over the world to smash themselves together inches from a passing train and everyone was ecstatic! I loved it.
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We had had quite a day and decided to stop our journey for the day near the Mae Klong Market Station and find a hotel. After we found a terrible hotel we went out and found a restaurant for dinner and then decided to wander back to the market area to see if we could find any fruit. We had not planned it at all but it just so happened that when we arrived in that market area we witnessed the whole scene of the train's arrival from the vantage point this time of being one of the squashed bodies hoping not to end up under the train wheels. Again, everyone was super excited like kids. What a scene and what a day! Everything except eating Burmese food with the Burmese worked out beautifully.
lovebruce
Today's ride: 8 miles (13 km)
Total: 1,042 miles (1,677 km)
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