A bell wakes a grandmother sleeping in her fruit and flower stall. She rushes to pull in her baskets before the train slowly rumbles past, so close it almost touches her wares.
Six times a day at the Mae Klong Railway Market, the train passes through. Local customers and foreign tourists hurry into nooks and crannies. Vendors calmly move their baskets of goods away from the tracks and close their umbrellas to make way.
Hundreds of stallholders work along this 500-metre stretch of railway line in Samut Songkhram, 80km west of Bangkok. They sell everything from fresh produce to live turtles to clothes and souvenirs.
"Even though it looks risky, it's not dangerous at all," says fruit and vegetable vendor Samorn Armasiri. Her family has run a stall in the market for five decades, and she has never seen an accident.
"When the train enters, officers sound the horn and everybody packs their stuff. They know what to do," she says.
A unique experience
The sides of the train carriages pass directly over bags of lettuce, broccoli, onions, ginger, chilli, tomatoes and carrots placed carefully on the outside of the rails.
The market has become an attraction for backpackers and Instagram fans, but the pandemic hit it hard.
Now, with Thailand dropping its Covid-19 entry rules, tourism is starting up again.
Australian tourist Ella McDonald is among the people enjoying the market's photogenic chaos.
"It is crazy and hectic. I was shocked at how big the train is in the small amount of space," she says. "It's a unique experience. I've never seen anything like this anywhere else in the world."
King of fruit
Before Covid hit, the market was also beloved by Chinese tourists buying durian – the strong-smelling "king of fruit". But China's strict quarantine rules mean their tourists can't easily travel to Thailand.
Even without them, fishmonger Somporn Thathom says business is finally improving after two years of hardship.
"During Covid, I barely made enough money to pay my staff. I managed to sell 10 fish each day," he says. "I used up all my savings, and I had to borrow money from the bank."
Railway station manager Charoen Charoenpun believes the market is popular because it is a genuine, real place. "It's not made up. It's not built for tourists," he says. "When the tourists come, they can see the tradition and culture of the local people."
For eight-year-old William, the chaos that happens as the train rolls through is fascinating.
"The most exciting thing is when you get the train going past – just seeing all the market vendors packing up," he says.
Fun facts
Durian is a very healthy fruit. It is rich in iron, vitamin C and potassium, and one small durian contains 23 grams of dietary fibre. It has a nice flavour, but it does smell terrible!
Quick questions
- Name five things that the market vendors sell.
- What is the nearest city to the railway market?
- What hardship have the vendors faced recently?
