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Day trips out of Bangkok are quite popular with the locals. However, as a tourist, it can be difficult to get to places without your own transportation. There are many places within a few hours outside the city that can give you a break from busy Bangkok.

This particular agenda is for an area known as Bang Len which is about 1.5 hours west of Bangkok. I recommend hiring a private driver who will wait for you at each location.

Red Lotus Floating Market

The first stop is the Red Lotus Floating Market. This area is more of a photo opt than a market. It is a giant lake filled with lotus flowers (in reality I think they’re actually water lilies) where you can go in a small boat and have a full on photoshoot on the lake. A ticket for a boat is 100 baht per person for 30 minutes. Three people can fit in a single boat. The ticketing office also has Thai dresses available for rent for 350 baht, colorful umbrellas for 20 baht, and bamboo hats for 5 baht. The staff can send a drone out to take pictures for you, and for 300 baht you can buy all the photos.

Considering all the flowers I expected the lake to have a floral scent but most of it was unscented. The staff on the boat will maneuver it around the lake for you. They will take you to a more dense area for the photos and direct you to pose for the drone.

After your photoshoot head over the the Red Lotus Cafe to try the popular snack called Miang Bua made from lotus petals. The dish is arranged with pink lotus petals and a variety of toppings such as: ginger, lime, peanuts, honey, peppers, and dried shrimp. The way to eat this is like a taco, just load up all the toppings onto a lotus petal, fold it over and eat it!

Last thing about this place is that it is an actual market. Most of the shops sell food with some clothing or toys. The shops with food will start setting up at about 11:30pm for lunch time.

Wat Lam Phaya Floating Market

This should be your mid day stop for lunch. It’s not a typical floating market with having to take a boat and buy things from other boats, but rather a long boardwalk on the river that floats. Hence the “floating” market.

Nevertheless, this is a local market where you won’t find many other foreigners. You’ll also get to practice your Thai, as most of the locals don’t understand English. There are a good variety of dishes here, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can purchase a boat ticket for 60 baht and bring your food on the boat to eat while touring the river.

Air Orchid

The Air Orchid Market is the first orchid market in Thailand. There are endless amounts of plants to chose from in all sorts of colors. Prices are reasonably inexpensive with small a cacti costing only 25 baht. A single orchid plant costs about 100 baht.

Wandering around here can take as long as a hour or as short as 20 minutes. There is a restaurant in the orchid market that serves coffee, cakes, and food if you’re feeling hungry or need a caffeine boost.

If you head to the back of the market, you’ll find some bicycles that you can use to explore the section of the parent plants. These plants aren’t for sale, but it is large area and it’s fun to bike around and take some pictures.

ChangChui Creative Park

The last stop is one of the newest markets to hit the scene in Bangkok. It’s located in Thonburi just on the other side of the Chao Praya River. It is most known for the giant renovated airplane located smack dab in the center. Time Magazine named it one the the World’s Greatest Places 2018.

The market has many art installations from local Thai artists. It is divided into 2 sections: the green zone and the night zone. The green zone is more of a day market where you can find coffee and browse through one of a kind hand crafted jewelry, accessories, and clothing. The night zone is where all the restaurants and live music are located.

There was an interesting restaurant that I came across here. It’s an upscale twist on Bangkok’s bug street food called Insects in the Backyard. Some of their dishes include nachos with silkworms, scallops with caterpillars, and a salad with grasshoppers to name a few. If you can manage to get past eating bugs, the food is quite tasty and worth a try.

Most the restaurants in ChangChui are small so making a reservation is usually a good idea. Especially if you want to dine inside the airplane. The restaurant is called Na Oh and is a changing art installation all on its own. Currently the theme is a “Futuristic Food Journey.” They offer a set 5 course menu for dinner or you can opt for drinks in the bar area. However, if you didn’t book a table, you’re not allowed to wander around the plane. You can only stay in the bar area.

That’s it for the day trip! ChangChui closes at midnight and is open everyday except Wednesday.

Looking for tips for things to do within Bangkok? Check out this post!