The Bangkok - Samut Songkram route is not very famous among foreigners. There are guide books which mention about this destination but not all people would explore this area. If you like seafood and being out of the usual touristy places, then this could be your thing.
Maha Chai - Mae Klong Railways
Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkram are located southwest from Bangkok. It takes about an hour to go to Samut Sakhon and another hour to continue to Samut Songkram. These places are near the Gulf of Thailand so the salty, fishy scent is everywhere.
To go there, you would need to find the Maha Chai Railway from Thonburi District in Bangkok (Wong Wian Yai Railway Station). There is also a Wong Wian Yai BTS Station, so don't get confused.
From Wong Wian Yai BTS Station, walk towards Taksin Monument on Somdet Phrachao Taksin Road. The Wong Wian Yai Railway Station is about 400 meters from the BTS. Be careful on missing it. It is in an ordinary food market on the left side of the road facing the Taksin Monument. It is actually next to a pedestrian foot bridge. If you have reached the monument, you have already passed the railway station.
Taksin Monument
According to the time schedule posted on the station's wall, trips to Maha Chai (Samut Sakhon) is almost every hour starting from 5:30 until 20:10. The ticket is 10 THB and the trip is about an hour long. The trains are 2nd/3rd class. But I have seen a train cart that has air conditioning. I do not know if it's the same price or a bit more.
Wong Wian Yai Railway Station
Sample of Train Ticket
Along the way, you would be able to peek inside the houses of Thai people. Not that I do that often but their houses are so near the railway that you could see what they are doing inside. After the houses/shanties of BKK, you will see several temples, shops, palm trees, lilies, and marshes. Do not stick your head or elbow out of the window because tree branches are so near they hit the train.
There are several stops between Wong Wian Yai and Maha Chai stations but the train don't stop for too long.
The train's last stop is your station, Maha Chai Station. There is also a huge market in and around this station. It's very interesting how locals do their shopping here. Some claim that this is one of the largest fresh sea food markets in Thailand. Being near the sea port, sea food is generally cheap in this area. Take time to look around and you might be able to find ingredients for your next dinner party. Small restaurants are everywhere in the area so that you can actually try the sea food dishes that they have.
Maha Chai Station
Back to the train station, I prefer to get off on the left side of the train. The entrance/exit of the station is on this side of the platform. From this point, you can turn right towards the City Pillar. It's nothing fancy but it is a land mark that you can use so that you won't get lost. I think the City Pillar area is their main transportation hub. There are buses, songtaews, tuktuks, motorcycle taxis, and ferry boats.
Maha Chai Ferry Terminal
The ferry terminal is on the left side when you are facing the City Pillar. The fee to cross the river is 3 THB. You want to cross the river because 2 places of interests are there: Kuan Yin Shrine and Wat Chong Lom.
After crossing the river, walk towards the streets. Motorcycle taxis are waiting there. Tell the driver that you want to go to Chong Lom Temple (in Thai, "Pai Wat Chong Lom."). It costs 15 THB. This temple is about 2-3 kms from the ferry terminal where you got off.
Wat Chong Lom
Wat Chong Lom is a temple made during the Ayudthaya period. When I visited this temple, renovations were being done. As you can see on the photo above, they were repainting the inside walls. I was also lucky to see (and hear) the morning prayers of the monks. They were chanting and it was a very nice and relaxing experience for me.
Fried Rice with Shrimp
Seafood restaurants are at the river banks of the temple. The food are cheap and taste good. I went to a restaurant and ordered Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pat Koong). It cost me 40 THB only. The old lady included 20 shrimps on my fried rice. I counted. Hahaha! I was very happy. =)
Kuan Yin Shrine
Across the road from Wat Chong Lom is the Kuan Yin Shrine. It is a 9 meter-high fountain of a Mahayana Buddhist Goddess. The Thais of Chinese ancestry honor this Chinese deity. It is said that the shrine is visited by couples who have yet to conceive their first child.
In front of the shrine is the Tha Chalong Station. This is a stop of the train going to Mae Klong Station in Samut Songkram.
Since I finished early in that area, I opted to take another motorcycle taxi going to the Ban Laem Train Station. This is the railway going further west. It has only 4 trips daily: 7:30, 10:10, 13:30, and 16:40.
Ban Laem Train Station
From Kuan Yin Shrine, it cost me another 15 THB using a motorcycle taxi. I took the 10:10 train schedule. The tickets are just there at the window of the ticketing booth. Grab one and then pay the 10 THB fee on the train. The trip is another hour from Ban Laem to Mae Klong.
Mae Klong Train Station
Mae Klong Market
The Mae Klong Market is not only famous for its cheap produce. It is also famous for the instant rail tracks that appear in the middle of the market when the train passes by. There are several videos on Youtube about this market. One of them is below:
At the Mae Klong Station, check out the map for the area. It is very useful.
Map of Mae Klong
On the top of the map is the Wat Phet Samut Worawihan (in yellow) and at the bottom is a hospital (obviously). These are 2 important land marks for your sight-seeing activities in Samut Songkram.
Wat Phet Samut Worawihan
As seen on the map, turn left from the train station to go to Wat Phet Samut Worawihan. It is just 2 blocks from the station. This temple houses a famous Buddha image called Luang Pho Ban Laem. One particular room in this temple has 4 surveillance cameras, it tells you now important the images in there, yeah? Historically speaking, the original name of this temple was Wat Sri Champa. During the old days of war against the Burmese, Thai people fled to this area and renovated this temple. They called it Wat Ban Laem.
According to another website, the Buddha's image that is inside this temple was "recovered in fishermen's nets along with a seated Buddha image." Wat Ban Laem was later given the status of Worawihan (a class of royal temple) by the king, himself. That's why they changed it to its present name, Wat Phet Samut Worawihan.
Songtaew Mae Klong Market - Don Hoi Lot bound
Going back to the map above, in front of the hospital is the songtaew going to Don Hoi Lot (numbered 3). Ask the driver if he is going there and to drop you off in that area. It costs 15 THB and the trip is about 20 minutes from the market.
Don Hoi Lot Stop
Don Hoi Lot is at the gulf of Thailand. It is famous for its razor clam shells (in Thai, hoi lot). During dry season (April and May), you can actually walk on the shallow sea bed. Fishermen are looking at the sea bed for these shells. Many Thai people also go to this place to relax and have picnic with their family and friends.
Don Hoi Lot
For lunch, I crossed the road to a restaurant to have one of their specialties. The menu was in Thai so I just pointed to a hoi lot dish. It cost me 160 THB. The taste was similar to mussel.
Hoi Lot Pat Cha
But if you want to localize yourself and have a picnic, you actually can. The stalls outside along the road are selling cooked seafood for a cheap price. They sell grilled seafood, hot rice, cold drinks, and sweet desserts. There are also plenty of vendors selling dried seafood.
Sample of a stall at Don Hoi Lot
Then, I took a songtaew going to Wat Satthatham. You will actually see this temple on your way to Don Hoi Lot. It cost 10 THB to go to this temple. Less than 10 minutes to travel.
Entrance of Wat Satthatham
Interior display at Wat Satthatham
Wat Satthatham is famous for its "bot" made of golden teak and the interior of the temple is made of mother-of-pearl inlay. This inlay is worth 60 million THB. Fancy, huh? =) To make things more interesting and meaningful, the decorations inside depict the stories of Buddha's life.
After this temple, I took a songtaew going back to the Mae Klong Station. It cost 10 THB and another 10 minutes to travel.
The trains from this station have only 4 departures going back to Ban Laem: 6:20, 9:00, 11:30, and 15:30. If you miss the last train, there are buses going to Ban Laem, and from Maha Chai going back to Bangkok, so you do not have to worry.
I took the same route going back to Bangkok. Mae Klong Station to Ban Laem Station (10 THB, 1 hour), took a ferry boat from Ban Laem Pier to Maha Chai Pier (5 THB, 5 minutes), Maha Chai Train Station to Wong Wian Yai Station (10 THB, 1 hour).
The last train going back to Bangkok leaves around 19:00.
According to Lonely Planet, if you intend to use the train all through out for this day trip, you have to leave Wong Wian Yai before 8:30 in the morning.
However, some people would still continue their adventure at Samut Songkram by visiting 2 of the most famous floating markets in Thailand (Damnoen Suduak and Amphawa Floating markets). I did not include these places in this blog because I did not do them in this particular trip.
Both places are touristy, especially Damnoen Suduak. The former is a floating market best visited early in the morning and the latter in the late afternoon-early evening for its fire flies.
I will perhaps make another day trip to these areas to be included in my blog. Until then, I hope I helped in making your itinerary for Bangkok Day Trips easier.
To sum it up:
Total cost of transportation from Wong Wian Yai Station and back (including motorcycle taxis and boat rides that I took): 113 THB (3.76 USD or 2.52 Euros - this is to give you a rough estimate of transportation expenses)
Total time I spent for this day trip: 6:25 - 18:30.
I will perhaps make another day trip to these areas to be included in my blog. Until then, I hope I helped in making your itinerary for Bangkok Day Trips easier.
To sum it up:
Total cost of transportation from Wong Wian Yai Station and back (including motorcycle taxis and boat rides that I took): 113 THB (3.76 USD or 2.52 Euros - this is to give you a rough estimate of transportation expenses)
Total time I spent for this day trip: 6:25 - 18:30.
mother-of-pearl inlay at Wat Satthatham, Samut Songkram
entrance of Kuan Yin Shrine, Samut Sakhon
Feel free to contribute to this blog by commenting especially regarding time and fare changes. Tell the other readers of your experiences, good or bad, so that we all learn from each other. Cheers!
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