Train Ride to Talad Rom Hup (ตลาดร่มหุบ)

Popularly known as Maeklong Railway Market, which need no introduction from the social mediasphere. If you’ve seen media of market traders right on the sides of a railway track, this is the one.

[美功鐵道市場 － 自由行者從曼谷怎麼去?]

If you found this page, likely you are searching for a way to get there without a tour guide – I 👍🏽 you!
Let’s head straight to that part. My thoughts and review are later and optional read…

How to get there… by yourself?

_{BTS – Bangkok Mass Transit System | MRT – Metropolitan Rapid Transit | SRT – State Railway of Thailand}

From anywhere in Bangkok, get on the BTS/MRT to Wutthakat BTS Station on the BTS Skytrain Silom Line.

1. 🚊 • Reach Wutthakat BTS station before 08:30am.
2. 🚶🏻 • Use Exit 4 and walk for about 5min towards the direction of the Wutthakat SRT train station.
3. 🚉 • Take the train schedule at 8:41am. 10฿ per pax and enjoy the hour plus of locomotive ride till the last stop – Maha Chai SRT train station.
4. 🚶🏻• Exit Maha Chai train station, turn right and take a short walk pass the market towards Maha Chai Pier.
5. 🚢 • Buy a ferry ticket for 3฿ at the counter for a short ride to Tha Chalom Pier.
6. 🚶🏻• Exit the pier and again turn right. Take another short walk, passing the morning market and a temple to Ban Laem SRT train station.
7. 🚉 • Buy a ticket at the counter for 10฿ for the train scheduled for 10:10am departure.

If you get this far… not this page of course! but waiting for the train arrival. You’ve made it! Not to the starting point. If you didn’t realize yet, your journey of moment have already started when you left Wutthakat BTS station. Now you are just continuing to collect more memories. This is the train that will pass through the Maeklong Railway Market. You will be on that train! Enjoy the locomotion and sock in the train horns and passing view. Read no further and ride your story…

There is already another known route which starts at Wongwian Yai BTS and Wongwian Yai SRT. But the Wutthakat Station (วุฒากาศ) is only a walking distance of 150m from Wutthakat Station (S11) on the BTS Silom Line. It is only opened on October 23,2020 and still largely unknown among the tourist herd.

หุบร่ม (hup rom) which means ‘close the umbrella’ and hence Talad (ตลาด – market) Rom (ร่ม – umbrella) Hup (หุบ – in this context, to retract).

THE HISTORY…

Situated in the Samut Songkhram, along the Mae Khlong river. The surrounding areas are thriving with fishing port and markets of sea produce since the last century. Prompting the crown of Thailand to built a railway line first in 1904 from Bangkok to Maha Chai in Samut Sakhon – another important fishing industry. And a year later added the Ban Laem Line to Mae Khlong. It was originally a goods line to transport produce from the ports of Samut Songkhram and Samut Sakhon to Bangkok.

When the construction of the Ban Laem railway was proposed it was met with resistance from the market vendor who disagreed with the compensation and refused to be relocated. After ineffectual rounds of negotiation by the authorities. The latter eventually compromised with the market to be kept in its location and allow the railway to pass right through. And hence Talad Hum Hup, aka Mae Khlong Railway Market was born.

NOW…

Hidden obscurely among the bustier neighbourhood and more efficient transport. Talad Rom Hup had outlived the days of a fish market and given a new lease of life propelled by the influence of the social media. The market vending seafoods are few and being replaced by souvenirs stall and tattoo parlour. The only congestion along the tracks are half an hour prior to the arrival of the main cast, driven there by van loads at the right scheduled timing. Mostly tourist preparing to the capture their experience staring at their device, instead of living the moment in front of the lens. They were escorted away by their guides as fast as the train had passed, presumedly to the next nearby destination – Amphawa Floating Market. Leaving behind a soon-to-be empty railway track with vendors enticing the remaining tourist. While waiting for the next train departure time to bustle the next wave of view seekers.

WHY RIDE ?

To collect moments. Moments of the journey to and fro the destination. While we already knew what to expect at the end, no thanks to the algorithm. And similarly guilty as I am, compelled to withdraw my devices to point at each other in lieu of participating in the moment. The ride, the four hours of locomotive journey save me from committing an inescapable misdeed. The time, short of herding, allows the luxury to explore the native experience between the hurrah…

And

To keep the train running! The 10฿ (about a quarter) barely kept the half-filled train horning. Feed the star of the day first before the trip advisors.

Going back to Bangkok ?? Take the reverse route!
Get a train ticket at Maeklong train station.
Last departure is at 3:30pm.

[美功鐵道市場 － 自由行者從曼谷怎麼去?]

1. 🚊 • 早上8:30之前到達Wutthakat BTS (S11) 站。
2. 🚶🏻 • 從4號出口向Wutthakat SRT火車站方向步行約5分鐘。
3. 🚉 • 乘坐早上8:41的火車時刻表。 上車付費每人10฿，享受一小時的機車之旅，直到最後一站 – Maha Chai SRT (瑪哈猜火車站)。
4. 🚶🏻• 出瑪哈猜火車站，右轉，步行一小段路路徑菜市場，往Maha Chai Pier(瑪哈猜碼頭)方向走。
5. 🚢 • 銷售櫃檯購買3฿的渡輪船票，乘坐短途船前往Tha Chalom Pier (沓洽龍碼頭)。
6. 🚶🏻• 出碼頭右轉。 再走一小段路，經過早市和一座寺廟，到達Ban Laem SRT (板南火車站)。
7. 🚉 • 購買預定上午10:10 出發的火車票，票價為10฿。

當你等待火車的到來時，如果你還沒有意識到，你已成功了！就在你離開 Wutthakat BTS 站的時刻，你的瞬間之旅就已經開始了。 現在你只需繼續收集更多的記憶。 這是將經過美功鐵道市場的火車。 你就會在那列穿越美功鐵市場的火車上！ 在火車喇叭和路過的景色中享受運動和襪子。

回曼谷呢就走逆向路線！ 在美功火車站購票。 最後一班出發時間為下午 3:30。