[Originally written for a now defunct website, years before the market appeared in the “Parts Very Well Known” TV series]  

After I saw this startling video of a Thai market ebbing and  flowing over the tracks of a train, I had many questions. Where was the market? Could I visit it? What is the history of this line? I’ve found a few answers but I’d love to know more about the line’s history.

The train line began running some time before World War II as a freight line, hauling coal from the coast to Bangkok. As for the rest of the answer:  You can’t reach it from Hualampong, Bangkok’s central train station. Nor from Bangkok Noi, the small station on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, where the train to Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai departs. Continue reading →