Floating Market & Wat Sam Phran (Pink Dragon Temple) (FM5)

Description

• 08:00 Pickup from your hotel in Bangkok and travel to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market which is located about 100km southwest of Bangkok in the Thai province of Ratchaburi. There are several floating markets with Damnoen Saduak Floating Market being the most popular and provides visitors with a distinctive shopping and cultural experience that takes place on and around the waterways.
• You will take a ride in a paddle boat which is a great way to explore the floating market. Paddle boats are the ideal vehicle to navigate the busy waterways, allowing you to get a closer look at the colorful waterside market stalls and other passing boats and also engage with the traders. You will experience the dynamic atmosphere of the floating market with traders selling fruits, vegetables, foods, drinks, crafts and souvenirs from their boats and riverside stalls. After traveling through the floating market the paddle boat will take you to visit a coconut sugar farm where the coconut sugar is produced by collecting the sap of coconut palm trees. This is then boiled and evaporated until it forms a crystallized sugar. These farms typically offer visitors the opportunity to learn about the coconut sugar production process, witness the tapping of coconut trees and even participate in making and tasting the delicious coconut sugar.
• After the floating market you will then travel to Wat Bang Kung which is a quaint Buddhist temple located in Samut Songkhram Province. A small chapel that is entirely contained among the roots of a giant Banyan tree is one of this temple’s most distinctive architectural features. This amazing tree has grown up around the chapel and gradually incorporated it into its structure. Wat Bang Kung is known for its long history which dates back to the 16th century and is connected to the Ayutthaya era. At that time Wat Bang Kung played a key role as a defensive bastion in the numerous conflicts between Thailand and its neighbors.
• Lunch at local restaurant.
• After lunch you will travel to Wat Sam Phran (Pink Dragon Temple) which is located about 30km east of Nakhon Pathom. Wat Sam Phran is famous for its unique pink cylindrical building with a gigantic red and green dragon sculpture curling around the entire height. This dragon building is 80m tall and contains a spiraling flight of stairs which can be ascended to the rooftop where stunnning views of the surrounding countryside can be viewed. The dragon that envelops the building from the bottom to the top symbolises a human’s journey from sorrow to happiness and from hell to heaven. The seventeen floors signify the heavenly realms that one reaches in the afterlife based on the strength and quality of their past karma. Making a wish before climbing the staircase of the temple through the dragon’s belly is considered to bring good fortune. Wat Sam Phran also contains a huge Buddha statue as well as many additional Buddhist images and at the footsteps of the main building are seven small shrines dedicated to Buddha for each day of the week.
• 17:00 Return to your hotel.

** Guide times are approximate depending upon local traffic and weather conditions and can also be adjusted to suit your own personal requirements **

Tour includes

• Comfortable air-conditioned vehicle
• English speaking local tour guide
• All applicable entrance fees
• Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
• Paddle boat ride
• Coconut sugar farm
• Wat Bang Kung
• Lunch
• Wat Sam Phran (Pink Dragon Temple)
• Travel insurance