If you go during regular hours, Pak Khlong Market is just another sleepy network of alleys with flower shops one after another near the southern part of Rattanakosin Island. But in the wee hours of the morning at say, 2 to 3 am, get ready for some flowery chaos. What started as a small floating market in the 1700s has reinvented itself into the flower and produce Pak Khlong Market today.
Get there with coffee in one hand and make yourself a flower – a wallflower to be exact because you need to get out of everybody’s way. Hang back. You will first see trucks parked all around delivering flowers from across the nation. Flower merchants and delivery men exchange hands. Hoteliers, restaurateurs, florists are all here to get their best floral choices at wholesale prices. Expect some spirited bargaining. The best part? The kaleidoscopic assault of colors and fragrant scents combined with the cool air provided by crushed ice strewn everywhere. There is nothing like it in Pak Khlong Market.
If you find the action too much, slow down by observing some vendors meticulously crafting flower garlands for use at temples, such as Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and Wat Kalayanamitr nearby. It is probably the only zen focal point of Pak Khlong Market.
