"Amazing Amphawa" - to Samut Sakhon Province and Samut Songkhram Province

"Amazing Amphawa" - to Samut Sakhon Province and Samut Songkhram Province by two trains and a boat (organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand) 7:40 am - 7:30 pm. 999 B including train, boat, mini-bus, 2 meals, admission fee, tour guide. Details of this trip (method of payment, meeting point, detailed itinerary, etc.) will be sent by email to members of the Bangkok Travel Meetup who have responded "Yes" by 11:00 pm on November 17. Also, "Maybe" RSVPs must be changed to "Yes" by November 17. Trip Highlights: - Huge Mahachai Market in the Mahachai railway station - Rom Hub market - Boat cruise along Mae Klong River and PeeLoak canal - Shopping at Amphawa Evening Floating Market http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2342/1619783731_eb2fd48a3e.jpg http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/7/0/8/600_10526376.jpeg The Amphawa community received a 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation: Amphawa Canal Community, Thailand The restoration of the traditional Amphawa Canal Community has successfully achieved public-private cooperation in the safeguarding of heritage structures in Thailand. With co-funding from the local government and Denmark, the project has benefited from the active support of the local residents and homeowners and the guidance of Chulalongkorn University. The project has conserved numerous historic buildings of local significance and retained the traditional canal-side urban morphology, which is under threat around the country. The project demonstrates a recognition of the cultural significance of Amphawa and an appreciation of both the architectural and living heritage of the historic canal community. Art's comment: Here's a quote from an article on The Nation website for September 5, 2009 The tradition that stays afloat In danger of getting too slick even for tourists, Central Thailand's floating markets are boasting renewed appeal It's a scenario familiar to everyone in Thailand, if not the foreign tourists: floating market thrives in simpler, quainter times; declines with the advent of the automobile; is revived as a tourist attraction; becomes so commercial that all the old charm is lost forever. The market at Damneun Saduek is a case in point - still popular and photogenic, but hyped beyond recognition of its original appeal. Elsewhere, though, the story's not so dismaying. Amphawa, Bang Nam Phueng and other floating markets are flourishing in the central region, and their ties to the farming community remain strong.