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Samut Songkhram is the smallest province in Thailand but boasts the fifth-highest population density, leaving it somewhat crammed for space. The capital city—also called Samut Songkhram—in particular has little room to spare, lacking a large open space for farmers, fisherman, and artisans to sell their wares. Thus, the local market can be found in a novel and extremely narrow corridor in the center of the city, along the tracks of the Maeklong Railway.
The Maeklong Railway is only 3 feet wide, but it has 5–10 feet of clearance on both sides, giving merchants a tight but workable space in which to set up their tented displays. Market stalls line a 300-meter stretch of urban railroad, selling everything one might expect to find in any Thai market: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, herbs and spices, clothing, flowers, and tempting street food. Six times a day, however, the hubbub has to momentarily pause in deference to a train rolling through its midst.
A warning bell lets buyers and sellers alike know that its time to clear the tracks for an approaching train. Awnings are folded up and goods displayed near the tracks are either rolled back on wheeled tables or arranged low enough so that the train can pass right over them. The train sounds its fog horn when it draws near and everyone gives it the narrowest of berths, passing mere inches from the goods and people as it rumbles down the middle of the market.
After it passes, the whole scene immediately unfurls again, popping back to life and carrying on as if nothing had happened. This regular closing and opening has earned the market the nickname Talat Rom Hup, or “the folding umbrella market.”
Maeklong Railway Market is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is one of the largest fresh seafood markets in Thailand.
Submitted by Atlas Obscura contributor lewblank.
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