Amphawa

The prawn hits the grill on the boat deck and the fat starts to spit. Three boats down, a vendor flips noodles in a wok balanced on a plank, and the canal smells of charcoal, coconut sugar and river water. After dark, longtails drift into the side canals where fireflies pulse in the cork trees in synchronised waves. Amphawa is the floating market that actually floats — and actually feeds you.

Amphawa is a canal-side community in Samut Songkhram Province, seventy kilometres southwest of Bangkok. Unlike the more famous Damnoen Saduak, its floating market feeds mostly Thai visitors: vendors cook on their boats — river prawns over charcoal, noodles in smoking woks, coconut desserts steamed in pandan leaf — while the teak shophouses along the water hold guesthouses, cafés and galleries. After dark, longtail boats slip along the Mae Klong's tributaries to watch thousands of fireflies blinking in unison in the lamphu trees. Coconut palm sugar has been made here for generations; its caramel sweetness runs through everything.