Produce boat in Venice
This week I came across some of the photos I took in two separate vacations. Something caught my eye when I was reviewing my Venice pictures. I came across a photo of a floating vegetable and fruit stand right in the middle of a canal. It immediately jogged my memory about another floating market, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Thailand.
In Venice and Bangkok, we find two world famous canals separated by 8798 km. Two tourist magnets, that attract millions every year. Two very different canals, in two very different cities, yet subtly similar in certain areas.
I discovered that there are over 100 canals in Bangkok. The best known floating market is at Damnoen Saduak, some 109 kilometres southwest of Bangkok. We were told to get there before 10 A.M. because every morning, hundreds of boats crowd the market area to hawk their ware. Most of them are paddled by women with picturesque straw hats. Visitors can find everything from vegetables and fruits to freshly-cooked noodle and souvenirs at this very colorful and lively market.
The best way of appreciating the floating market is to join it, to take a boat ride through the vendors to savour the smells and sounds as well as the sights. I even tasted a bit of the foul-smelling water when I was splashed by a passing speed boat. Exploring the back canals I was rewarded by scenes of a traditional way of life that has scarcely changed over the years.
Some of the canals are so narrow, you can literally touch the sides.
Long-tailed boats
The canals in Venice are grander in scale and class. The huts and shacks alongside the canals of Bangkok are replaced with colorful and regal old 14th and 15th century buildings.
Instead of the fresh coconuts sold everywhere in Bangkok, you’ll find Gelato Shops in every alley and corner shop in Venice. Strangely enough the Gelatos cost less than the coconuts. Instead of long tail boats, we took the Vaporetti, Venice’s very own public water taxi.
Vaporetti take visitors along the main canals, to the islands, and around the lagoon.
The best way of appreciating the floating market is to join it, to take a boat ride through the vendors to savour the smells and sounds as well as the sights. I even tasted a bit of the foul-smelling water when I was splashed by a passing speed boat. Exploring the back canals I was rewarded by scenes of a traditional way of life that has scarcely changed over the years.
Some of the canals are so narrow, you can literally touch the sides. Long-tailed boats The canals in Venice are grander in scale and class. The huts and shacks alongside the canals of Bangkok are replaced with colorful and regal old 14th and 15th century buildings.
Instead of the fresh coconuts sold everywhere in Bangkok, you’ll find Gelato Shops in every alley and corner shop in Venice. Strangely enough the Gelatos cost less than the coconuts. Instead of long tail boats, we took the Vaporetti, Venice’s very own public water taxi. Vaporetti take visitors along the main canals, to the islands, and around the lagoon. 
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the number of photos I took in Venice must be worth a best-selling novel.
Two canals, two worlds apart, yet they exist for the same reason – to support life. Two very different cities, but the canals carry the same importance and value to those who depend on it.In a similar vein, we may all be different in one way or another, yet our basic needs and aspirations are similar.
Strive for unity, not uniformity!
“We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future.” Ephesians 4:4
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