Bangkok’s must-visit floating night market – huge grilled prawns, three still unforgettable

Photos & Text byKelly

 I’ve listed Amphawa Floating Night Market as one of the absolute must-visit spots in Bangkok. After coming here once in 2009 and never forgetting it, I brought Kelly’s mom and Luli along this time.





We arrived at Amphawa around 5 PM, checked into our guesthouse for a short rest, and headed out to explore the night market and have dinner around 6:30 PM.



The most unique thing about Amphawa is the shops along both sides of the river!? No—when I came here in 2009, there were almost no shops at all. How did so many appear in recent years? The river is filled with floating boat vendors—you can just order what you want to eat, and they cook it right on their boats. We hadn’t even walked two steps from our guesthouse before we were drawn in by a charcoal-grilled prawn vendor.


We sat down and ordered a huge pile of prawns—I’ve been dreaming about Amphawa’s big prawns ever since.


Little Luli kept shouting to the vendor, “I want to eat!I want to eat!” The vendor didn’t understand but just laughed happily.

A plate of these prawns costs about 300 NT, and we ordered three plates, plus a plate of squid and several plates of stir-fried glass noodles. In Taiwan, you’d never get a plate this good for 300 NT. Last time I came to Amphawa, I only ate one prawn and regretted it so much when I got back to Taiwan—this time, no matter how sick I got, I was going to eat a lot—A LOT—A LOT—(Who was I arguing with?)


These are the several plates of stir-fried glass noodles we ordered. A large plate is 60 NT, but it’s seriously delicious. Little Lulu finished one plate and asked for half another—so impressive.


Halfway through our meal, it suddenly started pouring rain.


Back in 2009, we could only sit on these chairs to eat. Now, probably because there are more tourists, vendors prepare little stools and use the original chairs as tables. We ate as the rain sprayed in—it had such a cozy vibe!!!

I kept saying stuff like this while eating and occasionally let out a girlish laugh, trying to lighten the rainy mood. But Kelly’s mom and Slowly glared at me hard. After we finished eating, paid the bill, and got up to start exploring the night market.

After just a few steps...we spotted another auntie selling even bigger prawns. I turned to look at Money Manager Slowly and gestured that I really, really wanted to eat those big prawns. She’s really stingy, and after begging for a long time, she finally agreed to sit down. Before the vendor came over, I dashed up to the stall and directly ordered three plates of huge prawns (how awesome am I!).


I was so excited just looking at them—I love prawns~ I’m the Prawn Girl~ I’m going to devour you all~~~ ROAR!!! (Go ahead and kick me)
On average, each prawn costs 150 NT, but do you know how huge they are?


It’s just that Kelly’s mom’s face is too small—she’s vertically challenged with a tiny face, so the scale isn’t accurate.


If I had turned the photo black and white, you might think I was eating bananas, because those prawns were honestly banana-sized. I ate three, and I have no idea who ate the other three. That night, I ate so well—the only things in my stomach were prawns and prawn heads. Too bad the stalls closed early; otherwise, I would’ve gone out again for a midnight snack.


Ding Ding Dong didn’t eat a single thing the whole time—could only look and enjoy!! Next time, maybe she’ll be able to munch on prawns like Luli.



The rain went from light to heavy, but it didn’t ruin the mood. After all, you encounter all kinds of weather when traveling. I’d seen the floating market in sunny weather last time, but this time with a bit of rain, it felt cooler and more comfortable.


Amphawa still has shops where you can sit inside and eat—it’s definitely gotten more touristy.


As the night got later, the rain grew heavier. Most walkways in the floating market have roofs, but for some spots, you just had to dash through. Eventually, the rain got so heavy that Ding Ding Dong and her old man went back to take shelter, while the rest of us kept exploring~~~~ because how could a little rain stop this crazy mom?






Eventually, the rain got so heavy we had to take cover.


Amphawa is a more rural area, so the people are very kind and simple. The hat on Luli’s head was a gift from a shopkeeper to Little Lulu, but she didn’t like it. Luli, however, loved wearing it—it was perfect for keeping the rain off. Amphawa even has an Iron Man, but the proportions are a bit weird... his legs seem a bit too short?

This Wu Heshun backpacker place is often mentioned. Kelly’s mom and I bought a milk tea and a coffee. I took one sip and almost threw up. Kelly’s mom stirred the ice cubes a lot and complained it was too sweet, then quickly drank it all. Because I took that one super-sweet, throat-burning sip of coffee, I ended up carrying it back to the guesthouse and only drank it once we got there. Whoa—just as the backpackers say, it was actually really good!!!

If you get a chance to buy it—remember to let the ice melt a bit before drinking. Kelly’s mom was too impatient and drank it all in one go. It’s an ultra-concentrated drink, which is why they add so much ice. Once it melts a bit, it becomes really delicious.


Also, the floating market has some local souvenirs you can buy. We bought three packs of shredded coconut egg rolls. We bought them that night and finished them all on the bus ride back to Bangkok the next day. Should’ve bought more—they were so good.


Even with the rain, there were still plenty of tourists at the night market. But most shops started closing around 8 PM, and with the heavy rain, we decided to head back to the guesthouse to rest.


Our guesthouse at night—we had explored Chatuchak in the morning, then took a two-hour bus ride to Amphawa in the afternoon, and by early evening, the three of us were already flat out asleep.

That’s not me!! It’s my little darling!! This incident tells us—don’t play with your phone in the dark while putting on a face mask at midnight!! It’s super scary, okay!? I almost peed my pants from fright!!

The Amphawa Floating Night Market is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Visitors should take note: if you're coming from Bangkok, it's best to leave around noon, arriving in Amphawa by evening. Rest at your accommodation before heading out to explore the night market. The market operates until about 8:00 PM, with some stalls staying open until 8:30 PM.

There are also boat tours for firefly watching, which most accommodations can help you book directly. The last boat departs at 9:00 PM, so if you’re interested in seeing the fireflies, it’s a good idea to make a reservation when booking your room.

This time, because there were too many kids, I didn’t take the boat ride I went on back in 2009—it goes quite far and isn’t all that safe. I’m glad I didn’t go, though—during that huge thunderstorm, I noticed many tourists who had booked the firefly tour still went out on the boats. Don’t fireflies take shelter from the rain? After finishing this post, I started missing my big shrimp again.


For more travel content, please visitGetting married. Being happy.