Buying fruit and veg at your local market is very rarely a life or death situation. Unless you live in Thailand, of course… Maeklong Market in Samut Songkhram spends most of its time as your everyday Thai market, but also happens to be a railway line at the same time!
A train goes right through the middle of the market eight times a day, seven days a week. When it does, the market traders have to scramble to get their produce off the tracks and their awnings out of the way in time for the No. 4382 train from Maeklong to Ban Laem.
And any shoppers who happen to be milling about are forced to quickly find a place to escape to, as the railway tracks also happen to be the main thoroughfare through the market.
To make matters worse, the train often brushes up against the fruit and vegetables as it passes through the market, presumably adding a slight hint of railway to your mangoes.
As soon as the train has finished its journey through the market, everything returns to normal, with traders setting out their stock once again and shoppers continuing to wander around on the tracks.
This great video shows just how bizarre Maeklong Market really is. My favourite bit is just after the train has passed through when the traders immediately pull their awnings out again, as if nothing had just happened!
You can travel by railway or plane, but make sure you have travel insurance.
Photo credits: calflier001 (CC BY-SA 2.0),