Damnoen Saduak (ดำเนินสะดวก)

Thai. ‘Convenient progress’. Name of Thailand's longest straight man-made canal,  as well as of a floating market located in Ratchaburi Province. Known as Khlong Damnoen Saduak (คลองดำเนินสะดวก), the canal connects Bangkok via Samut Sakon and was commissioned by King Mongkhut, i.e. Rama IV (fig.), and completed in 1868. It stretches approximately 35 kilometers, linking the Mae Klong (fig.) and Tha Chin (fig.) rivers, and connects to Khlong Phasi Chareun (คลองภาษีเจริญ) about 2,500 meters downstream. The Phasi Chareun Canal extends roughly 27 kilometers to Wat Pahk Nahm Phasi Chareun (fig.), since 2020 best known for its giant 69 metre tall Buddha statue called Phra Puttha Thammakaya Thep Mongkhon (fig.), at this time the largest Buddha image in the capital. From here, the Phasi Chareun Canal connects to the Khlong Bangkok Yai (คลองบางกอกใหญ่), the Greater  Bangkok Canal, which after about 3.5 kilometers links to the Chao Phraya River (fig.) at Wichai Prasit Fort (fig.), in the very centre of Thailand's capital. At the time, transportation relied mainly on land-based methods using animals or carts. As such this man-made canal, linked with a local network of smaller canals, became a vital trade route, facilitating the movement of goods between rural areas and Bangkok. Along the Damnoen Saduak Canal in Ratchaburi is the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Floating markets, where vendors sell products directly from their boats, are symbols of traditional Thai waterborne commerce and are known in Thai as talaat nahm (fig.), literally ‘water markets’. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is arguably the most renowned of Thailand’s floating markets, known for its vibrant, tourist-friendly atmosphere. Situated not far from Amphawa (อัมพวา) Floating Market in neighbouring Samut Songkhram, it continues to be a popular destination, offering boat rides and local products while maintaining its historical charm. Damnoen Saduak floating market long had a Santa Claus-like figure wearing a traditional Thai farmer's hat (fig.), dark sunglasses, a necklace with some amulets (fig.), and a single white glove, standing along the main entrance road saluting cars passing by (fig.) and touting visitors to park their vehicles and take a canal tour from the nearby Chanta Suwannoh (จันทสุวรรณโณ) wharf, in an area called Thung Setthi (ทุ่งเศรษฐี). With his long white beard, rare with Thai people, he was the first noticeable welcome sign for visitors. The iconic figure was such an attraction, that when he finally passed away, he was replaced with a large cardboard cutout standee greeting all visitors in perpetuation. Another attraction along Damnoen Saduak, often seen basking on the banks or swimming through the waterways, are Water Monitors, a large species of monitor lizard with the binomial name Varanus salvator, capable of growing up to 3 meters in length with a maximum weight of over 90 kilograms (fig.). Sometimes transcribed Damnun Saduak or Damneun Saduak. See also talaat nahm, MAP, THEMATIC STREET LIGHT (1) and (2), WATCH VIDEO (1), (2) and (3), and VIDEO (EN). 回