Bang Bo lies on the eastern edge of the Bangkok metropolitan area, in Samut Prakan province, where the urban sprawl starts to thin out into a flat landscape of canals, fish and shrimp ponds, rice fields and factories. It is not on most travel itineraries, but it hides a lovely old market, and it makes a good place to end a ride with a meal.
On the canal that marks the border with Chachoengsao province, the Khlong Suan Hundred Year Market is a row of old wooden shophouses facing the water, connected by walkways and bridges, where families have traded for generations. The market has been carefully preserved and revived, and on weekends it is full of Thai visitors eating local sweets, noodle soups, grilled fish and coffee brewed in old-fashioned cloth filters. It has an unhurried, nostalgic atmosphere, a glimpse of what life along the canals was like before the roads arrived.
The canals here were the main transport routes for centuries, linking the rice-growing areas east of Bangkok with the city and the sea. Many are still used by small boats, and the waterside villages, with their wooden houses on stilts, are a reminder of a slower way of life. The area is also important for aquaculture, and the ponds produce fish and shrimp for the Bangkok markets.
As a finish point, Bang Bo is convenient for the eastern side of Bangkok and the airport at Suvarnabhumi, which lies not far to the north-west. The main roads, including the Bang Na–Trat highway, are wide, busy and full of trucks, so stay alert. The smaller roads along the canals are narrow, sometimes poorly surfaced, and shared with scooters, dogs and pedestrians. Fuel, convenience stores and food are easy to find. The heat in the middle of the day can be intense, so a late afternoon finish, with a cold drink by the canal, is the best plan.