For Bangkok, Pak Khlong Talat is an unusual feast for the senses. Operating on the streets around the end of Saphan Phut (the Memorial Bridge), which spans the Chao Phraya River, the flower market - the biggest in town - is a refreshing antidote to the hustle and bustle of the increasingly frantic city.
After dark is the best and cheapest time to visit. Fifteen baht (HK$3) buys a bunch of purple orchids, 20 baht a handful of red ones and 30 baht orange flowers with red spots. Carnations go for 100 baht for a bunch of 20.
True romantics will delight in the roses. Fifty baht means 30 red roses (that's right, 30, but the true love you have to work at). They come in thick sheets of newspaper - but the rich, extravagant or just plain prissy will be pleased to know that individually wrapped red roses with a lot of lace, frills and bows are also available, although they will set you back 100 baht each.
Part of the beauty of Pak Khlong Talat isn't that imported western flowers can be had on the cheap but that some local, exotic blooms can be found here too. 'Crab's claws', with their long, pointed flowers, resemble pincers and are a snip at 50 baht for 10. More expensive, at 40 baht each, are pink dala flowers. These tight, compact flowers with irregular petals have a definite Dali-esque quality.
There is an element of education in a visit to this market, especially if you've grown up believing roses are always red, violets blue and orchids white. It provides a useful introduction to aquamarine chrysanthemums, the heads of which are covered in white paper before they are sold, and eye-catching but unappealing lilac roses. These and the turtles made out of white and purple flowers -
a bargain at 40 baht (small) and 80 baht (large) - prepare the visitor for buckets of psychedelic-coloured flowers (below right). Someone appears to be playing an out-of-season April Fool's joke but Thai politeness results in a quick admission the flowers have been dyed.