The best and busiest in town is this weekend market.
Here, thousands descend every weekend to trade everything from Burmese
antiques to livestock. Spread over a sizeable area, the maze of alleys in
this sometimes overwhelming market is jam-packed with an astonishing array
of goods, divided loosely into specific areas. Originally a flea market, it
has become a creative centre over the past five years with many young Thai
designers taking advantage of the lower rent to sell their wares. As it
tends to get very busy (and hot). it's best to go either in the early
morning or late afternoon. To help you navigate around the market. If you
need Chatuchak with air-con, visit government-run Narai Phand opposite
Central World Plaza, where you can find good-value handicraft from all over
the country. And you don't even have to bargain here.
Suan Luam Night Bazaar
The city's official night bazaar, this market is smaller
and easier to navigate than Chatuchak and is complimented by a lively food
court and beer garden. Geared heavily towards tourists, the stalls here
offer the usual mix of craft, textiles and local knickknacks. However there
are some creative gems amongst the trinkets and it's well worth looking
around, if only to build up your thirst for the connecting food/beer garden.
Here local bands blast out favourites (try and find a seat towards the back)
while food vendors do a brisk business. To wash it all down, there's a wide
selection of local and German beer, available b the glass or gallon.
Khao San Road
This budget travellers enclave is home to a variety of
shops tailoring to the younger visitor (beer t-shirt, pirated CDs,
second-hand books). The road has a unique vibrancy any time of the day and
is an excellent place to visit for a snack or cold drink while exploring
Rattanakosin.
Patpong
As Patpong has cleaned up its act recently, it has
emerged more as a busy night market than its previous incarnation as seedy
red-light district. The gogo bars have become almost invisible behind the
tight network of stalls that are set up along Silom and Patpong starting
around 6pm nightly. Selling the usual blend of cheap designer knock-offs,
pirated DVDs and fake watches, the Market also offers local craft and
innovative souvenirs. Prices are very competitive; bargaining is a must.
Klong Toei
This large market offers the full spectrum of ingredients
required for the intricacies of Thai Cuisine. Fresh meat, fish, herbs and
spices rub shoulders with towering piles of vegetables, fruit and rice.
Visit it in the very early morning as the market slows down after 10am.
Pak Khlong Talad (Flower Market)
Next to Saphan Phut (Memorial Bridge) lies Bangkok's main
flower market, Pak Khlong Talad, a 24-hour hive of floral activity awash
with blooms carted in from around the country. Horticulturists will enjoy a
stroll through the blossom-scented pavements. It is good to bargain as
foreign faces tend to pay ore than local ones.
Pratunam
A popular trading centre for textiles and fabrics, this
lively market is spread around the base of the Baiyok II Tower, attracting a
healthy mix of African and Arabic traders.
The city's official night bazaar, this market is smaller
and easier to navigate than Chatuchak and is complimented by a lively food
court and beer garden. Geared heavily towards tourists, the stalls here
offer the usual mix of craft, textiles and local knickknacks. However there
are some creative gems amongst the trinkets and it's well worth looking
around, if only to build up your thirst for the connecting food/beer garden.
Here local bands blast out favourites (try and find a seat towards the back)
while food vendors do a brisk business. To wash it all down, there's a wide
selection of local and German beer, available b the glass or gallon.
