“Chatuchak Weekend Market”:https://www.chatuchakmarket.org/ is a Bangkok institution with 15,000 stalls spread over 35 acres and 200,000 visitors. Although we’d been many years ago, it was an ideal way to spend a Sunday morning (the whole market is open on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm).
From our hotel, the “U Sukhumvit”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/accommodation/195116, we took the Metro, rather than the Sky Train, as the exit at Kamphaeng Phet station, takes you directly to the market entrance. The information desk had a ready supply of photocopied market maps and we quickly planned our morning, to take in as much as possible.
It’s extremely well organised with 30 numbered, themed sections. For example, if you’re looking for clothing, accessories and shoes you should head for sections 12, 14, 21 to 24, whilst area 7 has art and paintings. You’ll also find dried food, ceramics, silk, silver, home decoration and much more.
Interspersed were food stalls selling all manner of tempting Thai street food, and a plethora of air-conditioned areas offering various types of foot, leg and shoulder massages – here the welcome AC and free Wi-Fi appeared to be as much of a draw as the relaxation.
Thai silk scarves and pashminas were ubiquitous, and many stalls offered ‘buy 10, get one free’.
I would have shopped more if we’d not been at the beginning of a two-month trip. However, I did buy a rather nice apron (220 Baht/£5.50) and a set of 12 wooden cocktail spoons and forks (150 Baht). Not the most exciting purchases, but ones which were easy to pack. This is not particularly a place for bartering and we found most stall holders did not offer a ‘best price’.
Arriving at 9.30am it was relatively quiet, but by the time we left three hours later, the crowds were arriving making it more difficult to negotiate the narrow alley ways.
My advice would be to arrive as early as possible, don’t take a huge back pack, and of course, watch your purse.
