Tammy Faye Bakker once said: "I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist".
Damn, I cannot disagree with her!
If you are visiting Bangkok, the Chatuchak market is a MUST. Not just because it is one of the largest market in the world but also, things you can shop here you will not find anywhere else. Trust me.
Damn, I cannot disagree with her!
If you are visiting Bangkok, the Chatuchak market is a MUST. Not just because it is one of the largest market in the world but also, things you can shop here you will not find anywhere else. Trust me.
For the bazaar freak, the Chatuchak market is a dream come to reality and the experience will be an epic!
Every week-end 8 thousand stalls occupy an area of almost 300 acres and more than 200 thousand visitors walk between stands till exhausted and then crash in one of the restaurants.
The market is enormous and it is very easy to loose the sense of direction: you happen to walk the same route over and over again. Don't worry, at every entry point you get a pocket map that show the different sections, but if you like adventures trust your instinct and start to walk.
There is actually a system to navigate inside the bazaar and it's pretty useful for "novices": there is a main street that surrounds the entire market and from this, leave many lanes (Soi1, Soi2, Soi3, etc.) that lead to various sections (27 in all). Of course, same kind of goods can also be found in different sections (for example, shoes can be sold in in Soi2 as in 10 or 15) but at least this system doesn't let you loose your orientation.
Do not expect the "bazaar prices", so that many restaurants have two menus: one for locals and one for tourists. What I recommend you is to bargain the prices as much as possible and do not trust the authenticity of the goods, especially if you are buying antiquities. For the rest... get jiggy with it!
In Chatuchak Market you will find just about anything and this small list helps you to get an idea of its immensity:
- Clothing & Accessories (sections 2-6, 10-26)
- Handicrafts (sections 8-11)
- Ceramics (sections 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 25)
- Furniture and Home Decoration (sections 1,3,4,7,8)
- Food and Beverage (sections 2, 3, 4, 23, 24, 26, 27)
- Plants and Gardening tools (sections 3, 4)
- Art and Gallery (section 7)
- Pets and Pet Accessories (sections 8, 9, 11, 13)
- Books (sections 1, 27)
- Antiques and Collectibles (sections 1, 26)
- Miscellaneous and Used Clothing (sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22, 25, 26)
Getting to the market is very easy and we all should thank the excellence of the public transport in Bangkok. With the sky train get off in Mo Chit Station, take exit No.1 and follow the crowd till a small entrance that will take you straight into it. With the subway get off at Chatuchak Park and again follow the crowd.
The market is open during week-end from 9am to 6pm and friday night from 6pm to 12pm.
Before going there, don't forget to carry an empty bag and to refill your wallet!
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