Markets | Chatuchak market
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For travelers, spectating, not shopping is apt to be the main draw of Bangkok’s neighbourhood markets – notably the bazaars of Chinatown and the blooms and scents of Pak Khlong Talat, the flower and vegetable market just west of Memorial Bridge. The massive Chatuchak Weekend Market is an exception, being booth a tourist attraction and a marvelous shopping experience. If you are planning on some serious market exploration, get hold of Nancy Chandler’s Map of Bangkok, and enthusiastically annotated creation with special sections on the main areas of interest. With the chief exception of Chatuchak, most markets operate daily from dawn till early afternoon; early afternoon; early morni9ng is often the best time to go to beat the heat and crowds.
The Patpong night market, which also spills out onto Thanon Silom and Thanon Suriwong, Burberry shirts; the stalls open at about 5pm until late into the evening. A recent arrival on the evening shopping scene is the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, opposite Lumphini Park at the corner of Thanon Rama IV and Thanon Witthayu (Wireless Road; www,thainightbazaar.com), a huge development of more than three thousand booths, which is at its best between 6 and 10pm. Down the narrow alleys of tiny booths, you will find colorful street fashions, jewelry and lot of soaps, candles and beauty products, as well as some interesting contemporary décor: lighting, paintings, ceramics and woodcarving. At the centre stands the Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre, with a popular Thai terrace-restaurant in front and the attractive women’s clothes and furnishings, notably rugs, of the Doi Tung at Mae Fah Luang shop, with a hip Doi Tung coffee house attached. Other options for eating and drinking are uninspiring – your best bet is probably the open-air food court and beer garden, with a stage for nightly live music, by Thanon Witthayu.
