Bangkok Chatuchak Weekend Market

I've been to Bangkok so many times, but I've never been to the famous Chatuchak (or Jatujak) weekend market. That's because I've only been to Bangkok on business trips and have never stayed over the weekends.

The last trip to Bangkok, since my best friend is now based there, I extended my stay to visit her, and naturally Chatuchak market is in my 'must go' list.

This world's largest weekend market can be accessed via BTS Skytrain. There are almost 9,000 individual booths, selling almost everything that you can imagine and cannot imagine.

Some of these stores are manned by factory owners who sell the over-produced goods or second grade goods. By second grade, it could be due to inconsistent colour that couldn't match the order. These goods are sold at very cheap price.

I like this market a lot more than those in Beijing or Shanghai. The main reason is the price - the offer/asking price. One can be an idiot paying for something 10 times another pays, when you shop in China. An item offered for 400 can be closed at 40 (10% of the initial price).

But in Thailand, this won't happen. Asking price is normally not too high, so even if your bargaining skill is not very good, the price you pay may not be too much more than your friend's (at least not 10 times higher like in China!).

Another interesting feature of this market is, the shops are very different from one another, even though they are selling the same item. For example, two clothes shops carry very differnt types of clothes, two shoes shops carry differnet designs and material of shoes, etc.

There are very interesting shops, e.g. handmade clocks with 3D designs and background, bathroom slippers with funny animals head, cloth paintings with typical Thailand graphics, etc.

Various things that the market contains:

• Books & collectibles
• Plants and Gardening
• Home utensils & decors
• Pets & accessories
• Antiques
• Chothing & accessories
• Handicrafts
• Furnitures
• Miscellaneous & decors
• Food & snacks