Without anything pressing to do we spent our second day in Bangkok at the Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Weekend Market.

It was a fantastic market, with tons of unique items, and I can’t believe it’s only open on the weekend.

I saw so many crafts to buy: loose string tops for L and S, some strings of lights with beautiful hand-crafted flowers on each light, handmade papers of all sorts for art and tons of beads for jewelry.

But as this was only the second day of our two month trip it probably wasn’t the best time to stock up with goods!

Shopping for lotus seed pods in Chatuchak Market.
Hilltribe silver with the traditional handwoven, hand-dyed cloth used in modern clothing designs.
Fabric heart pillow covers.
Elaborate tea set.
Tuk-tuks made out of beer cans.
Magical flower lights. Despite the convolutions of the market I managed to find this light place again. The owner had just filled an order for 2000 strings of lights that had been sent off to France. They especially liked her version of bouganvilla (as did I), but I went instead for a string of red paper lilies that I plan to wind around the often bare plumeria tree. After a lot of bargaining I got it for 170 Bht.
Coloured glasses.

Food

It wasn’t just shopping where you were spoiled for choice, there was unique and varied food on offer as well.

Quail’s eggs and other deep-fried nibbles.
Red soda and molded jellies.
Yes, that’s paella done Thai-style. I’m not sure what it tasted like but it sure smelled good.
BBQ fish on a stick.
Some drinks in unknown flavours.
We were pretty timid and stopped for an iced coffee at a tiny coffee bar. It just happened to have beer as well, so Al ordered that instead. When they brought the beer out it was covered with white frost. I wanted it but Al wouldn’t trade me.
Several hours later it felt like we had visited all 15000 stalls and meandered around the 35-acre market twice. We were hot, footsore, thirsty and weary so we stopped in a charming little cafe within the market. First off was several cold soda waters…
We ordered a small Pad Thai with extras.
The cook was a little dynamo.

Nitty Gritty

Catch the sky train to Mo Chit, and follow the crowds. Some of the signs say ‘JJ Market’ which is short for Jatujak (Chatuchak) Market. You are going to the right place.

The hours given online vary widely. But for sure ALL the hundreds of stalls are open Friday night, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Bring cash.

There were a few interesting-sounding night bazaars recommended online, but by the time we got to Bangkok they had all been bulldozed into a mass of rubble, and no new ones had sprung up anywhere else.