Jeroen and I are staying in Bangkok for the first two weeks of July. Unfortunately, Jeroen has to work, but for me it’s vacation and time to play the tourist. Last weekend we visited the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, one of the biggest markets in the world.

200.000 visitors

I’m not the biggest fan of massive and crowded places. I get a bit annoyed, Jeroen happily agrees! Is it a good idea to visit a market with an average of 200,000 visitors every weekend? Not really, but we didn’t want to miss it. 15.000 stalls divided over 27 different sections, you can easily walk around here for a day!

Mother of all markets

The Chatuchak Weekend Market is also called Jatujak and is nicknamed ‘Mother of All Markets’. By metro you get off at the ‘Chatuchak park stop’ and then it speaks for itself which direction you have to walk to. Several signs show you the way or you just follow the people who all go the same way. The market opens at ten o’clock in the morning and because we were there quite early, the hustle and bustle was not too bad!

Shoes, animals and massages

We walked around here for a few hours, which was enough for us because at noon it gets really crowded. Are you looking for something special? This market has it all: clothes, shoes, furniture, bags, jewelry, animals, food and massages. On several blogs, it’s recommended to dive into how the system of this market works.

‘Soi’

You don’t expect it when you walk around, but there’s a system in Chatuchak. The market has one main street and from there you can take several side streets, the ‘Soi’. The streets are divided into 27 sections with each section having a theme, such as clothing or souvenirs. We didn’t know this but decided to walk into random streets and see where we ended up. This also works very well, as long as you know how to get back to the main street.

Monkey for sale!

There seems to be an animal section that is experienced as a culture shock by many Westerners. We haven’t seen this, but apparently you can buy puppies, turtles, squirrels and monkeys at this market. Very bizarre and certainly not something you can find on the Dutch market. If you really want to see this then it is useful to find out in advance where this part is located. After a few months in Asia, we get the idea that animals here are not treated as they should be. Very sad and something I will write about later.

Negotiate

Besides a lot of junk on this market, you will also find several boutiques of artists and designers. Very nice to stroll along! You can also buy all the souvenirs for the family at home and not necessary for the price they ask you to pay. The tourists here do nothing but negotiate. If you can’t get it for the price you have in mind, you just walk on to the next stall and start all over again. Tired of walking along the sections for hours? You can end the day at the market with a Thai massage!