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Chatuchak Market

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Travword
Travword
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
20
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Editor Pick

Chatuchak Market - Patience = Rewards!

  • July 8, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by bettybetty10 from Dallas, Texas
Chatuchak Market is the Saturday (and ONLY Saturday) market that sells everything under the sun. It is easy to spend an entire day wandering the hundreds of aisles, selling everything from clothing to pets, housewares to food. You can get there by taking the AirTrain and there are signs directing you to the market. OR, follow the crowd!

The only downfall to Chatuchak is that it can get extremely hot – the aisles are very narrow, it is outdoors (so no fans or AC), and there are tons of people. A Thai friend of mine said that he went once and he almost fainted from the heat. At the start, it can feel like a total maze, and it was easy to get frustrated, because we couldn’t find the aisles we wanted. We were walking through aisles of what looked like junk (like plastic bins, wrapping paper, slippers, cheesy Thai souvenirs, etc). Plus, we were sweating like crazy and drinking many bottles of water. However, once we figured out the map, it is a shoppers paradise!

I believe in the past, there used to be several aisles dedicated to livestock, snakes, and other animals, however, according to the map that we picked up there, they are no longer sold there. Instead, there is a "Pet and Supplies" section, where adorable puppies and kittens are dressed up in tiaras and bowties in hopes of finding a home. We walked by a kiosk where 20 bunnies in a box were looking for homes!! No snakes, however, which were supposed to be the highlight.

There are tons of tshirt vendors, but the best find, for me, were the independent designers. There were tons of young designers showcasing their wares and it was like shopping in the hippest boutique lined street in San Francisco or New York. The clothing was very affordable (I bought a reconstructed tshirt dress for just 150 Baht) and very funky! You can’t try on anything, but most of the stuff is one size, or S/M/L – if you’re of average height and size, it should fit. There are also several aisles dedicated to local artists, and walking through is like a gallery walk in Chelsea!

Other notable aisles include pottery, various local handicrafts, rugs, and silk. There are also quite a few ATMs and UPS stores to help you ship what you bought home! We also walked by some very bustling in business outdoor restaurants serving amazing ice cold glasses of iced tea and huge platters of noodles and other yummy thai dishes.

From journal Hot Hot Hot Bangkok

I Can't Hardly Wait to Back There Soon!

chatuchak market is very huge in size. it's like heaven to shoppers.. it's cheap and good in quality. you can find from clothing to furniture, pet, etc..
everything you can imagine you can have it there..

this market is soo crowd.. the locals and tourists melt together here..do some bargaining.

me, myself find so many things here! about 20 piece cloth, 5 trousers and many accessories..

i really recommended this place. me,myself can't hardly wait to back there soon.
Editor Pick

Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Weekend Market

  • January 11, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by SeenThat from Tel Aviv, Israel
Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Weekend Market

A magical gate into the Thai culture, the Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the most enjoyable attractions in Bangkok.

Access

Few spots in the city are so accessible: the Skytrain, the subway and practically all the buses reaching Mo Chit - Bangkok's accessible bus terminal - reach the market.

Activity Hours

The market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 7am until the last customer leaves; during the weekdays, only counted stalls in the central structure are open.

Timing

Due to the crowds and the narrow alleys, the place can get unpleasantly hot; hence, arriving early in the morning is recommended. Despite that, the place is completely safe; the only danger is loosing a friend in one of the endless alleys.

The Market

The market is one of the world's biggest ones and offers practically every good produced in the kingdom, from high quality silk, through birds waiting to be free in the Buddhist fashion, and ending in wooden carvings. Even jewels - especially the colored stones so favored by the Thais - can be bought here.

With around ten thousand booths, it is impossible to cover the market in a single visit, but that vast richness is what makes this market unique and worthy. An entertaining aspect of the market, are the endless variation of tactics used by the stalls to call the attention of potential buyers, from making unusual noises to wearing strange clothes.

The crowds filling the narrow alleys are as varied as the merchandise, ranging from merchants from far away Thai provinces to "farangs," the long nosed visitors from all the globe's corners. A good place to socialize with the locals is the many food stalls selling everything from typical Thai snacks to beverages of strange colors and tastes.

Prices

The prices here are substantially lower than elsewhere in Bangkok, but higher than in the provinces where the goods originate. However, the opportunity to compare and choose among vast quantities of similar products more than compensates for that.

Bargaining

Bargaining is an expected and enjoyable part of the experience. After spotting a worthy item, relax, and show the shopkeeper your best smile while pointing at it. A price would be announced. Now is the moment for showing a respectable state of shock and asking for twenty percent of the mentioned price by the shopkeeper.

After enjoying the vendor's shocked face, continue the ritual until an agreement is reached. A forty to fifty percent of the original price can be reached with a bit of patience and humor. A good negotiating tactic is learning the Thai numbers and bargaining afterwards like a local; the sellers would enjoy so much the tones mispronunciations that a better price is guaranteed.

From journal Shopping in Bangkok

Editor Pick

Chatuchak Weekend Market

  • May 2, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Chatuchak Weekend Market

This has been a Bangkok ‘must-see’ for years but the market is currently going through a transition. Some areas of the original market have been closed and the stalls pulled down, and a new air-conditioned high-rise building called JJ Plaza has opened close by. Some stalls have relocated here but many parts of the old market are still operating and the adjacent Chatuchak Plaza still exists.

The scale of it is unbelievable. It covers 35 acres, contains more than 15,000 shops and stalls, has over 200,000 visitors each day, who spend an estimated 30 million baht (approx US$800,000). The range of products on sale is extensive, and includes household accessories, handicrafts, religious artifacts, art, antiques, live animals (which unfortunately are frequently caged in cruel conditions), books, music, clothes, food, plants, flowers, etc.

Chatuchak has in theory been segregated into areas depending on the types of goods sold, and there are maps available for the market which detail the various sections. You're as well to just forget them and just wander wherever takes your fancy, as it is an extremely disorientating place of many narrow alleys and trying to follow a map around can prove very frustrating.

Chatuchak always gets very hot and humid during the day, and it's far from the most comfortable shopping experience but for most people the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Going early in the day when it is a bit cooler is recommended. When it becomes too much, head for the air-conditioned JJ Plaza (but expect prices to be higher).

Bargaining is expected, if not mandatory, at Chatuchak and the prices are generally substantially cheaper than the shopping centers and street stalls on Silom and Sukhumvit. Chatuchak is a particularly good place to buy all sorts of Thai handicrafts, as there's a huge range, and competition keeps the prices low. Be careful when buying antiques though, as a large majority of these are fake and telling the difference between the genuine and the copies can be extremely difficult. Genuine antiques require a permit to be taken out of the country.

The published opening hours for the market are from 9am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday, though many of the stalls actually open sometime between 9am and 10am and close around sunset. Parts of Chatuchak open on Friday as a market for wholesalers, but there is no problem doing normal shopping on this day either. JJ Plaza and Chatuchak Plaza are pretty much open every day.

The best way to get here is on the Skytrain to Mo Chit station which is only about five minutes walk away from the market or by underground to Kamphaeng Phet station. Take plenty of cash (but ATM's are there), comfortable shoes, bag(s), a good sense of humour, and don't forget to drink water. You'll probably need the toilets and they can be dirty and hot. The best one is near the station and the book section while those in JJ Plaza are modern and clean.

From journal Bangkok Sightseeing

Editor Pick

Chatuchak Market

Welcome to the world’s largest weekend market. Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend Market, or JJ’s Market, is a must see for any shopper of anything you can imagine. Thousands of vendors from all parts of Thailand and around the region are eager to sell and negotiate prices of their items to you. You will rarely find prices listed on most objects, as it seems it really depends on how you are sized up by the individual vendor as to what the starting price will be. They expect the tourist and the locals to haggle over the price, regardless of how good of a deal the item first seems to appear.

There are signs everywhere warning the large crowds to beware of pickpockets. It is for this reason I carried my wallet in my front pocket while shopping there.

There are myriads of individuals playing instruments or singing, hoping you will toss some Baht in their container or open musical case. The children singers seemed to always draw a crowd. Getting to JJ’s is easy. The metered taxis are a good choice when the local traffic isn’t backed up to far, but the subway is always the best way to get there. Depending on your starting location the price will vary, but usually doesn’t stray too far from fifty to sixty Baht.

There are hundreds of food and drink vendors scattered throughout the place so taking time to refresh and revitalize is always just a few yards away, or you can just grab a quick snack and a drink and keep walking and shopping.
Has shopping got your feet tired and sore? Not a problem. Foot massage places are scattered around and can usually be performed for less than 200 Baht an hour. I highly recommend that every traveler indulge in this activity. It feels incredible and offers a chance to be off your feet and get pampered. Whether you’re looking for Hill Tribe silver, trinkets, incense, pipes, scorpions, sarongs, Thai silk or crafts, everything under the sun is… under the sun at the Chatuchak Market.

From journal Bangkok Revisited

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