Tighten the belt
You can get a bit addicted to the Thai market. If you look around carefully, you can intensely enjoy very small things.
The big pig's head that looks so pitifully at you, the roast ducks that want to fly in your mouth, the colorful fruit and vegetables, the home-made curry and many ready-made dishes, the wide variety of fish species, not to mention the special oriental scent . Much, much more can be seen if you have an eye for it.
Special markets
You will find it in every place Thailand has one or more markets that are held daily or weekly. Still, I have a few preferences that I like to take a look at, if I have the slightest opportunity and of course in the area.
Bangkok
In Thailand's capital, the Chatuchak weekend market is also very easy to reach for non-insiders. Get on the Skytrain on a Saturday or Sunday and head to the Chatuchak terminus. Follow the large stream of people and just wander around. You are short of eyes and ears. If you visit the market with several people, it is advisable to arrange a meeting point. You will certainly not be the first to lose sight of your fellow traveller(s) while looking around.
Two other interesting markets are the Pak Khlong flower and vegetable market and Bobae market. Both have been extensively written about before. If you type in Pak Khlong or Bobae respectively in the top left corner of this blog, you will find all the details and also how to get there in a special and fun way.
Of course you will find many more markets in a city of this size. Just think of China Town – a different story – and all those stalls that line Silom and Sukhumvit Road from the afternoon until the late hours. And if you still want to be naughty, then wander around the Patpong market in the evening.
Chiang Mai
We make a big jump of about 800 kilometers from Bangkok to Chiangmai. The place is also known for its daily night market; the Night Bazar. Easy to find right in the center of town and just not to be missed. A much nicer market, however, is the Sunday market, which, as the name indicates, is only held on that day. Thaphae Gate, the large entrance gate of the former rampart, is located in the middle of the city at the end of the Thaphae Road. On Sunday, a number of streets around that area are closed to traffic to clear them for many small traders. You see everything, ranging from street musician to designers of nice, nice trinkets. Funny and also artistically made items, such as beautiful handmade greeting cards, are nice purchases.
aranyaprathet
The market that is held daily at this border town with Cambodia is incomparable to any other market. New and also a lot of second-hand clothing, bags, bedding, shoes and you name it all. It is all brought in literally with cartloads. Joost is allowed to know where all the stuff comes from. Buses run daily to this place from both Pattaya and Bangkok. You can rent bicycles and even an electrically propelled vehicle with which you can tour this large market with the whole family. There are a lot of fake items on offer. An iPad for 50 euros, bags from world brands for an affordable price, watches to kiss and approve, and too many to mention.
Tighten the belt
A mischievous young girl approaches me. Around the handlebars and in the basket of her bicycle she has a small assortment of leather belts, of course from the well-known (fake) brands. Think I can get rid of her quickly with my Western size and show that her belts are much too short for this farang and walk on.
Ten minutes later, however, she finds me again in the busy market and this time she proudly shows me a longer leash. She now grossly overestimates my size, because the thing is more than half a meter too long. Don't worry, she can shorten the belt and she's gone. She even knows where to find me in a nearby restaurant. With a big radiant smile she shows the shortened belt and a second one of the correct length. I can't resist her mischievous eyes and I have a lot of admiration for the English she babbles at such a young age. Her whole face glows when I hand her a hundred baht note (€2,40) – her asking price – for the belt. “Thank you very much Sir, good luck to you.”
I'm sure that girl will pull through. Whether my 'genuine leather Diesel belt' will fare the same is doubtful, but in this case also less important.
– Reposted message –
What a great story Joseph. I felt like I was walking next to you! That Ipod, would it really work, do you think? Haha. Please continue with your stories. Great to start the morning with coffee and a cigarette.
Joseph. Tighten the Trouser belt. Just like Trees, it felt like I was walking next to you at the market. Even if I had 100 belts in the closet. I really took that one. Even if you have had such a bad day and you are experiencing this again, life will be one big party again. She just hung the garlands for you. Nice. Greetings Kees
A recognizable story, and indeed, some sellers (well mostly saleswomen) are hard to resist. For the price you really can't beat it.
Also Nongkhai, in Isan, has a daily (largely covered) market, on the banks of the Mekong, with some excellent seafood restaurants, and if you wish, you can have your lunch on one of their boats that make a trip to the bridge to Laos and then return. Slightly more expensive than just in the restaurant, but definitely worth it.
Believe in coincidence? Not me. 4-5 years ago I got in touch with a young woman on Pattaya beach. She belonged to a people from the far north and was hung with necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc. They are well known. A year later I was on the same beach and within an hour she was with me. I took a picture of her that hung in my room for a year. She was not there last year. Last June I walk in Bangkok from Sukhimvit road to my hotel in Soi 4. Exactly on the corner I bump into someone. You guessed it. It was her again. Both stunned. Again, coincidence? I do not believe in it. However, it was fun.
I see someone is commenting under my name here. May I ask you to respond under a slightly different name to avoid confusion?
Nice story and nice that you bought that diesel in full confidence, Joseph. Such purchases remain guesses, but “the memory” remains. Maybe nice if you use my name once, because then I'll come out of the pen / paint a bit better haha
Regards,
Willem
It's a repetition, but it's something of all time.
It is also these events that make Thailand the country it is, the land of smiles
A smile costs nothing, but has so much Thai meaning.
I can recall dozens of occasions where I was won over by their radiant smiles. So far I have never regretted it! And I have not become poorer because of it, on the contrary! Usually I was left with a warm feeling inside.
Isn't that wonderful, those saleswomen who really do everything they can to sell you something.
Making so much effort to sell you that one item, with a profit of half a euro. Where do you still find that? Right, only in Thailand.
Even if you have 50 of those belts in the closet by now, you will still buy this one again, if only to reward the effort she has done for you.
And I think that I was one of the few tourists who, due to a smile offensive, still decides to buy. I regularly see that tourists are rather rude when they are approached by a salesperson. I get to hear whole stories too standard during the circle discussions at a birthday event or party.