Chatuchak market in Bangkok, mother of all markets (video)
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De Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok is one of the largest markets in the world. The market consists of no fewer than 15.000 market stalls!
Bangkok is a true shopping Valhalla. For the rich there are huge decadent department stores, but even with a small purse you can go to the 'City of Angels'. If you like shopping and haggling, the weekend market next to the Chatuchak park is a must. Good preparation is recommended because you can get lost and you will not be the first.
Chatuchak or Jatujak (Thai: จตุจักร, English: Weekend Market) is also called the JJ market. The market is very popular with tourists and foreigners, but also with the Thai themselves. At weekends, the market attracts 200.000 visitors per day (Saturday and Sunday), 30% of whom are foreigners.
TONG4130 / Shutterstock.com
Everything for sale
At this market you will be amazed at the huge selection. Really everything is for sale. The prices are low, so Thai people also buy in this market. This not only concerns normal groceries, but also durable consumer goods such as furniture and household appliances. You can also go there for a wide variety of:
- Food
- Amulets
- Craft products
- Flowers
- Clothing
- Antique
- Pets
- Etc.
In addition to the usual knickknacks that you encounter everywhere in the Thai tourist cities such as leather goods, perfume, jewelry, watches, DVD / CD and clothing, you will also find handcrafted items, such as:
- Woodcarving
- Thai silk
- Local souvenirs
- Handmade and decorated flowers
- Ceramics
- Chinese porcelain
- Hand painted umbrellas
- Traditional Thai robes
- Etc.
In short, it is worth going there to see.
The location
The market is located next to Chatuchak Park. The fastest way to get there is by taking the BTS Skytrain (Sukhumvit line). Get off at the 'Mo Chit' station, walk five minutes and you are there.
You can also take the MRT metro: get off at the stations 'Kamphaeng Phet' or Suan Chatuchak (Chatuchak Park) also five minutes walk.
The market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 08.00 a.m. to 18.00 p.m.
If you haven't finished shopping yet, next to the market is the 'JJ Mall', a shopping center with more than 1250 stores and the 'JJ Day & Night'.
Thailand blog tips:
- Do you want to avoid the crowds? Go as early as possible, from 12.00:XNUMX it gets very busy.
- Agree on a central place where you can meet again if you lose someone.
- Watch out for pickpockets.
- Always haggle, start with an offer of 50% of the asking price. Do you want to be really cheap? Ask a Thai along. Tourists always pay more than the Thai themselves.
- As in many markets, prices drop at the end of the day, especially for fresh products.
Watch this HD video to get an impression:
The Chatuchak market is also open during the week, but not all shops are open and it is much less crowded then.
Especially if you are a lover of ponds, aquariums, etc., it is better to go there on a Monday than on a weekend. Here too: fewer shops open, but enough and above all: fewer customers…
This market has clearly not yet heard of animal welfare.
Reprehensible in what conditions these animals are exhibited, I do not want to know what is done with them during closing hours.
Dear Pat, and in the Netherlands we treat our animals well?, why if a Dutchman point the finger, walk around regularly, do not agree, how they treat animals, they need time, step step by step it will get better.
To answer your first question: of course people in the Netherlands and in Flanders (where I live) treat animals MUCH more correctly!!
Furthermore, it is not because people in Thailand still have to take steps, that we cannot give fierce criticism (even with a pedantic finger) on things that they embarrassingly fall behind…