Beware: This post has tons of pictures and not much words. So those with low bandwidth please thread with care. ;p
One of the many entrances
Day 2, we set out to Jatuchak Market. I'm sure everyone has heard of this place. It is as evil as Genting Highlands as many visitors lose half their fortunes here.
Lonely Planet describes it as the mother of all markets. Deep inside its bowels you'll forget its daylight. Everyone leaves here with empty wallets, armful of plastic and thoroughly exhausted.
At the boundary
There are so many stalls at the market that they spill out onto the streets at the boundaries. The multiple entrances and exits leading into the market makes it really easy to get lost.
Last year we went passed a stall selling really sweet "couple tees", hesitated and decided to walk around first before deciding. When we tried to go back to that stall, we searched in vain.
"Eh, I'm sure we've walked past this stall le."
"Are you sure? I confirm this is the 1st time we've walked this section."
Keychains in various designs
Shoes
Lovely key hangers
Still closed
We arrived at about 9.30am. Most of the shops are still closed or just opening, which suited us fine. It is less crowded and easier to bag a bargain.
The Thais are a superstitious bunch alike chinese, they would like to start out the day with a Bang (sell) and like to keep their 1st customer happy. So if you're the 1st customer of that shop, there's a high chance you'll get that bag/shoes/slippers/lights at the price which you bargained for.
Small Alleys
The alleys are really small, crowded and often without natural ventilation. Later in the day when the crowd start to pile up, it's amazing to see the shop owners chit-chatting leisurely without a care in the world while we were drenched in our own sweat and gasping for air. (sooooo hot)
Snack and drink vendors often ply their trade on these alleys, carrying their fares on baskets supported on their shoulders by a long bamboo.
Coasters with petals, beans, leaves etc (very innovative)
More clothes
Open air areas
Some of the alleys are unroofed, but as we get deeper into the market, its all closed up and damn easy to forget what time of the day it is. Especially when all we've got on our minds are,
"Damn cheap, must buy some more. Die loh, enough money or not? Got money exchange here or not?"
Food Stalls
Selling snacks
Hotdog wrapped with bacon (25Baht)
It was sooooo sinful, with oil and grease still dripping off its crispy corners. The hotdog blended well with the bacon and released a mouthful of goodness the moment you take a bite into it. The only thing missing is cheese from the middle of the hotdog. haha (double the sin)
The girls with a beautiful shop owner
Candles... So colorful and so delightful. Makes you wanna light them all up.
More food stalls
Lady selling some dessert
Strange Fruit X (20Baht)
Its a serving of 7 or so of "Fruit X" neatly halved for our convenience, topped with slashed ice. Fruit X is a mixture of yellow and brown color and tasted very sour. But it felt really refreshing and jolted us awake from our drowsiness from the afternoon heat with its ice+sour combination.
Hanging Lights (150Baht)
More food
More lights
Clothing alley
We found out last year that price haggling doesn't concord well with the stall owners. At one particular shoe shop, we tried the "walk out of the shop if you don't decrease the price" tactic.
It was a real slap in the face when the shop owner curtly replied, "Don't buy no problem. Price is very cheap already. No way you can find same pattern with cheaper price elsewhere." Much to our chagrin we went back and purchased that pair of shoes at his price. ;( *In Hokkien we call Lan Lan*
You can probably bargain to a 10-20% discount at most stalls but that's about it.
Assortment of stuff
Lights ....
More food ....
Potato balls? (25Baht)
Not really sure what's inside.
The crispy skin on the outside is coated with sugar. The inside appears to be of potato (or something similar) and we loved the crunchy texture. Great taste for a small snack.
Row of food stalls
There's a particular section with quite a large amount of food stalls. A quick peek inside revealed mostly local customers. Almost all of them serve local Thai food.
The food smelt nice, the drinks looked nice but the hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. Upon inspection of the place and weighting of pros and cons, we decided against having our lunch here.
It's not worth to get food poisoning on Day 2, not just because of hygiene, we probably wouldn't know half of what we stomach anyway.
Reminiscence of old times - Bottled soft drinks
Home wares
Another one of the portable food traders
Scary man
I turned around and spotted a man with a scary mask. Moments later I saw the man "boo" an asian lady. She screamed her lungs out as she practically "jumped outta her skin". haha. Damn funny.
Personalized shoes
Back to the bargaining issue, we think the main reason they don't really accept bargaining is because most of the stall owners here design and make their own stuff.
Some are aspiring designers while others are just got good copycats that replicate anything and everything from magazines. Thais are a really creative and innovative bunch. Most of the designs here are really unique and can't be obtained elsewhere.
So you can't really complain about paying slightly more for uniqueness can't you? Besides the price would still be cheaper than Malaysia anyway. Like I've mentioned before, you get what you pay.
Buy damn cheap ones, be sure to get a whole washing machine of stained clothes if you dump it into your normal washload. It's a simple mathematical equation of [ Higher price = Higher quality ]
More stuff
Puppies etc
Squirrels (Looks scary without fur)
The animal section has about 5-6 stalls selling puppies, kittens, hamsters and other domestic pet animals. We contemplated to get a puppy and smuggle it back to Australia. But I seriously doubt it'll last the journey. Even if it does, you reckon it'll pass custom?
Check out the video.
Look at the crowd!
So this is Jatuchak Market, the "Market of Dreams". It is near impossible to find another market as huge, with as many varieties and as captivating as it.
Everytime I come here I'd think to myself, "How good if I stay in Bangkok and get to come here every weekend." But then again if I'm residing in BKK I'd earn Baht and probably wouldn't find stuff there as cheap as I do now.
[ Jatuchak opens Fri-Sun, early till late ]
With heavy feet, we bid our friend goodbye. It'll probably be another year before we meet again. Till then take care of yourself, remember to wash your armpit and don't forget to take out the garbage. Adios.
Technorati Tags: Jatuchak, Bangkok, Market, Shopping, Chatuchak, Weekend
One of the many entrancesDay 2, we set out to Jatuchak Market. I'm sure everyone has heard of this place. It is as evil as Genting Highlands as many visitors lose half their fortunes here.
Lonely Planet describes it as the mother of all markets. Deep inside its bowels you'll forget its daylight. Everyone leaves here with empty wallets, armful of plastic and thoroughly exhausted.
At the boundaryThere are so many stalls at the market that they spill out onto the streets at the boundaries. The multiple entrances and exits leading into the market makes it really easy to get lost.
Last year we went passed a stall selling really sweet "couple tees", hesitated and decided to walk around first before deciding. When we tried to go back to that stall, we searched in vain.
"Eh, I'm sure we've walked past this stall le."
"Are you sure? I confirm this is the 1st time we've walked this section."
Keychains in various designsShoesLovely key hangersStill closedWe arrived at about 9.30am. Most of the shops are still closed or just opening, which suited us fine. It is less crowded and easier to bag a bargain.
The Thais are a superstitious bunch alike chinese, they would like to start out the day with a Bang (sell) and like to keep their 1st customer happy. So if you're the 1st customer of that shop, there's a high chance you'll get that bag/shoes/slippers/lights at the price which you bargained for.
Small AlleysThe alleys are really small, crowded and often without natural ventilation. Later in the day when the crowd start to pile up, it's amazing to see the shop owners chit-chatting leisurely without a care in the world while we were drenched in our own sweat and gasping for air. (sooooo hot)
Snack and drink vendors often ply their trade on these alleys, carrying their fares on baskets supported on their shoulders by a long bamboo.
Coasters with petals, beans, leaves etc (very innovative)More clothesOpen air areasSome of the alleys are unroofed, but as we get deeper into the market, its all closed up and damn easy to forget what time of the day it is. Especially when all we've got on our minds are,
"Damn cheap, must buy some more. Die loh, enough money or not? Got money exchange here or not?"
Food StallsSelling snacksHotdog wrapped with bacon (25Baht)It was sooooo sinful, with oil and grease still dripping off its crispy corners. The hotdog blended well with the bacon and released a mouthful of goodness the moment you take a bite into it. The only thing missing is cheese from the middle of the hotdog. haha (double the sin)
The girls with a beautiful shop ownerCandles... So colorful and so delightful. Makes you wanna light them all up.More food stallsLady selling some dessertStrange Fruit X (20Baht)Its a serving of 7 or so of "Fruit X" neatly halved for our convenience, topped with slashed ice. Fruit X is a mixture of yellow and brown color and tasted very sour. But it felt really refreshing and jolted us awake from our drowsiness from the afternoon heat with its ice+sour combination.
Hanging Lights (150Baht)More foodMore lightsClothing alleyWe found out last year that price haggling doesn't concord well with the stall owners. At one particular shoe shop, we tried the "walk out of the shop if you don't decrease the price" tactic.
It was a real slap in the face when the shop owner curtly replied, "Don't buy no problem. Price is very cheap already. No way you can find same pattern with cheaper price elsewhere." Much to our chagrin we went back and purchased that pair of shoes at his price. ;( *In Hokkien we call Lan Lan*
You can probably bargain to a 10-20% discount at most stalls but that's about it.
Assortment of stuffLights ....More food ....Potato balls? (25Baht)Not really sure what's inside.The crispy skin on the outside is coated with sugar. The inside appears to be of potato (or something similar) and we loved the crunchy texture. Great taste for a small snack.
Row of food stallsThere's a particular section with quite a large amount of food stalls. A quick peek inside revealed mostly local customers. Almost all of them serve local Thai food.
The food smelt nice, the drinks looked nice but the hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. Upon inspection of the place and weighting of pros and cons, we decided against having our lunch here.
It's not worth to get food poisoning on Day 2, not just because of hygiene, we probably wouldn't know half of what we stomach anyway.
Reminiscence of old times - Bottled soft drinksHome waresAnother one of the portable food tradersScary manI turned around and spotted a man with a scary mask. Moments later I saw the man "boo" an asian lady. She screamed her lungs out as she practically "jumped outta her skin". haha. Damn funny.
Personalized shoesBack to the bargaining issue, we think the main reason they don't really accept bargaining is because most of the stall owners here design and make their own stuff.
Some are aspiring designers while others are just got good copycats that replicate anything and everything from magazines. Thais are a really creative and innovative bunch. Most of the designs here are really unique and can't be obtained elsewhere.
So you can't really complain about paying slightly more for uniqueness can't you? Besides the price would still be cheaper than Malaysia anyway. Like I've mentioned before, you get what you pay.
Buy damn cheap ones, be sure to get a whole washing machine of stained clothes if you dump it into your normal washload. It's a simple mathematical equation of [ Higher price = Higher quality ]
More stuffPuppies etcSquirrels (Looks scary without fur)The animal section has about 5-6 stalls selling puppies, kittens, hamsters and other domestic pet animals. We contemplated to get a puppy and smuggle it back to Australia. But I seriously doubt it'll last the journey. Even if it does, you reckon it'll pass custom?
Check out the video.
Look at the crowd!So this is Jatuchak Market, the "Market of Dreams". It is near impossible to find another market as huge, with as many varieties and as captivating as it.
Everytime I come here I'd think to myself, "How good if I stay in Bangkok and get to come here every weekend." But then again if I'm residing in BKK I'd earn Baht and probably wouldn't find stuff there as cheap as I do now.
[ Jatuchak opens Fri-Sun, early till late ]
With heavy feet, we bid our friend goodbye. It'll probably be another year before we meet again. Till then take care of yourself, remember to wash your armpit and don't forget to take out the garbage. Adios.
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