Saturday, June 11, 2016

Chatuchak Weekend Market (Jatujak จตุจักร) in 2016 - A Short Entry @ Bangkok [Thailand]

Yes, it's once again the weekend market that everyone will visit whenever they are in Bangkok; if you have not been there yet, do point your finger at your itinerary planner as i couldn't imagine how people can leave it out.

Since i have covered the market quite fervently in 2014 and then 2015, i shall be a tad muted this round as the trip made in April 2016 was tagged to be a relaxing one. So, let's begin the journey with my exit at Chatuchak Park MRT Station.

Wrong move as i remember a station with an exit right at the doorstep of the humongous market! From Chatuchak Park, i was just a bit nearer as compared to the usual Mo Chit BTS station! The plus point from taking the MRT is the significantly thinner crowd.

It was 11am when we reached; a pretty good timing i would say as many shops had already open for business. I was pretty focused on what i want to buy this time; stuff for my new home!

Maybe i was blind in 2015 but was there so many makeshift carts selling coconut ice cream!? Many claimed to be the original seller in Jatujak although that seldom means anything to me. The original maker doesn't 100% correspond to better food.

Going back to my starting paragraph, your itinerary planner might have decided to remove the weekend market for one reason; the fact that the market can be extremely hot and stuffy! 

Some also felt you don't get good bargains nowadays which i agree to a certain extent. However, you don't get such wide variety anywhere else! 

Found the station exit of the MRT that's just a staircase away from the Jatujak - Kamphaeng Phet. Damn, can they just name the station after notable landmarks? This reminded me of Shilin Night Market which is nearer to Jiantan than Shilin station. 

Don't you just love the subtle yet deep sarcasm in the message?! If i accidentally broke the item, i might have imagined the cashier looking at me in my eye and screamed "love you" when he / she collected the cash. 

Even though i had plans to generate a comprehensive guide on the food in the market, there were too many to choose from and i have an issue with weight loss. Maybe i should consider staying next to the jatujak in my next visit. 

Oh my god - old school portable game machine! It's a moment of nostalgia but to ask me to fork out so much money to relive my childhood memory; i would have to decline! 

A relaxing trip means we have to enjoy the foot massage too! This time round, i also noted a higher number of massage parlours that promoted themselves as air-conditioned and with free WiFi.

We couldn't find the marvellous parlour we stepped in back in 2015 and had to make do with this one. Foot massage was OKAY but my grouch centred on two things; the hardly cool air-conditioner and the weak WiFi! 

Got this bamboo lacquered bowl for my house - the stall owner said she had them at Zen centralworld and i didn't believe her as stall owners are prone to exaggeration sometimes. Turned out it was true and prices were much higher there! My recommendation is to visit www.thaiyara.com to have a feel on what's available and then proceed to the market to buy them! 

Incubator devices which could only mean one thing - we were in the pet and animal section! I used to venture here quite a lot when Rubee was alive.

Nowadays, i just feel a deep sense of sadness when i walked through the section as i am aware many of those animals, especially smaller ones like sugar gliders, squirrels etc, would not likely survive as a pet and could be better off living in the wild. There's always the debate and i am not going to be drawn into them.

As a pet owner, however, the allure of cheap pet products can be hard to resist - the above were bags of rawhide for dogs! Aside from rawhide, i recollected that dog clothing was a fraction of the price in Singapore! Thankfully Rubee hated wearing clothes.  

This was the rage a couple of years ago and demand didn't seem to have drop judging from the numbers in the various night / weekend markets in Bangkok.

Those who didn't know what i am talking about - leather looking products customised / personalised with your name! Some shops do have real leather but the pricing would be much more expensive.

A hot, sunny day it was. 

Got to my usual coconut ice cream vendor for a thirst quencher! I didn't take down the address but it looked towards one of the entrances / exits of the market. As usual, feel free to take as much and as many toppings for your ice cream! 

Almost bought bubble machine for the two kids - deja vu for me though as the ones i bought before didn't survive well in their house.

Spent four hours in the market and Alex insisted on leaving as it was too hot, too stuff, too humid, too tiring for him! Bloody hell, i was quite pissed as we had ample time and there's once i was in the market from 10am till 7pm! I didn't shop enough!!!! *unhappy*

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