Woke up and had some breakfast in the guesthouse. I’d heard many good things about Chatuchak, the Bangkok weekend market, so I figured I’d check that out.
The market, which the locals call JJ, is accessible by skytrain, which is super handy from the guesthouse. I hopped on that, delighted that it was pretty empty at this hour. The market has over 8000 stalls, and sells nearly everything. I wandered through for about 5 hours, and am still not sure I saw everything. Aisles intersect at odd angles, so it’s really hard to just go up one aisle and down the next.
I don’t think there is much they don’t sell. Birds, dogs, lizards, crocodiles, food, fruit, art, antiques, t-shirts, souvenirs, and much much more. Lots of interesting t-shirt designs, but I think I’m inclined more toward getting some more short sleeve buttoned shirts, as the t-shirts I have now aren’t really Thai heat friendly. Then again, the shirts are relatively cheap, so buying a bunch and sending them home crossed my mind.
Had I been a bit closer to my departure date, I might have bought some stuff, but I’m holding off for now – hoping to find a cheap market in Laos or Vietnam. China’s prices seemed pretty comparable to here in Thailand, so if I wait until I’m back in that giant of a country I’m sure I’ll be okay with that too.
Finished my book in the evening, and went to bed fairly early. The heat makes me sleepy. Once again I planned on going to see some Muay Thai, but the prices were outrageous (by Thai standards – quite reasonable, otherwise), so I skipped it. Maybe somewhere else.
