Chatuchak weekend market - sunday 6th october 2013.

After dropping my bags bag to the Lub D hostel where i was set to stay again this evening, I decided to make my way to Chatuchak weekend market in the north of the city to experience Thailands largest market.

Getting there was easy. First navigate your way past the tuk tuk drivers asking the usual;
A. Where you from?
B. What football team you support?

Then get the BTS sky train by purchashing an all day ticket for 130 baht, then enjoy the smooth air conditioned ride until the annoucement is made in both Thai and English that your stop is approaching.

When the train stops, get off.

The entire trip including walking from the hostel to the destination station took about 30 minutes.

At the other end, the road from the station to the market is lined with stalls selling food, trinkets and nonsensical items, however the market proper is a different proposition altogether.

I wandered around the first section quite happily, artist booths with very high quality pieces,  great smelling foods, jewlery, and much more, I finished off with a coconut shake for 20 baht. It.......tasted......amazing.

With shake in hand I started to wander down past more stalls, and it was at this point the size of this place started to become apparent. I mean, the perimeter was big, but inside were rows and rows of goods being offered for sale at rediculous and often negotiable prices as well of all manner of food and drinks for me to stop and try along the way.

What the hell are those bubbles in bubble tea?

I negotiated and wandered, tasted and toured the nooks and crannies of this market for over 3 hours before leaving but there is no way I saw all there was, at over 15,000 stalls that's probably not that surprising.

Maybe what is though is that after 6 days in Bangkok and having a plethora of experiences and emotions to draw upon, this was the place which I found the most enjoyable.

The life, the atmosphere, the sights, smells, sounds and tastes made this a truer representation of Bangkok and Thailand than anything else I had experienced in the last 6 days. And for that reason alone it's hard not to recommend Chatuchak market as a destination for any person who travels to this part of the world.

Just make sure you are here on a weekend to experience it.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatuchak_Weekend_Market