Two markets of Bangkok: Chatuchak & Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market)

I visited two markets during my reasonably short stay in Bangkok: Pak Khlong Talat, the Flower Market, and Chatuchak Weekend Market, also known as Jatujak and JJ Market. Both were interesting and I picked up some snazzy shirts at Chatuchak.

My first visit was to Pak Khlong Talat after visiting the Grand Palace. It’s reasonably easy to find from there and Wat Pho, but I have the sense of direction of Pokémon Trainer Leon and a phone with pitiful GPS, so it took me a while, but that was fine because the surroundings were so pretty!

The flower market, an indoor maze of stalls stacked with colourful bags, bouquets, garlands and plastic flowers, is the biggest and most important flower market in Bangkok. It’s been around since 1782 and was originally a floating market, then a fish market, and became what it is today about 60 years ago.

It’s actually best visited at dawn when vibrant flowers arrive from all over Thailand – as far as Chiang Mai – and stalls are freshly stocked, so I didn’t see the best of it. The stalls were quite empty by then. I was the only foreigner in there (and my presence gave some old ladies a good laugh).

The Chatuchak Weekend Market isn’t just the biggest market in Thailand – it’s the biggest weekend market in the world! I took the MRT to Kamphaeng Phet on a Saturday and wandered into the colourful maze of over 15,000 shops selling clothing, souvenirs, ceramics, cosmetics, flowers (both real and fake), decorations and more. It has been open since 1942 and sees over 200,000 visitors every weekend.

I saw some cute shirts with allover fruit prints, which I should have bought when I saw them, because they weren’t there when I went back the following weekend. That day, I just picked up some fridge magnets and looked around, despite how tempted I was by the fake fruit and vegetables. What? They could’ve sat on my kitchen table! …Or something like that. It’s for the best I was worried about Vietjet and Scoot weighing my already-overweight bag.

There was soon a mighty burst of rain that sent everyone scrambling for shelter. I really wanted to just stand in it, because the air actually felt cool for once, but I knew my clothes wouldn’t dry quickly in such humid weather and I didn’t want to be the soggy person on the MRT. The rain didn’t last long and left puddles that reflected the lights of stores.

Although the fruit shirts and I were not meant to be, I did pick up some equally cute ones from the market and adjacent Mixt Chatuchak mall when I went back the next weekend. They were cheap and I think of Bangkok when I wear them.

The Mixt mall is the perfect place to cool off and sit down for a while if you’ve done as much walking as I had. I got some nice garlic fried rice – the only vegetarian option I could find – from the food court on the top floor with a view across the market, and took advantage of the free wi-fi to send some photos home. I also spotted an Umbreon plush in a claw machine and tried to grab it, but no luck 40 baht later, so I gave up before I was tempted to spend more.

There’s a shrine on an unassuming corner outside the mall, dedicated to Brahma – a Hindu god associated with creation – where worshippers come to pay respects. The shrine is very pretty and colourful.

Also nearby is Chatuchak Park, a huge green area with a cute bridge over a pond circled by palm trees – and skyscrapers in the background, of course, because this is Bangkok. It’s one of the oldest parks in the city. I should have explored it more, but it was my last day in Thailand when I found it and I was exhausted at that point. Especially after walking back and forth in search of the Starbucks that was actually in the MRT station, not the park itself, where the staff seemed baffled by why I’d buy a mug and nothing else, but that was the ultimate souvenir I had to pick up for my mum. She loves her Starbucks.

If (hopefully when) I go back to Bangkok, I’ll definitely spend a bit more time in the park… and maybe I’ll pick up something as useless as fake vegetables at the market.