For a more detailed itinerary of our Bangkok 5D4N Nom-Nom & Shopping, please click above.
We know we have been slacking pretty much on our travel posts, but we vowed to finish them fast. Faster. *Ahem*
Chatuchak Weekend Market
We have been contemplating whether to put this tourist attraction into our travel itinerary or not before visiting Bangkok. Why say so?
Here are some drawbacks:
- Forums reviewing bad remarks on this market
- There are more markets like this in BKK which are more comfortable, cleaner & newer
- Hot, stuffy weather that will make shopping a less comfortable experience
- Most stalls are selling similar items/ products
However, after we outweighed the cons with some pros thats we thought of, we wrote down “Chatuchak” on Day 2 Bangkok.
Whats made us get there despite the drawbacks above?
- We would ask you to go if you haven’t visit Bangkok before, as Chatuchak (or Jatujak Market) is one of the world’s largest weekend markets that covers an area of 27 Acres altogether divided into 27 SECTIONS. Chatuchak is also named the JJ Market now, nestled more than 15,000 booths selling goods from every part of Thailand!
- Despite many stalls with pretty much the same products, the whole market is actually categorized into different sections. If you roughly know what type of items you wanna purchase, you could proceed straight away to the area, e.g: clothing & accessories, home decor & even pets. Please refer to the map below:
Tips: It is advisable for you to sort of plan your Chatuchak route first before ended up walking round & around the same section of different Sois (streets) that has booths selling the same stuffs as the market is HUGE. Imagine 27 acres. And you will end up complaining “HOt & Nothing to BUY”.
We went to Chatuchak via a metered taxi arranged by our hotel in the morning. Always remember to take a metered taxi! Upon reaching, we decided to have a quick breakfast just right outside the market, along the main road. Nothing really great to shout about. So we personally advise you to chow down on the more delicious snacks inside the market instead.
We were pretty sure on what we wanna get at that particular time. Thus we concentrated more on clothing, decorations, handicrafts & collectibles as we were there for Wedding shopping.
Do you know that these are actually miniatures?? So cute!
Lunch?
We did’t really have a proper one but ended up satiated with the snacks & buns they sold at the small booths.
Try some Chatuchak’s Siew Yoke (roasted pork) & mandarin orange juice!
Remember to bring a trolley along in case you shop a little MORE.
Shopping at Chatuchak could be real tiring. Why not stop for a coffee break?
We stopped by Meede Cafe, a petite stall located at Section 25 Soi 3.
Be ready to stand or wait if you’re not lucky enough to grab a seat as they have limited seating space. But many were there for take aways. We got energized with their house blend of Iced Thai Style Coffee at 55 Baht. A blend that we have yet to taste so far locally.
Iced Cafe Latte also at 55 Baht
Satisfied customers from all over the world!
After a long day of stuffiness & aching feet thanks to Chatuchak, we went back to rest before heading out again for dinner.
As we had quite enough of the sun for almost the entire day, can we have dinner at a restaurant with air conditioner? I pleaded Chris. Haha 😀 Thus, we hopped over to Central World for dinner.
This is Central World.
Explored the mall & found many interesting dining spots at the top floors.
Since our craving for a proper Thai meal got exceptionally stronger in Bangkok, we settled down for Thai of course, at Nara Thai Cuisine. Nara’s food were pretty awesome. All we could say was “Authentic Thai in a comfortable & chic setting”. Thailand’s best restaurant, it says 🙂
Sakoo – 115 Baht
Tapioca balls with minced pork filling
Tord Man Pla – 210 Baht
Thai Fish Cakes
Koo Moo Tord Hgar – 130 Baht
Deep fried pork neck with sesame seeds
Tom Ga Kai – 220 Baht
Chicken in Coconut Soup
Kang Kiew Wan – 220 Baht
Green Curry Chicken
Prawn Omelet – 180 Baht
Ka nar Pla Khem – 180 Baht
Stir fry kale with Thai anchovies
Nara Thai Cuisine
7th Floor
Central World
More shopping @ Naraya, Central World before we head to Big C Supermarket & Thai Massage to end the night! WooHoo! 🙂
Air Asia, Tiger Airways, Nok Air, Jetstar are some of the budget aienrlis that have routes in Asia, although very limited to and from Korea. Korean Airlines and Asiana have announced budget subsidiaries and Jeju and Hansung Airlines in Korea will begin global routes soon. I live in Asia and often find great budget price through the classified sections in the local newspapers and local travel agents often on major full service aienrlis. For instance, from Bangkok, I’ve found that Air France offers one of the most excellent fares to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The major carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways often have special promotions to other Asian cities, I’m sure Asiana and Korean Airlines must have promotions as well. Just like anywhere you have to check around for the most excellent prices, check the local papers, the local travel agents and airline online web pages, there always seems to be some airline that is much cheaper than others on most routes. Good luck.