We both woke up super early today, eager to find out what Bangkok had in store for us! The plan was to center the day around an excursion to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market so we decided on a room service breakfast to maximize our time at Chatuchak.
We ordered Pad Thai Kung (Shrimp) and Khao Soi Gai (Northern Thai style chicken curry with noodles.) The order got lost in the system and was delivered almost an hour late (with much apology and complimentary pancakes and coconut juice) but the wait was worth it. I loved the Khao Soi Gai with its condiments of pickled greens, red onion, lime, dried chilies and hot chili sauce. I’d much rather start my day with the rush of spicy Thai food over a heavy American breakfast.
The Chatuchak market is located 13 km north of Sukhumvit district and we decided to take the BTS Skytrain since it’s a great way to get around Bangkok: fast, clean and cheap. A one-way ticket for two cost 97 Baht, or about $3.86 CAD. The ride took about 20 minutes (and was faster on the way back, clocking in at 15 minutes.)
Chatuchak Market is the largest weekend market in the world, comprised of 15,000 vendor stalls spread out over 35 acres. It’s impossible to take it all in in a day. I took note of where we’d entered the market, hopeful that I could navigate us back when we were ready to leave, but even with the map I’d downloaded online I soon realized that this was going to be a difficult task. Many vendors sell the same stuff, so relying on using that stall with the Thai print harem pants as a landmark is only going to set you up for confusion and disorientation. I diligently tracked our course until we entered the inside of part of the market and took a right turn. I knew at that moment that I would have to shift to navigating by the seat of my pants. Amazingly, I did manage to get us back to an entry gate that was very close to the one where we’d entered, but not before we’d found some cool clothes to buy: an Asian crane design button up shirt, a tank top with a Sak Yant Tattoo tiger design, and elephant themed t-shirt, muumuu and hand bag.
I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t locate an area of the market that was focused on food. The food stalls seemed randomly scattered about and most of them were sit-down establishments in the indoor section of the market that were really crowded, which didn’t suit my Covid-cautious sensibilities.
WHERE WAS MY MEAT ON A STICK?
We persevered and I finally found it: a woman selling pork balls with chili sauce, one stick for 10 Baht ($0.40 CAD.) I ordered three. “Ao sam, krab.” Then I found another woman selling grilled chicken on a stick, also for 10 Baht. Both were delicious, as were the mango and pineapple smoothies we’d been carrying around.
I think we lasted about 3.5 hours at Chatuchak—not bad!! After making our way back to Sukhumvit via the BTS Skytrain, I stopped in at 7-11 to see if I could buy some beer but no: in Thailand, you can only buy alcohol between 11am-2pm, and then again from 5pm onward. (This doesn’t seem to apply to restaurants and bars.) I knew about this before coming to Thailand but wanted to find out if it was regularly enforced. At 7-11, they completely cover up the section of the cooler with alcohol during the prohibited hours.
We went to the hotel pool for some much-needed lounging after our power shopping and ordered Som Tam, vegetable spring rolls, plus a couple of Chang beers for me. Afterward, I went back to 7-11 just after 5pm and bought Chang beer (only sold in 2-packs!), a can of chocolate lager (which turned out to be quite delicious), along with some Thai snacks that caught my eye: wafers with coconut filling, Lays chips in “seafood twist” flavour, and a snack described as “Lotus Drumstick Shape mixed with Cannabis leaf and Barbecue flavour, DORKBUA brand.” I couldn’t resist! And I guess this was a good idea because I’ve been snacking on them this evening while my co-pilot naps. I’m not sure I will be able to get her out for dinner tonight and yet I’m craving some Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut soup.) Truth is, I’m starting to fade too so I might just call it a night since we have a full docket planned for tomorrow.
