Markets, Markets, and More Markets

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Anyone who knows me also knows that I'm not much of a shopper. I'm more of a get-in-and-get-out kind of girl when it comes to making purchases. (And people wonder why I always end up with boring, solid color, under-accessorized outfits!) It is quite ironic then that much of the work that I'm going to be doing when I'm over here will be related to shopping, particularly when we head up north to work with some of the artisan groups for Sapahn.

But for one big reason, shopping here is far more tolerable (dare I say fun?) than it is back home: The cultural experience overwhelms your senses to such a degree that you can barely even take in the fact that you're shopping.

Only about 12 hours after landing in Bangkok (and taking a taxi back to Salaya, staying up visiting for a couple hours, crashing for a full night's sleeping, showering, and eating a Cliff Bar that was tucked away in my suitcase), we were out the door to hit the Chatuchak or "JJ" Market in Bangkok. It was a total sensory explosion of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.

To begin, the mostly open air market is filled with every imaginable kind of vendor… and thousands of them. Imagine the Lincoln Farmer's market -- late morning/early afternoon when it is packed with people and then multiply by 1,000. According to its website, it covers more than 27 acres and hosts more than 15,000 vendors. It is estimated that the market gets 200,000 visitors each Saturday and Sunday.

We saw colorful jewelry, handbags, cheap clothing, leather works, junk shops, furniture, flowers, and more. But my favorite thing to look at was the people. I was particularly fascinated by Westerners. I wondered: Who are these people? Why are they in Thailand? How long have they been here? How long will they stay? Where do they come from? What brings them to JJ?

The smells from the market were completely overwhelming. Some of the food smells were tantalizing. Others were not quite as appealing. And occasionally there would be a whiff of something completely rancid (definitely not of the food variety)! I was so glad that Brooke was there to help guide us through the maze. We settled into this food stall/restaurant for what turned out to be the best Pad Thai I have eaten to date… ever… anywhere. And a little later for dessert, I had coconut ice cream, served in a coconut shell with pineapple and condensed milk on top.

We finished off our shopping trip with drinks at an outdoor patio bar. We sat around a small barrel that doubled as a table, sipped our beverages, listened to the DJ and his dance music (yes, there was a DJ), watched the illegal hawkers hop up and down with their blankets filled with product, and basically wound down (and cooled down!) from the day.

If that wasn't enough shopping, we got up and did it all again the next day. But this time, we went to a floating market. We met Brooke's friend, Noina, who will be joining us for part of our upcoming trek, and a couple of her friends.

The best part of the market was definitely the long tail boat ride that took us to some different sites along the river/canals: Buddhist temples, an orchid farm, and a couple random side stops. One was to feed us with sticky rice with beans, cooked in a piece of bamboo. The other was to feed the holy fish. When we finished with our long tail boat tour--as if we hadn't quite eaten enough already--we sampled a variety of food from the various boat vendors along the canal.

If that wasn't enough shopping, we took in a big grocery store at the Pinklao shopping mall. Talk about a change from JJ and the floating market. We never left the grocery/drug/electronics/food court floor of the store. We wandered the aisles to take in some of the snack food variations… like seaweed flavored Pringles. Which, by the way, if you're wondering, the seaweed flavor was just about sold out; original flavor was still nearly fully stocked!

I could probably tell you more, but that's about when I hit the wall. Everything else from there is a blur….

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Photos

Jewelry Hooks
Safety pins were used in one of the booths at JJ Market to hang the beaded creations.

Chang Beer Bottle Chandelier
I loved this beer bottle chandelier hanging in a T-shirt boutique.

People Watching from the Barrel
Brooke, Tessa, and I ended our day drinking some adult beverages and doing some people watching at a little bar/cafe area in a crowded area of the market. Did I mention that we all bought matching hats for 40 baht? ($1 = 30 baht)

Long Tail Boat Tour
Our hours-long long tail boat tour cost us 99 baht (or about $3). Because we were traveling with Noina and her friends, we got on the Thai boat. No official English translation here!

Cruising Along the River
The long tail boat was a great way to check out some of the sights. Some of my favorites were happy little kids swimming in the river. (But I wasn't quick enough to get those shots!)

Floating Market Food
The food options were just about endless at the floating market. All the items were made fresh on the boats. More details to come about Thai food....

Hungry, Hungry Fishes (the Size of Hippos)
These fish, which lived in the river in front of various temples were considered holy. So it was good luck to feed them and very bad to fish for them. So they were big, fat, and very happy.

Comments

[Lisa]

Markets
I love markets, they make the best pictures! Thanks for sharing your pictures. It looks and sounds amazing there!

[Vicki]

hit the wall?? What?
I hope you didn't literally crash into a wall. Ouch!