Commonly called Chatuchak weekend market, this one is, as its name rightly indicates, only open on weekends. That's good, because on this day of April 20, 2008, it was a Sunday.
Jitima being free, we wanted to take a look, she had not been back for a long time and for my part, I had never been there. Many people, both Thai and farang, come here to shop, because you can really find everything there, the opportunity for us also to spot possible objects as gifts for the wedding guests.
We also went to BIG&BIH for that, among other things, for the Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair, an event that takes place every 6 months (in April and October) just a stone's throw from his apartment.
We go there every time we can, because we find many original products in several areas:
1. Gift, Decorative Items and Crafts
2. Artificial Flowers and Potpourri
3. Christmas Decorative Items and Candles
4. Home Textile and Decorative Fabric
5. Household Products
6. Toys and Games
7. Stationery
8 etc...
For those interested, here is the site organizing this: http://www.thaitradefair.com/
But let's get back to our market, a popular place that has nothing to do with the very structured and more professional side of the BIG&BIH. It was very hot that day, needless to say I admire the merchants who are there all day.
A short history of Bangkok's weekend market:
The original idea was to create a flea market in all the cities of Thailand, under the initiative of a Prime Minister, the Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram in the 40s. Originally located in the royal square of Sanam Luang, the market was moved to Saranrom Palace, as the royal square is regularly used for various ceremonies and events. It remained there for 8 years before being moved again to Sanam Chai, but did not stay there for very long due to lack of space. It was then moved back to Sanam Luang.
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the city of Bangkok, it was then decided to transform Sanam Luang into a public park, this was in 1982. The market was then permanently moved to its current location, then called Phahon Yothin Market, before being renamed after the newly created park next door, Chatuchak (which itself owes its name to the district, Phahon Yothin being the name of the main road passing there).
Until 1995, the site was not covered, which was a bit of a problem during the rainy season. Now that everything is covered, the main problem is the heat… Today, it is the largest weekend market in the world, no less.
The “warrior’s” rest.
Sunday walk.
There are many aisles and the market area is large enough to get lost in!
Lunch break in a small local restaurant.
