Travel / Thailand

Bangkok (Day 2) – Chatuchak, Central World & Roadside Dining

By Veron Ang | Tags #Bangkok #graffiti

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A trip to Bangkok would not be complete without a visit to Chatuchak Weekend Market. There are over 15,000 stalls packed closely together, rendering it almost impossible to comb every single one. Nonetheless, we were determined to spend not just one but both days here! This is the place where the locals shop as well. In other words, it’s where you can buy things at a steal!

The variety of stalls sure is dazzling. Things you would find include food, fashion, footwear, furniture, floral and fauna, and furry animals. Do you see a common theme here? Well, I spotted this interesting sign at a shop selling street-wear.

Streetwear at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Sure, it doesn’t make one bit of sense. The dirty word seems to have been thrown in there for the sake of having it. But the grunge designs of the t-shirts were pretty cool!

Graffiti at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

We were there around 9am, when the stalls were just getting ready for business and the crowd was thinner. Some shops had yet to open, so we got to see some of the cool graffiti art on their shutters.

Yet another big name has fallen victim to imitation products. This time, it’s our favorite blue — Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. Silver pendants

There were a number of stalls selling these silver pendants. One particular seller quoted 400 baht for each. The moment I walked away, she slashed the price to 200 baht. I didn’t bite. But this is a good example of why we can be daring when haggling. A good rule of thumb is to start haggling from 30 percent.

Feather earrings

My favorite purchases are the Pocahontas feather earrings, and the purple racer-back top. It’s a gorgeous shade of deep purple, and features a phoenix in brilliant blue at the back!

Phoenix racer-back top

I also got these pretty rose flip-flops for just 99 baht (less than 5 Singapore dollars)! I adore them so much! And at that price it’s a real bargain!

Rose flip-flops

Besides the clothing and accessories section, which is the biggest section by the way, my favorite is the pets section. It’s where you can see cute animals such as puppies, kittens and bunnies. We even saw some bunnies in little t-shirts! Too cute!

Baby chihuahuas at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

I never thought chihuahuas were adorable, until I saw these puppies. They’re so small and precious!

Baby chihuahuas at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

The brown and white one is my favorite! He’s so playful and adorable! Yup, definitely a “he” :)

Coffee stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

One of my favorite things about Bangkok is that the coffee is really cheap. There are many such coffee joints scattered around the city, selling all kinds of coffee at low prices. This particular Fresh Coffee stall at Chatuchak even packages the drinks in nice cups!

Coffee stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

A tall cup of Blue Mountain coffee and hot chocolate cost under 2 bucks each! We could just sit there, sip on our drinks and people-watch…

Food stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

…or grab a snack from one of the many food stalls. I was trying hard to find one selling mango sticky rice, but was disappointed :(

Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

It hardly rains in Bangkok during the December-January period, but the sun really kills. Boy, does it get sweltering hot in the afternoons! At that temperature it’s no fun when you’re walking body to body in the crowd at a snail’s pace. So we got out of Chatuchak before the heat baked us good and vowed to return the following morning.

Waffles in Bangkok

Waffle (my favorite!) stalls like these were quite common. The difference between these and the usual waffles I’m accustomed to is that they were smaller, thicker, fluffier and had fillings! Chocolate, vanilla, fruit, you name it. They were very yummy and we had a number of these during our trip. There’s one such stall at Mo Chit skytrain station, the one at Chatuchak.

Back in our hotel, we set down our shopping bags as we jetted off to our next location: Kaiton along Petchaburi Road. That’s where you would find the best chicken rice in Bangkok.

Kaiton chicken rice stall along Petchaburi Road, Bangkok

Initially, our taxi driver had no idea where to drop us off along Petchaburi road, but the moment I mentioned khao mun kai (chicken rice in Thai), he understood immediately and drove us right to the shop entrance!

Here’s my detailed review of Kaiton chicken rice.

Mango sticky rice stall along Petchaburi Road, Bangkok

A few stalls down from Kaiton is where I found what I’ve been craving for — mango sticky rice! At 80 baht, it wasn’t exactly cheap. I had the feeling I was overcharged for being a tourist. Can anyone verify if this is in the standard price range for mango rice?

Mango sticky rice

Ooh la la! Overcharged or not, I couldn’t really care anymore because the food was what I had wanted for a long time. It tastes sweet, which is why it falls under the desserts category on most menus. The coconut milk is drizzled over the sticky rice, making this a rather sinful dish too.

Big C Pratunam, Bangkok

The streets of Bangkok are filled with many interesting sights and landmarks. That’s ~~Gaysorn Plaza~~ Big C Pratunam, with a very eye-catching conical roof.

Bangkok taxis in various colors

How many different colored taxis can you spot? My favorites are the rare purple ones. The pink taxis were the commonest and seemed pretty reliable. Reminder: Always insist on using the meter!

Elephant ride in Bangkok

A huge elephant led by a couple of locals caught our attention. They were offering rides to passers-by, for a fee of course. I noticed one of them was holding a bag of fruits. I had once bought the fruit to feed a baby elephant. The poor little chap was starving! I suspect that these elephants plying the streets are probably undernourished, and depended on people buying fruits to feed them. This particular elephant looked tired, and reminded me of a weary old man. Sigh.

Roadside dining in Bangkok

The experience of dining right along the busy traffic is one you would hardly find in Singapore. But roadside hawkers in Thailand are pretty ubiquitous. Many of them are makeshift stalls. Surprisingly, some of them even sold fresh seafood!

Phra Trimurti (The God of Love) and Ganesh (Hindu elephant God) at Central World, Bangkok

Shrines can be found outside every major shopping mall where devotees would pray. The two shrines at Central World are dedicated to Phra Trimurti, the god of love, on the left and Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god, on the right.

Central World, Bangkok

Central World is one cool-looking mall with glass facades. Many giant billboard advertisements can be seen on it.

Christmas tree at Central World, Bangkok

Even more gigantic is the Christmas tree! But it’s really this smaller one that I like.

Heineken Christmas tree at Central World, Bangkok

Green men huddled together to form this beer bottle tree. With that distinctive red star, make no mistake that this is a Heineken! Notice that their outstretched arms are all pointing to somewhere in the distance. It’s a clever way of letting people know of GreenSpace, a Heineken bar on the 18th storey of the Zen World building.

Christmas at Zen World, Bangkok

The Christmas decor outside Zen World was a little bizarre. The blue Christmas trees were fine, but there were all these ships and military tanks. Not very Christmasy!

MBK Center, Bangkok

We did more shopping at MBK Center, and ended the night with a budget meal at a fast-food place called Santa’s.

A meal at Santa's in MBK Center, Bangkok

Who says Santa only lives in the North pole? Here at MBK, you can visit Santa anytime!

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

Bangkok (Day 1) – Arrival in Bangkok

Bangkok (Day 3) – Chokchai Steakhouse & Manchester United Restaurant and Bar

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28 responses

Leave your comment

claudia
January 13, 2009

the puppies are sooo cute!!!
Reply
mikey
January 14, 2009

the mango sticky rice looks good.
Reply
- Veron
  January 14, 2009
  
  Yes, it’s a nice fruity dessert. But other than this I find it hard to imagine rice as a form of dessert.
  Reply
vinsion
January 14, 2009

u are backed to kaiton khao mun kai again.
i didnt hav a chance to try it. the mango sticky rice looks so good..
Reply
- Veron
  January 14, 2009
  
  When you go to Bangkok again do make a stop at Kaiton! The khao mun kai is cheap and totally worth it. The mango sticky rice stall is just a few footsteps away. After that you can just drop by the nearby shopping malls and walk off the calories! Isn’t that a great plan?
  Reply
Edmund Ng
January 14, 2009

whao! hats off to you for spending 2 days at Chatuchak. That place is mega hot and crowded.. most people don’t last more than 4 hrs there :P
~Having said that, Bkk is now experiencing a cold snap with temperatures at just 15C – maybe its a good time to visit Chatuchak, hehe
The pets section is also my favourite part of the market. However, many of the wildlife on sale are illegally caught and smuggled, especially the poor squirrels which look like they’re about to die..

Didn’t know u love mango! Did you check out Mango Tango at Siam Square, Soi 4?
I feel like setting up a franchise in Sg!
Reply
- Veron
  January 14, 2009
  
  Mango Tango sounds funky! No I didn’t know of this place before. Maybe during my next Bangkok trip I’ll drop by haha
  
  I did experience the cold temperature there, but only in the morning (up til’ 10am). After that it got scorching hot and fever-inducing! We didn’t get to see any squirrels (so that’s what they were!) this time round, so maybe they’ve been banned or something. Some of the husky puppies looked positively uncomfortable though.
  Reply
TANTRAD!
January 15, 2009

When I was in Bangkok I purchased clothing by ‘Resign All Fuc*ing Friends”. When I came back to Canada I noticed that the designs on their shirts were blatantly stolen from other graphics designers. In the top left of your photo you can see a shirt with a graphic on it that was designed for Ben Kweller’s (musician) North American Tour.

It’s too bad they would resort to copying the designs, but the shirts sell for only $5.00 CAD. It’s no wonder they can’t afford to make their own designs.
Reply
- Veron
  January 16, 2009
  
  Can’t say I’m too surprised. There are so many imitation products over there and stealing other people’s designs are just about the same thing.
  Reply
Kyo
January 15, 2009

Great trip reporting so far!

Just a note that the building you said is called ‘gaysorn’ plaza is actually more commonly known as ‘Big C Pratunam’. Gaysorn is actually on the corner, opposite Erawan (the Elephant shrine) and Zen Central World. :)
Reply
- Veron
  January 16, 2009
  
  Oh! Thanks for the correction. Haha actually I got the name of the mall from the map! My mistake!
  Reply
Annette
January 30, 2009

That sticky rice is pretty cheap over there, here in Utah it cost about five dollars for a little bit of sticky rice and two slices of mango. haha

P.S. Thanks for keeping us posted on your travels. Me and my friend love your blog!
Reply
- Veron
  February 3, 2009
  
  Thanks! I know what you mean about that mango sticky rice. In Singapore we have it at 5 dollars as well. Not cheap considering it comes from a pushcart seller!
  Reply
Dee
February 3, 2009

i like your purple rose top , it’s really gorgeous! how much is that ? i’m gonna buy it when i go to bangkok.
Reply
- Veron
  February 4, 2009
  
  I can’t remember exactly how much it cost. It’s probably around 300 baht. Sorry I can’t be of more help! I saw it being sold at Platinum Fashion Mall (also in Bangkok) too!
  Reply
Nueng
May 13, 2009

I’m Thai, and about mango sticky rice price, up to mango price, mango race and sticky rice, if you come to Thailand on Feb.-Apr. it will be about 30-50 baht up to the place you bought it,in Nov – Jan will be about 40-120 baht up to mango race (“num dok mai “race is the best choice for mango sticky rice but it was to expensive maybe over then 150 baht in Nov-Dec.)
Reply
Nueng
May 13, 2009

in the mango picture is “Num Dok Mai” race, i thought if you got “Ook-Long” race will be cheaper then 60 bath, i thought you about 60 baht that you got it wasn’t to expensive coz you are in CBD, if you bought it in around JJ market it was to expensive(price of food will be charge by area because about rental cost)

:)

I just back from Singapore for a few day this is my 4th time to Singapore, in 2007 i didn’t walk in underground mall (from city hall to suntec convention), too long way, but better then walk on the road. ^^’
Reply
- Veron
  May 18, 2009
  
  Thanks for the detailed explanation on the mango sticky rice! I have learned a lot from you on how this food item is priced in Bangkok. It sure feels really good to know that we had not been overcharged. I remember buying it from Chatuchak at a much cheaper price a few years ago. Now I know why!
  Reply
paulz
October 17, 2009

hi, bangkok foods is delicious, where can i find the santa`s rice stall as the above picture ??

Thanks
Reply
- Kyo
  October 17, 2009
  
  It’s inside MBK, not too far from Starbucks
  Reply
paulz
October 17, 2009

hi, Veron, welcome to Malaysia, Penang state (the foods paradise), i will show you the most delicious street foods in Malaysia
Reply
mariel
December 9, 2009

it’s yummy the dessert
Reply
celest
February 2, 2010

Hi! Really love your Bangkok trip posts :D

Seem like you went to many shopping malls…. May I know if the distance from Central world to Siam paragon is far? Or is it within walkable distance? And also the distance from Siam paragon to Siam Square.
Reply
- Kyo
  February 2, 2010
  
  Central World – Paragon = 5 mins casual walk
  
  Siam Paragon – Siam Square = across the road… 1 minute if you walk across at the Siam station skytrain entrance
  Reply
  - celest
    February 3, 2010
    
    Thanks Alot! :D
    Reply
  - Veron
    February 3, 2010
    
    Thanks Kyo! Not to sound like a turtle, but I would probably take 10-15 minutes to walk from Central World to Siam Paragon.
    Reply
- Veron
  February 3, 2010
  
  Oh by the way Celest, if you’re looking for fashion bargains, you gotta check out Platinum Mall in Pratunam. The prices here are cheaper than Chatuchak and Suan Lum Night Bazaar! I heard there’s also an outdoor market near Baiyoke Sky Hotel that has even cheaper stuff! You may wanna check that one out.
  Reply