Chatachuk Market

Chatachuk market is like "garage saleing" on steroids.  Imagine 26 acres of STUFF.  Not just trash your neighbor wants gone (although there is some of that), new, interesting STUFF.  If you can't find something to consider buying at this market, you are just not trying.  Or you hate heat, crowds and weird markets (this was not John's favorite excursion).  I, however, was in heaven.  In fact most of the time I strolled I thought of family and friends that would love this place.  I could see my mom bargaining a Thai woman down another 20 cents for a $1 pair of earrings and friends snapping up iphone cases for $2.50 because who doesn't need a new phone case?  Yes.... there were sad puppies for sale and I skipped the other animal sections on purpose, it was an experience.

Here are some pictures of this wonder of the world:

This is the market when it first opened.  While the alleyways are tight, there is plenty of room to get around.  There are large sections of the market dedicated to clothes (some more traditional like the photo on the left and others less so - Gangnam Style t-shirts are big here).  There was A LOT of "silk" in the market.  While they were pretty from far away, the quality was so bad I couldn't justify bringing them home.  I will have to keep looking for the famous Thai silk.

Knick-Knacks (damn spell check - that is clearly how it should always be spelled) were everywhere.  Small bags were extremely popular.  There is a saying from Portlandia, "throw a bird on it", that would work here although it would be "throw an elephant on it".  Jewelry was also popular and plentiful.  You could buy anything from very nice gemstone rings to more mainstream costume stuff like above.

The rest of my group left after an hour (including Kasen who fell asleep a minute after we got there), but I stayed.  When we met up back at the hotel John had a hard time believing I had so much fun.  I told him the reason I loved it was the 40%.  That most of the stuff (60% on a good day) was crap.  The same tourist trinket presented in the same sad way.  It was the rest, the 40%, that made the hunt worth it.  You would turn the corner and find a gem (or a mask as the case may be - Karen I totally found your mask) and your search would be warranted.  It was this that would propel you to the next diamond in the rough.  The picture on the left above shows one of these stands. 

Those cases contain some of the most life-like statues I have ever seen.  Think the weird babies they offer in Reader Guide (anyone else seen these freak dolls?).  I imagine they were in the likeness of famous Buddhists monks (while there were a few that looked like the Dali Lama, some were much different).  I mean if Christianity has it's "heroes", Buddhism must have the same right?  So imagine an entire stand of life-like Jesus statues in boxes.  Interested yet?  (please forgive all the religions I offended with that last paragraph..... but my choice of words doesn't make it any less interesting)

While I loved the market, it's glow did eventually wear thin.  The morning turned to hot afternoon and a few people turned into throngs.  While I had more treasures to find, I did finally have to escape.  Here are some pictures to illustrate the change:

Above is the crowd I had to fight to get back to the Sky train.  Doesn't look so bad?  How about now?  I was one of the few people leaving....

If only I had a few more weekend days in Bangkok......