Chatuchak Market: Planning Your Trip

The Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok—also called J.J. Market or simply just "the weekend market"—is the largest outdoor market in Thailand. It claims to be the largest weekend market in the world, drawing 200,000 visitors per week and selling almost everything you could possibly want, from pets to furniture to clothing to massages. If you're interested in shopping in Bangkok, you won't find anywhere else in the city like Chatuchak.

Because the Chatuchak Market is so huge and sprawls across more than 25 acres, most visitors give themselves at least a few hours and up to a full day to wander and shop. Seeing the entire market in a day would be an exhausting endeavor, so it helps to have a shopping plan when you go.

Planning Your Trip

• Best Time to Visit: The Chatuchak Market is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. On Friday evenings it opens for wholesale shopping, which means great prices but perhaps too much to fit in a suitcase. If you're serious about shopping, arrive at the market early. You'll beat some of Bangkok's scorching afternoon heat and the brunt of the crowds who visit the market every weekend. Some stalls shut down early in the afternoon.
• Getting Around: Chatuchak is big and confusing, so it's easy to get lost. Grab a map from one of the visitor centers in the outer perimeter of the market or take advantage of the many maps posted inside.
• Travel Tip: The Clock Tower in the center of the market is the easiest place to find and it makes a good landmark for meeting up with people. Although crime is fairly low in Thailand, petty thievery does happen in crowded markets. Don't present an easy target (e.g., an unzipped backpack, smartphone sticking out of your back pocket, etc.). Even still, you're more likely to get "robbed" by being overcharged or sold a fake!
• Facilities: There are bathrooms, ATM machines, and even a police booth in the market. In 2017, free Wi-Fi was added to the list of amenities at the market.

What to Buy

For visitors, the best values at Chatuchak are the housewares, Thai silks, handicrafts, and clothing.

Everything at Chatuchak is cheaper than at shopping malls (even the MBK shopping center) and more touristy markets in the city, so savvy shoppers wait to do all their souvenir buying until they get here. There are also plenty of outlets selling furniture, hardware, music, instruments, Buddhist art, antiques, books, pets, plants, and lots of apparel. It's all fun, cheap, and colorful.

Bargaining

Unlike many of the other tourist markets in the country, Chatuchak is not a place for hard bargaining since all the competition keeps prices reasonable. If you're buying a lot from any one vendor you may get a small discount, but other than that don't expect to talk down prices by much.

That said, you should still bargain for items a little. Do so in a good-natured way. If you can't get the price you want, there is a very good chance you'll see the same item again later, deeper in the market. But buy if it's a one-of-a-kind find, as there is a very low chance of finding your way back to the same stall later.

Shipping

There are a number of shipping companies with outlets in the market and most can be found in the annex on Kamphaeng Phet II Road. Small items are probably best packed in luggage, but larger items can be shipped by a company like DHL to anywhere in the world.

What Not to Buy

Stalls in Chatuchak Market have been busted doing illegal trade of birds, reptiles, and other wildlife.

Like other markets throughout Asia, many products made from insects, wildlife, and marine materials are for sale. With no easy way to verify the source, even purchasing products made from seashells could be supporting damaging practices. Avoid anything made from animal products altogether.

Some items to avoid are:

• Items made from animal products (e.g., ivory, crocodile skin, turtle shell, coral, etc.)
• Preserved insects, snakes, and spiders
• Antiques and items that could be considered "cultural artifacts" may raise officials' eyebrows
• Technically, it is illegal to export images of Buddha from Thailand, although this is rarely enforced.

What to Eat and Drink

There are over a hundred stalls and restaurants in the market where you can buy cold drinks, sit down and rest, or have a full Thai meal. Most are outdoors, but for air conditioning, look for Toh Plue Restaurant in the main market or Rod’s across the street on Kamphaeng Phet II Road.

Plan to eat while visiting the Chatuchak Market. You can nibble from the street-food stalls, eat in the food court, or find a proper sit-down restaurant. A handful of bars and nightlife options around the food court come alive in the evening.

How to Get There

The Chatuchak Market is located in the northern part of Bangkok, not far from the Mo Chit BTS Station. Bangkok's horrendous traffic turns a relatively short distance into a long trip if you go by car, so plan on around an hour by taxi from the Khao San Road area to the market and use the trains when you can.

Beware of many shops and stalls along the way, hoping to intercept or distract you from the real market. You can get there by car, taxi, Skytrain or MRT.

• By Driver: All taxi drivers will know where to find the Chatuchak Market, but not all will be willing to turn on the meter. Keep flagging taxis until you find one honest enough to use the meter. You'll need to negotiate with tuk-tuk drivers before getting in.
• By Skytrain: The most hassle-free way to get to the Chatuchak Market is with Bangkok's elevated BTS Skytrain. Just take the train to the Mo Chit BTS Station, then use Exit 1 and walk east toward the park for 15 minutes until you see the stalls. You'll see signs for the market and most people will be going in that direction.
• By MRT: Although the Chatuchak Park seems the most logical, getting off at the Kampaengphet MRT Station requires a slightly shorter walk (10 minutes). Walk north toward the park and you'll come across the market.

Things to Do Nearby

You'll need to travel outside of downtown to get to Chatuchak Market, so make the most of the trip to explore what else northern Bangkok has to offer. Right next to the market is Chatuchak Park, a huge green space with food vendors that's a favorite for locals. Inside the park is the Bangkok Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, where you can see thousands of tropical butterflies among other creepy crawlies. If you've got young kids with you who may get bored in the market, the nearby Children's Discovery Museum is filled with interactive exhibits to keep them entertained and is free to enter.