Walking Street, Weekend and Floating Market

 I had mentioned before the various options of Shopping in Bangkok – the exquisite malls including MBK Centre and Siam Paragon. How about some street shopping? Where should I head to, to collect some souvenirs? The answer lies here – Walking Street, Weekend and Floating Market.

Walking Street, Weekend and Floating Market

Walking Street

All the major cities in Thailand has got a part of their heartland dedicated for shopping and nightlife. No vehicles are allowed on this street by evening, mostly by 5 pm. Thus, aptly called as the Walking street, a number of shops are laid out in the streets with the sole aim of attracting the tourists. One needs to bargain here to strike gold, be it in the form of six fridge magnets or three scented soaps for 100 Baht, or ten different facial masks for 100 Baht.  A number of bars, discos, restaurants, and live music are also part of the Walking street.

Walking Street at Ao Nang, Krabi

Night Market

Nightlife in Thailand offers another great opportunity for tourists to shop till you drop. Such markets are spread out in most areas of the country, be it Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket or Pattaya.

Night Market, Phuket

It offers an incredibly diverse range of goods and products, snacks and entertainment. It presents some cheap eats and evening drinks after a splendid retail therapy.

Some Chicken and Shrimp Fritters, anyone?

With a carnival-like atmosphere, a night market is something you shouldn’t miss on your stay in Thailand.

Some Cute sight on the way!

Weekend Market

This weekly affair becomes one of the most popular destinations among tourists and locales alike, for there are more than 2000 stalls from around the country, been set up. The best Weekend Market in Thailand is undoubtedly the Chatuchak Market, closely followed by the Weekend Markets in Pattaya and Krabi.  You name a thing and you get it here. I’m not a shopaholic, but I had stocked myself with scented soaps, fridge magnets, some stunning artificial jewelry, sexy lingerie, shoes, bags, uh! What not!

Souvenir Shop- Weekend Market, Pattaya

And believe me! I never had the intention of buying anything other than some fridge magnets. The stuff is dead cheap here and with a little bit of bargaining, you will see better results. You are bound to find the items here which you will not find anywhere in Thailand. Try to plan your itinerary to include a weekend market during your stay in Thailand.

Weekend Market, Pattaya

Floating Market

A floating market is where the goods are sold from boats. Almost all the tourists will want to experience shopping in water and the best ones are in Bangkok and Pattaya. We missed it, especially because we had to hit here at the crack of dawn, before the heavy rush of tourists. By the time we reached Pattaya and then Bangkok, we were close to being dead, and getting up so early to travel to the outskirts of the city made us skip the visit to the famous Floating Market.

PC: Pixabay

Floating Markets can be covered in two parts. You can hire a taxi or visit as part of a tour package. You need to get a ticket to enter the boat and experience the shopping. The price varies according to the time you want to spend on the boat. The boats are small but the riders are experienced and can take you close to the shops you are interested. It can become chaotic with so many boats on the waterbody at a time. I was also told that the prices are too high here and we didn’t want to do it this time, just for the sake of it. Well, maybe, the next time!

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