Day One in Bangkok: Chatuchak Weekend Market

Day One Highlights

• Hotel breakfast
• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• Small’s Bar

The Details

We started the day with breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Above Riva. Located on the roof, the cozy, open air dining area has a wonderful view of the river and some of the nearby temples. We took our time eating breakfast because we thoroughly enjoyed just sitting and watching the boats go by. Mornings in Bangkok were my favorite part of the day – sunny, but not yet too hot, with a cool breeze. It was so peaceful I could have sat there for another hour, but we eventually had to leave for Chatuchak Market.

Get to Chatuchak Market early in the morning. The later in the day it is, the hotter and more crowded it is. Try to get there around opening time to beat the crowds and heat.

Open only on the weekends, this market is the largest in Thailand. If you plan to be in Bangkok on a weekend, I definitely recommend spending at least half a day here. The main street of the market is a large oval with shops lining each side. Turn onto one of the many narrow alleys into the middle of the oval and you’ll find yourself in a maze of shops when you can buy just about anything you can imagine. Chatuchak is great place to get souvenirs, inexpensive clothes and shoes, or a bathroom sink (yes, we actually bought a bathroom sink). There are even a couple shipping company stalls where you can ship home any large items that you purchase. We sorely regretted not taking advantage of this.

Scattered throughout the market are stands selling coconut water and coconut ice cream to help you keep your cool in the hot sun. We spent about three hours at the market. You could easily stay longer and not run out of things to see. We hurried through the last bit, as lugging around a large tote bag containing a sink made it difficult to navigate through the crowds, but three hours is sufficient time to walk the perimeter with some occasional stops to browse.

Haggling is acceptable at Chatuchak but we found that many people were firm on their prices or would only agree to a negligibly lower price. Vendors are likely to give you a discount if you are buying more than one item, though. If you find something you like but aren’t happy with the price, keep looking. Some shops have very similar items and you might find a better price.

We got a cab back to the hotel to clean up and figure out what we were going to do that evening, New Year’s Eve. I had originally made a reservation at a well known restaurant only to find out that the restaurant was having a prepaid event with a set menu that would have cost more than our food budget for the entire trip. By the time I realized this, it was too late to make reservations anywhere else and we were left scrambling. It seemed that just about every bar or restaurant worth going to was reservation only for the evening.

If you’re going to Bangkok during a busy period, especially around a holiday or celebration, do some research and make reservations! I made our plans and booked our original dinner reservations many months ahead of time, before any venues had their New Year’s Eve events posted, and never bothered to check back. We naively thought we could just waltz into one of the most famous rooftop bars for pre-dinner drinks. I assumed that just having a reservation would get us a table at a premier restaurant and that left us scrambling to find something to do. Don’t make my mistakes!

I had wanted to go to a rooftop bar and we found one that wasn’t closed for a private event, Saffron at the Banyan Tree. Although not on the very top of the building, it still had a pretty good view of the city from 52 stories up.

We had a drink while deliberating over our next move but were still stumped. Upon the advice of a concierge at the hotel, we took a walk down the street in search of a casual place to grab a bite to eat. We found a small place that had an open table and beer. At that point, that was all we were looking for.

Not five minutes after we sat down, a man stumbled out of the back flanked by several employees. He began profusely apologizing and brandishing his credit card, insisting he pay them for destroying the toilet. The employees were not interested and ushered him out to the patio where the rest of his party was sitting. Now, when he said “destroyed”, we assumed that he meant it figuratively. We were very confused as to how someone could use a toilet in a way that would require he pay damages. But it only got more confusing from there.

Minutes later a couple guys came out of the back carrying a large black trash bag that was clinking, as if full of large pieces of a hard material. Shortly after, they emerged carrying broken pieces of smooth, white porcelain. We then realized that this man had actually destroyed a toilet. This obviously did nothing to ease our confusion, it only inspired hundreds more questions that we sadly never answered. We never did find out how that man reduced that poor toilet to rubble and that is a question that will haunt me for many years to come.

After an eventful meal we walked down the block to bar called Small’s. It was still quite early but we had nothing else to do so we took a seat at the bar and ordered drinks. I ordered an old fashioned and it was easily one of the best I’ve ever had. The amount of time and care that was put in to each drink was so impressive. Even as the bar got busy, the bartender never got lazy, still putting just as much energy into each perfect cocktail.

After a while at the bar we went to explore. The bar was spread out over three precariously stacked, eccentrically decorated stories. The narrow, crooked stairs looked like something out of the Weasley’s house. The balconies looked as if they might fall off the building at any moment. But none of this was off-putting, it just added to the charm of the place. We sat at a small tables on one of those balconies, relaxing and sipping on old fashioneds until the bar started to fill up for the NYE celebration. The bar started handing out free champagne around midnight and the rest was history…

For a night like New Year’s Eve, consider options other than a high class restaurant or bar. The luxury hotels of Bangkok attract many high rollers and that is reflected in the prices of events at these destinations. Events are held at public venues, such as CentralWorld. And if you’re cooler than me and can handle a club, there are several streets packed with bars and clubs, such as Royal City Avenue.