M-whY

Located near the Mochit BTS terminal, it was easy to find. As soon as I got off the train, all I had to do was follow the crowd of shoppers. The number of stalls and visitors per day varies, depending on the source, but it easily numbered in the thousands and hundred of thousands. It's estimated that 30 million baht is spent here every day. Just about everything imagineable is sold. Food, clothes, antiques, handcrafts, jewelry... even pets. It would probably be quicker to list the things that couldn't be found.

I entered through one of the many entrances, into the maze of walkways lit by a combination of incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs. The main alleys were hot and crowded. Signs warning visitors to watch out for pickpockets were posted throughout, though it was more likely one would lose their money buying some useless yet irresistable souvenir. Prices here had to be the lowest in Bangkok. Everything costs significantly less than in other heavily touristed areas. It seemed everyone eventually acquired a plastic bag of goods to carry home.

I walked through the disorienting alleys, only pulling out my wallet to purchase a couple ice cold drinks, which were heavenly in the suffocating atmosphere. The maps weren't much help when it came to navigating the place, not that it really mattered. There wasn't anything in particular I was looking for.

One kid knocked over an expensive looking (probably fake) antique, which fell to the ground and shattered into many pieces. "It wasn't me!" he shouted at his parents when they gave him their 'What have you just done?' look, but regardless, it appeared that the family would be forking over some baht to cover for the accident. I learned from the kid's mistake and took care not to get too close to anything that looked fragile.

To sum it up, Chatuchak is a must if shopping is on your list of things to do. Personally, the experience wasn't as rewarding. Hot, humid, and crowded. If I'm going to spend a couple hours just looking and not buying, I'd rather stick to air conditioned shopping malls.

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