Endless shopping at Chatuckak

One of my favourite weekend activities in Bangkok is a trip to the Chatuchak weekend market. The largest market in Thailand consists of more than 8,000 stalls and loads of flying vendors in between. On first sight it seems as there is no order and you feel lost between the vast offer but once you settle you take note of the varying sections. On Saturdays and Sundays there are estimated to be about 200,000 visitors shopping around, mainly Thais but also lots of tourists. You can get everything that your heart pleases from clothing, Thai handicrafts, furniture to living snakes. It is a lot of fun to squeeze in the mass of people and look for the best bargain, buying random little things along the way just because in that moment you feel like you can´t live without it.
The one section I try to get around is the one with live animals. There is said to be some trafficking of endangered species. Moreover I find it disturbing to see hundreds of cute puppies and other young´ns sold to the crowd. They are barely alive and already sweating away in the heat between the thousands of hands that touch them. During one of my first visits I also came past a cockfight. To bet on the birds who often fight to the death, sometimes with razors fixed to the wings, is a bloody tradition in Thailand. If the losing fighting cock didn’t die he´ll end up in the cooking pot, as the meat is high in protein and thought to be stimulating. Usually more popular in rural Thailand I was surprised to see it openly practiced on the market, as there have been many campaigns to clean up the sport.
Anyways, in general its fantastic to fight your way through the crowd, hang out at the refreshingly laid-back artist section, get something to eat at the cramped food court, buy the perfect shirt in the vast vintage area with loads of local designers or just get some coffee in the little stands along the way. At the end of a long shopping day there is also a nice spot to hang out where changing DJ´s put up some good house and electro tunes, just before one heads home with filled bags, hurting feet and a satisfied smile.

walking dresses

 

this should´t become in-style

still continuing his revolution?