The Market

Sunday finally meant that I would have some wandering time. After a slow morning of exercise and relaxation, I headed out for the Chatuchak (or Jatujak) Weekend Market. It’s near the Mo Chit BTS Station, which is the start of the Sky Train, so afterwards I’d have easy access to the rest of the city.
This was one big freakin’ market. No idea of the acreage or number of vendors, but I walked around it for several hours and probably only saw a tenth of it. It had everything – birds, fish, snakes, boxes of maggots, new and antique furniture, bathroom sinks mounted to large polished pieces of drift wood, clothing (suits, shorts, T-shirts, traditional Thai, people actively sewing clothes), silk, string, hats, toys, jewelry, art, electronics, garden supplies, plants, DVDs, CDs, games. All of this was crammed into aisle after aisle with no real organization. Some sections had a roof over it, some was open air, but really everything was so packed in it was hard to tell the difference. There were also plenty of food stalls, most seemed to be grouped together on the outer perimeter, but every third or so aisle intersection in the thick of it had a little snack joint.
I lasted about 20 minutes before I realized that I was completely lost and had no hope of re-finding some of the interesting things that I saw, if I wanted to. I just wandered aimlessly in a near catatonic state induced by row after row of colorful shirts and odd smells, barely avoiding being trampled by groups of tourists, shrieking kids, and carts full of rice and raw food. After a few hours I had to get out, and without any signs pointing to an exit, public transport, or map of any kind, I figured that I better get started looking if I didn’t want to have to sleep on a pile of cheap shoes. Fortunately I looked up and caught a glimpse of the sky train, so I at least had an idea about the direction to head. After a few dead ends and redirections, I managed to find an exit to a large street, and then just followed the crowds to the Sky Train station. Adventure over
I spent the rest of the day riding the Sky Train and wandering the city. I think I was still in shock from the market - because I really don't remember too much else.