How to Survive Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok, Thailand

Chatuchak Weekend Market (also known as Jatujak by the locals) is a large outdoor market in northern Bangkok, Thailand. I've heard differing numbers of stalls from many sources but let's just say this.......if you want to see between 8,500 and 14,000 stalls, Chatuchak is for you! I live about 10 minutes from it, so I go every weekend without fail. I also run a business and purchase a lot of my wholesale orders from Chatuchak as the prices are great and the stall owners are extremely friendly.

The market is located next to the Mo Chit sky train station so is very easy to get to. The relatively new underground system also has two stops that service Chatuchak - Chatuchak Park, which brings you into the park next to the market and Kamphaeng Phet, which opens up right into the market itself. The market is open on Friday evenings, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Some people will tell you it opens at 7am on the weekends but really, other than food stalls, there's not much open until 9am. The sellers begin to close at 6pm and everything is pretty much over by 7pm. There are however a couple of bars and restaurants that will stay open until 9pm.

Survival at Chatuchak Market is an art and here are 10 points to help you learn that art:

1) Arrive early. Best arrival time is about 9:30 am on a weekend. That will give you time to grab a quick breakfast and a drink before you hit the stalls. It starts to become crowded by noon and by 2pm is pretty much unbearable. Sunday is even busier than Saturday, so if you can't get there till the afternoon try to make it a Saturday afternoon.