Bangkok Day 10: Weekend Market & Celebrate Thainess Festival

On day 10 we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. It was super easy to get to- the last stop on the BTS. I'd been so good just window shopping at the mega-malls, so here is where I planned to buy some goods.

The Weekend Market has (and this is literal) 15,000 stalls. They have the usual stuff thats vended all over the city, then they have some extraordinary finds. There was a totally useless map that separated the sections into food, clothes, crafts, furniture and the like. Even though there were (and this is not literal) a bajillion stalls we kind of kept going back to the same spots. Apparently we take a lot of right turns. 

Ian is kind of like... not very interested in bargain shopping. I, however, get tickled inside at the thought of the dollar bin at Target. (Literally I just found out Target is liquidating their stores in Canada and I could not be more jealous of my Canadian friends.) I'm just a proud broke bitch.

While you're expected to haggle and negotiate prices, I was already in awe of the low prices and kind of forgot. I got a plain headband for 30 cents, a flowered headband for 60 cents, shorts for $2.20, and a few shirts for $2.20-$2.50. It took everything I had in me (and a few eye-rolls from Ian) to not go apeshit and buy ten of everything. We only escaped spending a few bones because Ian promised we could go back closer to the end of our trip. I should get that in writing.

My favorite part was the furniture area, where huge tables and cabinets were sculpted out of single trees. There were 10 foot tall wooded horses and bejeweled elephant heads. The chandeliers were epic. Everything was a fraction of the price it would have been at home. We will return home with some stuff, but shipping it back now or carting it to other countries doesn't make sense... le sigh.

Some of the other notable items: penis-shaped soaps, arts and crafts (like acrylic paints for $3), new-born pups. (I look at pups, I look at Ian, I look at pups, I get eye-rolled.)

That night we met up with Kelsey, an acquaintance I tangentially knew from an ex-boyfriend in college. She's on her honeymoon with her beau, Kenneth. I wasn't exactly sure if we'd all hit it off since I didn't know Kenneth and hadn't seen Kelsey in 5+ years, but OMG they are so fun! They were staying at the Hotel Sofitel- a total honeymoon-esque splurge spot. We had a few drinks with them before they headed out to a Muay Thai fight. (We later realized it was a total scam- they were sold $125 tickets to watch children fight a half hour away. We knew of the main stadium a block from their hotel, with real men fighting for $50 a ticket.)

This View Though!

We left Hotel Sofitel and headed to the park to see what this Celebrate Thainess Festival was all about. It was EPIC! It was much like a state fair except totally free. There were thousands of people there and a ton of activities.

The festival was laid out by the different regions of Thailand, and each region exhibited what they’re most known for. There were different stages for performances and the dancers and singers were pretty great. We assumed some of the groups were pretty famous because the whole crowd could sing along with their songs. 

How many Ian's can you find? (3)

We walked around and took pictures with the light displays. We signed the Celebrate Thainess banner and got a caricature done. Everything we did was kind of a spectacle because we were the only white people in sight. My favorite part, and this is so ridiculous, was when a bunch of Thai girls came up to me and asked to take pictures with me. I obviously obliged and threw in a few peace signs for irony. They must have recognized me as "generic white girl" on all the skin-whitening creams!

Until next post, Ian & Beyonce: