If you’ve chosen to make a hotel in Ratchada your home away from home while visiting the City of Angels, we can highly recommend you stop by the Ratchada Train Market for a night of fun-filled frivolity that you won’t forget or regret. This hipster market on the Bangkok nightlife scene is guaranteed to tick all your tourist boxes: relaxed vibe, great shopping, yummy food, friendly staff and cheap drinks. Like many other markets in the city and even its sister market in Srinakarin, a visit here is an excellent opportunity to experience local life and eat authentic food, not to mention pick up some rare vintage gems. What’s more, it’s conveniently located in downtown Bangkok and opens from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am daily, with Thursday to Sunday being the busiest nights.
Shopping
The market is split into long avenues with antiques, vintage goods, second-hand toys, souvenirs (although not as good as Chatuchak Weekend Market) and kitsch curios found in the central aisles. On the periphery, there’s a combination of more general market type clothing (T-shirts, dresses, shorts, etc.), shoes, handbags, accessories and tech gadgets. Amongst all that you can even find hairdressers and tattooists!
Eating
As you would expect at a Thai market, this is a staggering array of food on offer. Everything from som tum and boat noodles to paella and pizza is available here. It’s a wallet-friendly place to indulge in your favourite dishes and discover some new ones along the way. Feeling adventurous? Give some sauted insects a try (or munch, as the case may be!). Got a sweet tooth, try the banana pancake. No matter what you choose, you’re sure to leave with a full belly and smile on your face.
Drinking
Given the market’s late closing time, it has a wide array of colourful and appealing drinking establishments. Towards the back end of the market are a row of bars, made from old shipping containers and VW vans. They dish out a mixture of Thai and western pop tunes, cocktails and chilled beers. For those of you not keen on an alcoholic tipple, you can also find fruit smoothies, fresh coconut water, bubble tea and coffee. For live music and DJs, head to Speakerbox, Dot Box and Sorry, I’m Gay.
Arriving
If you’re staying at a hotel in Ratchada, you’ll have no problem getting there. Depending on your location, you can either walk, take a tuk-tuk or ride the MRT (get off at the Thailand Cultural Centre stop) to Esplanade Shopping Mall; you’ll find the market out the back. Alternatively, if you’re a little further afield, take a taxi. Ask for the market with its Thai name Talad Rot Fai Ratchada should do the trick. You must mention the full name though, as the original version of this market is still going on, but at a location way out in the boondocks. Get the name wrong, and you could find yourself on a tour of the city!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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