If you don’t already know, I LOVE SHOPPING. I shop online quite a bit, but I also love window shopping, and shopping in general. I particularly love good deals (I mean, who doesn’t?) so when we decided to go to Bangkok for our holiday, I couldn’t wait to visit Chatuchak.
C wasn’t very keen on going to Chatuchak, but I managed to convince him by telling him that there was an awesome wantan mee stall at the market. Yes, the way to a man’s heart is truly through his stomach!
Since Siam Kempinski is within walking distance of Siam Skytrain (BTS) station, we decided to take the Skytrain to Mochit station, and walk to Chatuchak Weekend Market from there. C initially wanted to take a taxi there, despite me telling him that it would be more convenient to take the Skytrain, and only relented when the concierge told him that the roads would be extremely jammed. Hello, it’s Bangkok! Always take the trains if you can, or be prepared to be stuck in a taxi for ages! Anyway, it was Noah’s first Skytrain ride, and he had many questions about why the security guards checked my backpack at the station, why we were taking the Skytrain, why there were so many people in the Skytrain…
Sleepyhead waiting at the hotel lobby
Must take photos to commemorate his first Skytrain ride
When we got to Mochit station at about 10+am, it was PACKED with people, all headed to Chatuchak. We just followed the crowd to get there, and Noah started whining about the crowd and heat. He kept asking to go back to the hotel, which irritated me, so I found a corner to tell him firmly that if he was going to complain about being at the market, we won’t bring him with us when we go on holidays anymore. He agreed to stop whining, and we were able to walk around in peace after that. It was definitely hot and crowded, and probably not very fun for young children, so do dress comfortably, and bring enough water.
We passed a shop with some cute Bangkok-themed kids’ tees, so Noah picked out some tees for himself and his cousins. After that, he declared that he liked the market. Haha. We also got him a hat that he liked, and he wore it happily the entire time. C and I found some tees for ourselves too, from different shops, and even a set of wooden Jenga from a little stall along one of the many roads in the market.
Chatuchak is huge, and we had absolutely no plans to cover the entire market that morning. We originally wanted to bring Noah to look at the pets section, but erm, couldn’t find it, and ended up looking for the famous wantan mee stall instead. C loved the noodles so much that he had two bowls of it, while I shared a bowl with Noah, since we had some mango ice-cream on our way to the wantan mee stall.
The Famous Wantan Mee Stall in Section 2
Cheap and good
I was on a secret mission to look for the shop selling pretty tiffin carriers, after seeing them on A Juggling Mom’s Instagram account, so I was really excited when I found the shop, a short distance away from the wantan mee stall. For those of you who are keen, it’s at Section 2, Soi 39/1. You’re welcome. I was so tempted to go crazy buying tiffin carriers for myself and as gifts, but the ever-practical C reminded me that we didn’t have much luggage space (because HE only brought a hand-carry bag *rolls eyes*) and told me that I could only get two small ones. Noah chose a small cup for himself as well, and the shop owner was quite taken with him, and gave him a small free gift (a stamp that looked like a cassette tape). I can’t remember how much everything cost, but I think it was about SGD25 for everything? So cheap! I really regret not buying more items from the shop, but I guess that just means we’ll have to go back there again, with more luggage space the next time!
The shop that made my Chatuchak visit worthwhile
So many pretty things!
I was really happy after that, so we decided to go back to the hotel, since it was getting even hotter and more crowded, and it was time for Noah’s nap anyway. I would have loved to spend more time walking around, but I’m glad we at least managed to find the shop that I was looking for, and got some cheap tees too.
Chatuchak loot
We also visited Chinatown on Monday, because I heard that there were cheap toys at the Sampeng Lane there. We took a taxi there, because there wasn’t a train station nearby, and the cab driver dropped us at Sampeng Lane itself. There were many shops selling toys and various stationery items, but they all seemed to be very busy doing some kind of stock-taking, and it was hard to browse comfortably in many of them. We found a shop selling stickers, and bought a stack of them, because Noah had a field day picking out those that he liked, and we had to stop him before we ended up buying half the shop. I wanted to get some imitation Lego sets, but C vetoed that idea, because the pieces don’t fit perfectly with the original ones. We got Noah some small planes, and a small fishing set. The latter turned out to be one of Noah’s favourite toys, and he spent a lot of time playing with it in the hotel room. He really focused on it, patiently waited for the fishes to open and close their mouths, and was so proud of himself each time he caught one.
There’s actually quite a lot to see and buy at Chinatown, but we weren’t really looking to buy more toys, and it started drizzling, so we left quite quickly, just before it started pouring.
Chinatown loot
Focused on fishing
C also wanted to get some new shirts made, so after some Googling, we went to Crown Tailors. The range of materials was fairly decent, so C ordered a couple of shirts. He had to go down for one fitting session after placing the order, and the shirts were ready for collection quite quickly. It’s a minute’s walk from Nana Skytrain (BTS) station (use Exit 4), so it was really quite convenient getting there.
Crown Tailors
Apart from these places, we didn’t really do much shopping, even though our hotel, Siam Kempinski, is directly linked to Siam Paragon, where there are plenty of major brands. I did get some lingerie from Siam Paragon since there was a promotion, but that was about it. I think prices are generally comparable when you go to stores like H&M or Uniqlo, but it was still nice to walk around in Siam Paragon, because of the air-conditioning, and the wide variety of shops. There are also a lot of good restaurants there, but I’ll write about those in my next post, so look out for that!
PS. We didn’t go to Platinum Mall on this trip as I went there with my friends some time back, and it’s mainly clothes and accessories, both of which we weren’t keen on buying, but if that’s what you’re looking for, do plan to spend quite a few hours there!
PPS. If you’re a fan of Jim Thompson, there’s a large JT store in Siam Paragon, as well as two JT shops in the airport. I caved and bought myself a JT bag at the airport, since I felt as though I didn’t do enough shopping. Heh.
*This is the third post in our #GWTTinBKK series. Read about our hotel stay HERE, and about my favourite restaurant in Bangkok HERE. Please check back soon for the other posts in the series! In the meantime, you can take a look at some of our photos from this trip on Instagram, by searching for #GWTTinBKK.
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