Mostly, international travelers know Chatuchak Weekend Market. Nevertheless, beside Chatuchak Weekend Market, there are other interesting attractions that you might like to visit as well. The following attractions are local favorite and they are Aor Tor Kor Market, Siam Orchid Centre, H.M. Queen Sirikit Park, Rod Fai Park, Buddhadasa Interpanyo Archive, Bronze Craft Centre, Thai Airways International Head Office Flea Market, and Bon Marche Market.
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Chatuchak Weekend Market (Talad Nad Suan Chatuchak)
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It is one of the world’s largest and liveliest weekend markets, made up of eight thousand shops in twenty-seven projects. It is complete with every kind of merchandise from every part of Thailand: home decoration, clothing, jewelry, food, furniture, pet, art, and others.
Each weekend hundreds of thousands of people come to shop until nighttime. The Chatuchak Weekend Market was originally located at Sanam Luang, according to the policy of Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkharn. He planned to set up weekend markets in every province.
Later in 1978, the government wanted to use Sanam Luang as a recreational space. So the weekend market was moved to the south of the Suan Chatuchuk. This weekend market used to be called “Talad Pothin Area’ for its location and maintained by the Railway of Thailand.
“Sunday Market”, is a part of the Chatuchak Weekend Market, located next to Thanon Kamphaeng Petch 2. It is a place that sells ornamental fish from
local breeders and from different countries. It also sells every kind of material for ornamental fish.
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Aor Tor Kor Market (M.O.F Market)
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If you think about high-quality fresh food in Bangkok, think about Aor Tor Kor Market. The market is famous for its selection of new, fresh and high-quality agricultural products. It is located in the same area as Chatuchak Weekend Market, selling products from Thai farmers both domestically and overseas.
The products are fresh vegetables, fruits, sea food, meat, rice, dried food, and others, including instant food (both dessert and main course). You can take the products home or eat them in the Food Centre.
In Aor Tor Kor Market, there are also spaces for circulating vendors and a space for products from royal projects: ‘the Doi Kam’ pavilion sells products from H.M. the Queen Sirikit’s project and there is a shop that sells products from 906 royal projects, including Sai Yai Rak Project.
Siam Orchid Center
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It is located next to Aor Tor Kor Market. The main goal of this place is to be the biggest centre of orchids, flowering and ornamental plants in Thailand. So the farmers and dealers of orchids and flowering and ornamental plants have another channel of distribution in order to meet the demand of consumers, locally and overseas.
The building is modern and outstanding. There are many shops inside it that sell various kinds of orchids and flowering and ornamental plants, fruit trees, perennial plants, herbs, agricultural tools, and provide great service.
There is also one parking area, and on the ground floor a digital library is located where you can do research. You can also use the library as a place for exchanging experiences and organizing various academic events about orchids and plants, locally and overseas.
H.M. Queen Sirikit Park (Suan Somdet Phra Nan Chao Sirikit Park)
It is located west of Chatuchak Weekend Market. This park was established as a present to Her Majesty the Queen, in the occasion of her 60th birthday. It is one of the country’s biggest and most complete spots to study botany. Many families of trees were grown here.
Those who are interested can study the trees in details. In the park, there is a ‘Banana Garden’ which collects more than sixty species of bananas, pools in the shape of ‘ส’ and ‘s’, and a botanical garden.
The park includes rare plants that are grown and maintained in the middle of the city, such as golden yaan-daa-o which is a wild plant that bears sweet-smelling white flowers. In Thailand, this plant is found only in Narathiwas but you can see it in Suan Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit.
Rod Fai Park or Train Park (Suan Washirabenjatas)
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Rod Fai Park was used to be a golf course owned by the State Railway of Thailand, who renovated it as a park in the centre of the city. It is 375-rai wide. Rod Fai Park first opened in 2002. It is green and fresh with big trees mixed with green lawns, flower gardens, and a pool.
The popular activity in Rod Fai Park is riding a bicycle around the park to take in its beautiful views. On weekends, the park is lively with runners, cyclists, athletes, and people who want to get some fresh air in the city.
The park also has ‘Bangkok‘s Butterfly and Ins ect Park’ which gathers different kinds of butterflies and insects for those who are interested, and ‘Washirabenjatas Sport Centre’ which is a 30-rai sport centre that provides a complete service in sport and fitness.
Buddhadasa Intapanyo Archive
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This is the place that keeps, preserves, researches and exhibits tens of thousands of works from Buddhadasa Intapanyo, the great monk who was a thinker and activist of Suan Mokkhaplaram, Amphoe Chaiya, Suratani.
This place supports city people, who have less time to go to temples, in gaining more access to the core of Thamma. This is the reason why many people call this place ‘Bangkok Suan Mokkh’. There are various activities here: daily praying (day and evening), Thamma Voice at Suan Mokkh Activity, listening to the preaching of Buddhadasa, Anapanasati programs for children and adults, Thamma camp for children, group praying in different occasions, Yoga in Thamma garden, seminars under Buddhism topics, watching films and discussing morals from the film, etc.
Moreover, there are also circulating exhibitions throughout the year by a network representing religion, culture and the environment. The Buddhadasa Intapanyo Archive is also a popular place for many social activities, such as fundraising concerts. The site is in the area of Suan Washirabenjatas, Nokom Rodfai 2 Rd.
Bronze Craft Centre
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Bronze craft is the old handicraft of Thailand. In the past, most kinds of tools, both indoor and outdoor, were bronze before stainless steel and plastic became widely available. Though decreased in popularity, bronze is still regarded as valuable collectors’ items.
With its beautiful colours, lines, shades, textures and durability, bronze craft became an international popular souvenir. The Pradit Torakan Community has been widely known as the community of bronze crafts experts since the old time. The centre was founded to pass on the tradition and the knowledge of the craftsmanship.
Furthermore, visitors are warmly welcomed at the community, and they could watch the crafting procedure, rarely seen anywhere else, from beginning to finish. The centre is located on Phahonyothin Rd. Soi 47.
Thai Airways International Head Office Flea Market (Talad Lang Kan Bin Thai)
Many know the place as ‘Talad Loong Perm’. This market distributes various beauty products such as clothes, shoes, accessories, and perfume which are imported from overseas and are sold at an affordable price. Also, there are many renowned dishes from restaurants that come in food stall to taste such as Thai fresh vegetable spring roll, papaya salad, spicy rice salad, and Sukhothai noodle.
On weekdays,Talad Loong Perm food court is filled with office employees who work nearby and people coming over to have tasteful lunch here. The market is behind Thai Airways Building located on Vibhavadi Rangsit Rd. Soi 22.
Bon Marche Market
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If you are bored of the fresh market, please try a ‘high-end’ market like the Bon Marche Market. It has been operating since 1999 on a 17-rai area, which used to be an old golf course. The fresh market here is clearly divided into fruit market, grocery market, vegetable market, sweets market, and instant food market.
Bon Marche Market is well known for high-quality products. Nowadays it also has the Plaza Zone which sells utensils and clothes. It is convenient with a parking building. Moreover, there is one building which is exclusive for jewelry shops and another building for education service and health service. These can completely meet the demand of the new generation of people in a big city. Bon Marche Market is on Thetsaban Songkhro Rd.