A Quiet Day

A marginally excessive intake of beverage on Friday evening led to a quiet start yesterday which then developed into a very quiet day indeed. Macha Bucha which falls on the day of the full moon in the 3rd lunar month is a public holiday in Thailand. It’s the day when Buddha is ‘venerated’ although I’m not sure why he isn’t venerated  on other days. Anyway, on this particular day his followers are supposed only to do good things for 24 hours including no buying, selling or drinking of alcohol! It really was quite amusing to see pubs, bars and restaurants  desparately trying to drum up trade without the usual lure of Happy Hour etc. Inevitably many establishments, knowing that business was going to be slow, didn’t bother to open at all.

Today though, I was off to the Chatachuck weekend market, located about 10 miles to the north of central Bangkok. It’s the largest market in the whole of Thailand and it’s massive with more than 8,000 stalls selling everything from plants to porcelain, furniture to food and antiques to animals! There is, of course, the same stuff you see on all market stalls in Thailandplus the ubiquitous food stalls.

but every once in a while, even among all the usual stuff I came across one or two bits of amusement.

The really interesting – and almost overwhelming – part was in the covered area. A souk-like warren of stalls and shops selling an astonishing array of antiques and Thai artefacts,

home decor – perhaps not to everyone’s taste

larger than life wood carvings

and even a stuffed tiger that I wasn’t allowed to photograph for reasons I can only guess.

There were dozens of silk flower sellers,

There were paintings – some not yet finished.

There were toy shops and hobby stalls

but probably the biggest area was reserved for live offerings be they of the strange looking swimming variety,

those with feathers

or those that just looked cute

either by themselves or playing together.

Although most of the animals seemed well looked after you never know what goes on behind the scenes. I have subsequently read there have been a number of convictions recently for selling endangered species – mainly birds – at this market.

For a non shopaholic, I  surprised myself by spending close to 4 hours at this place (admittedly, almost half an hour was spent trying to find the exit). I know people who would have happily spent the entire weekend in paradise here. There is so much to see and, if you are that sort of person, there is so much to buy. For me, though, I was content with my one purchase

a loofah back scrubber!

In a few hours time, Ollie will be on his way here and we’ll be off to Phuket. Hoorah!

Phileas