Friday, June 23, 2017

Friday Travel Tip - Thailand - Night Markets

Just about every city in Thailand has night markets, I only say “just about” because I have not visited every city, however every city I ever visited had a night market. Some of these markets are huge while others can be fairly small. The markets themselves can change in size depending on the days as well as the seasons. Weekends are often the busiest time for these markets and therefore the markets are often much bigger then.

On some days in some places there are night street markets. These are similar to regular night markets, except they're temporary, and on the street. Since these markets are only on special days they tend to be very crowded. During peek times in busy areas you may find it difficult to see much as you'll be focused on just getting through the streets.

As far as what you can buy at these markets, that all depends. For the most part you'll find some items that repeat themselves. These are often tourist souvenirs, fake copies of high end items, and some craft items. The smaller markets are more often full of these items with fewer legitimately hand made items. As you would imagine, most of the time when you see an item available at several different kiosks in a market, it's likely not hand made (or at the very least it’s hand made in a mass production facility). Don't let that stop you from getting something you like, there are several very beautiful touristy items for sale at the markets, even the mass-produced items.

The only piece of advice you must always keep in mind is that it's safe to bargain, in fact my advice is always bargain. The price they're giving you is not the best price, in fact it's nowhere near the best price. When bargaining start by at least half the price suggested. Go even lower if you want, be prepared to walk away, and never feel bad for the vendor. They will not sell you an item unless they're making money, so never feel guilty about the amazing deal you got. Finally, be creative with your bargaining, once we teamed up with another person to make a package deal, and on another occasion we added a free massage to our package.

Later