The sprawl and density of this market is difficult to capture in images or words; but the Time Out Guide states that over a quarter of a million people visit the 8,000 stalls every weekend. Now that’s a market. Open only on the weekend, I was crossing my fingers all week that I would be able to go, and go we did.
Something about Chatuchuk unleashes the shopping beast within. Seeing so many goods for such low prices compels me to think of every last person for whom I can reasonably buy a souvenir. So, if you were hoping for a beautiful Thai silk cushion cover, I got you covered. I also have your box of tissues covered…
And then besides buying a couple hundred pairs of wooden chopsticks as wedding gifts and 300 sage green, drawstring organza bags for my friend’s wedding, I also bought a bathroom floor mat for Bella (?!?). I have to admit that I am a little embarrassed that I bought a full-size (relatively heavy) bathroom mat to carry back halfway across the world.
I got an assortment of carved wooden spoons, forks, and chopsticks…
and a few other odds and ends to round out the purchases – like these sweet little carved wooden containers in the shape of my favorite fruit: mangkoot
and voodoo doll phone charms: yellow curly hair for Dawkins, dredlocks for Bella, and the funky one with a red body for me.
And, ahem, this is not all that I purchased, just the most photogenic.
[No baby yet – but Sue is having increasing Braxton Hicks…any moment now…]