A Shopper’s Paradise, Or What I Bought With My Baht
Baht, as I’ve established elsewhere, is cheap. That means a lot of what you buy in Thailand is cheap. Food and lodging is ridiculously inexpensive and so is getting around Bangkok. But before you start over paying at Patpong’s night market or your hotel’s gift shop, hold on for the weekend and a trip to the Weekend Market.(unless you have the time for a few days in Chiang Mai . . . prices there, if you are an able barterer, are even better!)

Getting to the Weekend Market is easy. Take the BTS to the Mo Chit station then follow the crowd. If you are planning on returning the same way, note a few landmarks to orient yourself ‘cuz once you get inside it all looks the same. O.K., now picture the flea market in your local town. Now imagine it is twenty times larger. That’s close to how big this place is. And anything you can imagine is available here for sale. Of course you will have to barter well, but all those souvenirs you’ve been looking at can be had here for a fraction of the price. Clothing . . . must be a few miles of shops selling it both used and new. Home decor, flowers, plants, jewelry, musical instruments, pets, fighting cocks, stamps, books, coins, toys, housewares . . . you name it, it’s here. About the only thing I haven’t seen for sale here are go go bar girls . . . you’ll have to head into Patpong for that.

The market is laid out under tin roofs, I think there are like 26 “buildings” plus tons of stalls interspersed throughout. They tend to group like goods in the same area, but you really have to go up and down each aisle ‘cuz there may well be a great little jewelry place mixed in with the used clothing stores. Many stores in Bangkok have outlets here, too so you can do all of your shopping in one place. A shopper's paradise . . . don't miss this one!

A Little Taste Of Hong Kong, Or, Flipping Over The Hong Kong Bank
I admit, when I’m travelling to a new place I dig out the guide books and scour the internet for things to do and see . . . as well as things to avoid. Generally, if a site is listed in the majority of guide books, I avoid it . . . it’s hard to get a taste of the local culture surrounded by a few hundred of your fellow Americans. If you can’t avoid a major attraction, try going during off hours. There’s a better chance you’ll not be in a mass of touri. Better yet, strike off on your own and find something most visitors never get to see or experience . . . or hear.

A case in point, Sundays in Hong Kong. Lots to see and do in HK, and the guide books can do a great job of filling your days. However, the most memorable moment I spent in the island colony (I know, it’s not anymore, but I still like to call it that) was partially by happenstance, and partially due to my traveling with my friend Dave, who had lived in HK and gone to school there.

We’d already spent several days visiting his old haunts, and finding new bars to while away the night well into the early morning hours. Dave’s idea of foreign travel is to taste the local color from the bottom of a shot glass. For some strange reason, Sunday morning we were up, out of bed, and looking for something to do. I’d wanted to ride the Star Ferry (we were staying on the Kowloon side . . . in my opinion a much better choice than the HK side) and had yet done so. Dave wasn’t all that keen on the idea at first, but then broke into a smile and agreed.

The ride over wasn’t the thrill I’d hoped for, just another form of mass transportation when you get down to it, but upon disembarking Dave took the lead saying, “Come on, there’s something you have to see”. OK, first he said, “See I told you so,” in reference to the uneventful boat ride, but that’s Dave . . . and a different tale.

We headed inland and within a block the still of the morning was replaced by a susurrus of foreign tongues causing me to stop for a moment and look about, puzzled by the waft of noise. Dave grinned at me and urged me onward. And the noise grew louder with every few steps until we rounded the corner into a cacophony of female voices and a sea of brown-skinned bodies stretching across the plaza.

Welcome to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) building on Sunday mornings. This famous building in Central boasts an enormous open parking structure at its base and is surrounded by a park-like plaza on the water side. Its designer probably never envisioned the use of his creation as it is on Sundays when thousands of Filipina amahs gather together to socialize on their single day off from work each week.

Not an exaggeration, there are thousands of young Filipino women gathered here on Sundays, and they seem to all be talking at once. Their voices echo through the cavernous parking lot which amplifies the din to a level seldom heard outside of an Ozzie Osbourne concert. The noise has a physical impact on you it is so pervasive . . . not a suggested trip if you’re suffering from a hangover from the night before!

Bartering At Hong Kong Street Markets, Or Bleep You!
There are two things I enjoy the most when travelling to foreign lands: soaking up local color and shopping. And there’s no place better to do both than a street market in Asia. My favorite market in Hong Kong is the Temple Street Night Market, replete with food stalls, pirated CDs and DVD’s, knock-offs of every major clothing design house, and electronics of ever imaginable sort.

More than just a market, Temple Street has a unique atmosphere that makes it a must-see attraction. Fortune tellers huddle by kerosene lamps next to local chess masters. Street singers perform Cantonese opera. Tables and chairs from stalls selling local delicacies overflow into this street that was named after a nearby temple honoring the goddess Tin Hau. And great bargains abound.

At night, the street becomes a fairyland of consumerism. Some stalls are humble, no more than a piece of cardboard on the ground, protecting a pile of buttons or threads from the sweating concrete. Some are elaborate, piled high with gleaming electronics. And the Yau Ma Tei end of the street features an echelon of palmists, physiognomists, and a fortune-teller whose trained birds select slips of paper to predict the future of your destiny.

Officially it’s open from 2 pm, but it really gets going after dark... I kind of get the impression that post 9 pm is best. The market extends for half a dozen blocks, so don’t get run over in the cross streets. It’s usually quite busy, bustling even, until quite late. The latest I’ve been there was around 11:30 pm, stalls and nearby shops were just starting to pack up for the night.

Ramble On . . .

Mosey On Back . . .

Entrance To The Rabbit Hole . . .

SIGHTS OF:

Bangkok

Bangkok Night Life

Chiang Mai

Hong Kong