Chatuchak Park and Kamphaeng Phet MRT Stations

As noted in the last issue, if you alight at the Phahon Yothin MRT station you can enter the top end of Chatuchak Park. If you happen to be in the vicinity on the weekend and want to access the well-known Chatuchak Weekend Market, then alighting at either the Chatuchak Park MRT or the even-closer Kampheang Phet MRT are the better choices.

The Chatuchak Park MRT station is perfect for anyone who wants to transfer to the Skytrain and make their way further into the centre of Bangkok, being right alongside the Mo Chit BTS (take exit 3). If you actually want to spend the day taking in all the sights and sounds and shopping experience of the Chatuchak Weekend Market, then it’s best to alight at the Kamphaeng Phet MRT and take either exit 1 or 2 which will bring you out right where you need to be, among around 15,000 stalls selling anything and everything.

If you are prepared to stroll a little bit, the Bangkok Children’s Discovery Museum is about 10 minutes walk from Chatuchak MRT.

The Railway Park (Suan Rot Fai) is also closest to Chatuchak MRT, although you’d want to be a keen walker to get to it, and most people, especially with a family in tow, would be better off hailing a metered taxi to go and explore the park. Next to Suan Rot Fai park is Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, also called Suan Mokkh Bangkok. This, as the name might suggest, is a place where you can learn about dhamma, or dharma, the key concepts of Buddhism, although it also covers and borrows from Indian religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. Probably not something you will do with the family trailing along, but you might consider it for a visit at a later time.

Also in the Chatuchak Weekend Market area are JJ Mall and JJ Green. The first is an indoor mall and busy during the day, while the second is an outdoor market which really only comes alive after sunset selling unique material and vintage goods.

If you happen to be looking to buy good quality, fresh, clean food, the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF) is also close by. It’s best accessed via exit 3, but be prepared to pay a little extra for the produce as it is considered premium quality.

JJ Mall, JJ Green and the MOF are all open throughout the week, and therefore you can expect them to not be as busy and hectic as when the Weekend Market is up and running.