It’s the same market written about a few short months ago, just with a newer, better location. After some drama covered by the BK Magazine, it’s reopened in a new location behind the mainstream Seacon Square on Sri Nagarindra road. Presuming things stay on course, there’s a 15-year lease in place for this location — and naturally, I had to check it out.
Call it Bangkok’s hipster mecca — while the name ‘train market’ no longer fits as well as it did, Talad Rot Fai (AKA Tarad Rod Fi AKA Talad Rat Fai AKA Talad Rot Fi) remains a smorgasbord of oddball merchandise. One booth will sell, say, Hello Kitty merchandise a-plenty, while the next sells vintage motorcycle parts. There’s seemingly little rhyme or reason, although the food and drink booths are logically placed together in multiple sections throughout the lot.
Once you’re in the area, you’ll walk past a number of brick-and-mortar shops lined up along the road. A few, like this one, aren’t even open to the public — it’s as though the owners decided to haphazardly store as much as they could inside while still closing the door…
This is not exactly the sort of market where you ask an item’s provenance — and at a measly 20 baht for t-shirts from around the world, you probably don’t really care.
Google Maps lists this site as part of the Bangkok Racing Circuit, and though there’s a lot of structures around I didn’t see that resembled a racetrack.
The signs to look for — the train may now be a misnomer, but it’s still part of the market’s history.
One reason I really enjoy this market — a mixture of old and new, retro and high-tech, Thai and non-Thai stuff, and Thai takes on non-Thai inventions.
You won’t see a lot of English around, though thankfully almost all places use English numbers instead of Thai numbers.
The polka-dot umbrella VW returns! The same fashion style, complete with a distinctive vehicle.
Just like the previous location, more than a few structures are borderline abandoned and unused, complete with the occasional ‘WTF?’…
Like I said, random awesomeness. Triangles, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ records, a train set, and mugs.
Chatuchak Market is fine for the tourists — head here to do some real shopping without the overwhelming crowds. Don’t be too surprised if you’re the only farang around, though — it’s not (yet) that well-known by the tourists.
Name: Talad Rot Fai (ตลาดนีดรถไฟ) — AKA Tarad Rod Fi AKA Talad Rat Fai AKA Talad Rot Fi
Address: Sri Nagarindra soi 51, Khwaeng Nong Bon, Khet Prawet, Krungthep Mahanakorn 10250 — it’s part of the Bangkok Racing Circuit on Google Maps (GPS: 13.691867,100.650171)
Directions: Two possible ways to get here, neither of them particularly close to public transportation:
Option A: start from Punnawithi BTS, walk south to Sukhumvit 101/1, then take a motorcycle taxi to Seacon Square (50–60 baht). It’ll cut through some of the side roads a lot faster, but hold on tight. Use the pedestrian overpass to cross the busy road, then face the mall and look right (south).
Option B involves getting to Hua Mak station on the Airport Rail Link line. Exit to street level walking east about 200 meters to Sri Nagarindra. Cross the road, turn left, then jump on bus 145, 182, 207, or 537 heading south. Ride for about 5 kilometers, look for the Seacon Center on the left, and get off in front of the mall. Face the mall and walk right (south).
As the mall ends, look for soi 51 to the left — the orange-and-black train signs point the way. Walk along this road, peruse a number of shops along the way, and look for the hundreds of booths to the left.
Hours: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ONLY, from 5pm to midnight. As in the previous location, vendors are still setting up until and after sunset, so don’t worry about arriving until after the sun goes down.
Admission: free
Phone: 086–1267787 or 087–0764820
Website: http://www.facebook.com/taradrodfi
