Wet/fresh market around Sukhumvit/Asoke?

[BigOm19]

Have been going to Khlong Toei, more occasionally Khlong Toei slum on Nana, Lumpini Park and a little clutch of stalls in the soi after Thonglor. Khlong Toei is vast and chaotic but can't beat it for variety and price. Just want something a little closer and easier as I go at least twice a week. Suggestions and directions please.

[tx22cb]

There's a small wet market at the corner of Asoke/Sukumvit, behind the Underground station. It's directly opposite Soi Cowboy, on Asoke.

So small it's easy to miss.

When I walked by, it seems to have mainly vegetables, but have not ventured into the interior.

[muffy]

1. Klong Toey market.

[smileplur]

Klong Toey market is the mother of all markets. It's where other markets go to buy the things they sell. You are going to pay that markup if you go elsewhere. Also, the quality and freshness will not be as good as a result of the transportation and poor storage I the heat. It's up to you! I would stick with KT even though I find it pretty disgusting.

[xen]

Klong Toey is the market my wife goes to - usually a whole bunch of her and her friends go and they share the produce and share carrying the haul. She says that it is worth the extra bus fare and her fresh vegetable costs are about half of going to other markets and a quarter of going to a supermarket as an average.

I have never been , not because i would have to carry stuff , and also my step daughter will not go because of the smell . Most wet markets i can't last more than a few minutes .

[BigOm19]

honi soit qui mal y pense, thank you very much for the directions. I will go have a look soon.

I grew up in another part of Southeast Asia when it was Third World, my grandparents were fishmongers. While our wet markets no longer sell live poultry, some still do live fish and frogs. I thought our wet markets were still on the smelly side. However, almost nothing prepares you for the scale of assault on all the physical senses that is Klong Toei market... except possibly the toilets in India or if you grew up in a refugee camp with no running water and sanitation is a stick to dig a hole in the ground with (ex-spouse). That putrefying cesspool that used to be a khlong is a dump for what must be generations of dead animal parts and rubbish. Fresh animal carcasses are tossed onto, dragged and unloaded off the floor off the back of open trucks with no refrigeration... I doubt I’ll ever get used to it but have to get on with it. Dialling down the senses has to be a very deliberate and conscious act if you don't want to retch and/or pass out as soon as you're within smelling distance. Yes, Klong Toei is not for the faint of heart. Just speaking from personal experience. No offence intended to anyone as I know certain nationalities are more sensitive to perceived criticism than others.

Thanks, all.

Edited September 18, 2014 by BigOm19

[samran]

Not too far out of the way, but Sam Yarn markets is a place I like. Behind chula, you can get a skytrain to national stadium and a tuk tuk or taxi would be 40 baht max to get there (and yes people still use tuk tuks in those back streets behind chula)

[BigOm19]

Got back to Bangkok yesterday and went to the wet market at the Asoke/Ratchadaphisek Road junction, behind exit 3 of Asoke MRT station. I'm usually out by 5.30am for Khlong Toei to beat the rush hour traffic but we got to Asoke market before 9am. I don't recommend parking in Terminal 21 - at that time of day the entrances through the shopping centre are still closed and you have to make your way through the employee, delivery and rubbish collection entrances.

It's a small-to-medium-ish market but substantial. About five to six small fruit stalls facing Asoke with at least two stalls with a wide selection of vegetables, a few stalls of dried food stuffs and meat. Not too wet and smelly as wet markets go.

Very happy as saved a bundle instead of shopping at a supermarket, I don't have to go to Khlong Toei any more. Excellent. Thanks all.

Edited October 1, 2014 by BigOm19