As we’ve said before, Thailand is a country that really comes alive at nighttime. On top of all night parties and city streets packed until dawn, the country is full of incredible street markets that open up at sundown. These cannot be missed.
Fortunately, any city you visit in Thailand is bound to have an established night market, with the bigger cities housing many. The huge city of Bangkok has a ton – there are even travel guides to the best ones to be found – with the smaller-but-still-large Chiang Mai holding several as well.
You can find anything at a Thai night market. From souvenirs, to clothing, to art, to musical instruments, to cookware on the shopping front (among so much more), to deep fried scorpions, pad thai, Korean-style corn dogs, and mango sticky rice from seemingly unlimited street vendors. Additionally, there are usually restaurants and bars open late nearby most markets for a drink or three. Many of the more tourist-friendly markets feature live music as well, while the more “local” focused markets will generally carry/sell items in wholesale or bulk.
A famous saying in Thailand is “Same Same, but Different” and we’d say this applies to the night market scene. You’ll usually find similar items for sale (and similar foods to eat) wherever you go, however you’ll quickly find each market has a unique individual character to itself as well. From the winding alleys of Sampeng market in Bangkok (which opens at 11:30 PM) to the backdrop of temples in Chiang Mai’s Sunday Night Walking Street, you will never get bored of exploring. We even watched a world cup game at one!
Below is some photography from our many trips to Thailand’s night markets. For some structure these are divided by city, but it’s a combination of several markets within each. And again, this is only a surface-scratch of the incredible variety – you’ll just have to experience it for yourself when you visit!
Bangkok:
Chiang Mai:
Chiang Rai:
