As much as I love my kids and love to take them with me to experience every where we go during our vacation, there is a place and time that it’s not feasible to bring them with us. One of the places in Bangkok is Sam Peng.
Sam Peng is the wholesale market where retailers go shop for their products that eventually you will see them sell in the mall or shops around town. It’s a place that takes certain type of skills and endurance to experience it.
We woke up at 4 AM and headed out there with my sister. She has been going there for years to shop for different products like toys, clothes and children products for her shop.
The first test was the parking. I don’t care how good of a driver you can be, I’m sure my sister is one of the best. We had to park in a parking spot with less than 1 foot clearance from either side of her car with a column on the side nonetheless. I was holding my breath and praying that she won’t scrape her car. Alas, she parked without any incident.
Next stop, we had our early breakfast because this would be a really long day and we would need all the energy we had. The breakfast was typical Thai food. Kao Mun Gai (Chicken and Rice) was Mr. Rojo’s favorite and luckily there was a food cart nearby. Yup, we didn’t have cereal or bacon & eggs but rice with chicken. For $4, all 3 of us were fed and ready for a day of shopping.
Based on my sister, the market has 2 sections. The early section which opens from 5AM-8AM and the day section which opens later in the day from 8AM-5PM. So we started off at the early section.
Shopping here is not for a faint of heart. The street is small and narrow and filled with people, bikes and even trucks. The shop sells in bulk so be prepared to buy a minimum of 6 to get the bargain.
After 8 hours of shopping, we were done and ready to head home. It was a really long and hard day.
If you want to check out this area, here is a few tips:
- For a real bargain, go shop with someone who can speak Thai. Otherwise, you will surely pay for foreigner’s price. These shops mainly sell to retailers so they know you are not gonna buy their products in bulk to sell.
- Get there early so you can enjoy the shop without the heat during mid day in Bangkok.
- Drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated.
- Wear comfortable shoes and clothes.
- Leave your personal space at home. There will be none in this packed market.
The Q Family is a family of 4 with 2 school-aged kids who love to explore as much as their parent.
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You take such awesome photos. You make we want that ice coffee (and that breakfast too!).
Bangkok is the good destination , it has good heritage and culture.the Problem is only the traffic.Apart from we spent a good time over there during my stay with my family.