First-time visitors to Bangkok who stay with Your Man on the Ground traditionally get The Tour™. For those of you gleefully rubbing your hands together hoping to read a seedy description of Bangkok’s never-ending nightlife, you’ll be sadly disappointed.

The Tour™ usually starts with a trip to Chattuchak Market – the largest open-air weekend market in the world. As we approached the market from the SkyTrain, we noticed farang tourists coming back from the market looking, hot, tired, overwhelmed, and desperate to escape. Chattuchak or “JJ/Jatujak” to the locals, has that effect on you.

It’s a noisy, crowded, dusty labyrinth full of hawkers, pickpockets, tourists and locals out to haggle for a bargain. I love it, and just about everyone I’ve ever taken there does too. Photos of it don’t do it justice, as it really is massive. The market itself covers some 35 acres of land, contains more than 15,000 shops and stalls, and hosts an average of 200,000 visitors each day that it’s open (saturdays/sundays only).

You can buy everything from highly-crafted solid furniture

to cheap trinkets, fake name-brand clothing and accessories



I think the shop below is a front for the local blackmarket Viagra dealer (which by the way is illegal in Thailand…)



The pet section also features such rarities as armadilloes, chameleons (available in any colour you like), baby crocodiles, and occasionally monkeys. There’s something for everyone at Chattuchak market.

After wandering the alleys for hours on end, we usually require lengthy rehydration and end up at Viva, an awesome little oasis with cool tunes and cold beer tucked away in Section 22 (I think. We stumbled across it accidentally early in the tour and promised to go back when we finished shopping. Once we’d decided to go back there, it took us a full hour to find it again – JJ is seriously that big, and that easy to get lost in.)

Here’s YMOTG enjoying a quiet beer or seven at Viva

JJ shuts down at 6pm, so after an afternoon in the tropical sun and a few beers to wash down the dust, its off home for a nap before the evening tour commences.

Stay tuned for more info about The Tour™ soon. Bookings can be placed here. YMOTG accepts Visa, MasterCard and French “Grey Goose” Vodka as payment.