Author: princepalace

Bargain hunters visiting Bangkok are well-advised to make a beeline for Bobae wholesale market which, as it happens, is actually underneath, and all around, Prince Palace Hotel, as well as right beside Pier Bobae on Saen Saep canal. Guests staying at the hotel have the added advantage of being able to slip into Bobae Tower direct from the elevator of the hotel’s Tower B.

Founded back in 1927, Bobae Tower and Market is one of the oldest markets in Bangkok. It’s also one of the largest, home to over 1300 stalls selling, wait for it: T-shirts, polo shirts, Hawaiian shirts, hoodies, bomber jackets, shorts, surf ware, beachwear dresses, elephant pants, tie-dye, band shirts, Rasta fashion, military surplus, glow-in-the-dark shirts, animal print shirts, biker shirts, football shirts, belts, bags, underwear, socks, shoes and kids clothing.  Some shops will print your own design on a T-shirt while you look around.

While it’s officially a wholesale clothing market, most shops sell individual items as well, so don’t be shy. Many traders also sell online.

The market area combines Bobae Market and Bobae Tower, essentially a big department store containing many, many stalls on multiple levels. The surrounding market features bustling streets full of shop houses and stalls mostly selling clothing, textiles, shoes and costume & fashion jewelry. Not to mention camping gear.

The other big thing about Bobae Tower Bangkok is that prices at this wholesale clothing mall are the lowest in town, and certainly lower than nearby Khao San Road.

It’s also worth mentioning that the large contingent of Muslim merchants at Bobae Tower clothing wholesale not only sell clothing and fabrics, but also some incredible Halal street food, including kebabs, curries, rice dishes, kaya balls, spicy sausages on sticks, and on.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, the term “Bobae” in Thai means “noisy” or “boisterous”.

Bobae wholesale marketplace opening hours are 6 AM to 3 PM every day except Tuesday. Some outlets stay open till 6 PM. Hit it!

A FRUITY SLICE OF LOCAL THAI LIFE

There are a lot of contenders for the best food market Bangkok crown and Prince Palace Hotel Bangkok is only a 10-minute walk from one of the easiest fruit markets in Bangkok to dive into and enjoy.

Simply cross Luk Luang Road in front of the hotel, and within minutes you’re in a bustling wholesale fruit market in Bangkok that is browser- and tourist-friendly too. Feeling the heat? How about a chilled bag of sweet young coconut milk or freshly squeezed sugar cane juice sucked through a straw?

A vital part of everyday Bangkok life, this colorful fruit market is simply stacked with the local season’s juiciest fruits, and some, like pineapples, that are in-season all year-long, as well as many from neighbouring countries and even further afield.

Located next to and taking its name from one of Bangkok’s famous canals, Mahanak Canal, this top fruit market opens at 1 am every day and doesn’t close until 4 pm or even later in some cases.

It’s worth mentioning that Mahanak Canal was an important waterway for Bangkok people in the past because it connects to the city-wide canal network, including one of the main watery arteries, Saen Saep Canal, along with the Chao Phraya River. On a historical note, the canal was excavated during the reign of King Rama III and stretches as far as Bang Pakong River. In fact, that’s how it became one of the best big markets in Bangkok i.e. as a trading point for agricultural products. These days, most of the transport is by road, however, with a lot of cargo trucks coming in at night. 

While it may seem that each vendor in this remarkable food market in Bangkok is selling the same mangos or rambutans, guavas or oranges, and so on, dig a little deeper and you can find some more exotic and uncommon types you may never have encountered before anywhere else.

And check out the rustic straw baskets the pineapples and other goodies are carried in. The design dates back generations and they are strong enough to get re-used over and over for years. All in all, if you’re looking for an earthy experience of local color and have a passion for passionfruit, Mahanak Fruit Market is a must visit.

Songkran Festival:
Catch Bangkok’s liveliest Songkran festival street party scene on Khao San Road

If you hadn’t already heard, Songkran Festival Thailand is the kingdom’s most important – and fun – public holiday.

What is Songkran Festival? The word Songkran is derived from Sanskrit and means “Astrological Passage”, so it is a big largely public party to celebrate the Buddhist Era New Year.

A bit of Songkran festival history: Songkran marks the start of the new solar year but while the date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation by Brahmin priests, today it is fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following, thereby creating a five-day national Songkran Holiday. When is Songkran 2023? Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 13, 14 and 15 April.

As for Songkran festival activities, you can join the fun in several ways. Find a public place where the people are playing Songkran in the streets – dousing each other with cold water, painting each other’s faces with cooling talc and dabbing their cheeks with fragrant jasmine water. All while wearing the brightest-colored clothing and dancing to everything from local folk songs to hiphop. Leave your best valuables in the safe, keep your money, phone and ID in something water proof, and go for it. After all, April is Thailand’s hottest month, so dousing each other in cold water makes good sense.

If you prefer something more spiritual, the temples are the places to go and make offerings, enlist the spirits’ support and contemplate eternity. Besides all the crazy water flights, Thai people will also visit their local temple during the holiday to pray and give food to the monks. They will also cleanse the Buddha images at their local shrine, as Songkran is a time for cleansing and renewal. Similar to the Western New Year, many people will also make new year resolutions.

As Songkran is also the longest public holiday in Thailand, it’s an opportunity for up-country people to return home from Bangkok, and the Thai capital is remarkably quiet during the holidays, its infamously chaotic traffic calmed for a few days.

Chiang Mai in the North of Thailand has a big Songkran festivities reputation but you would be hard pressed to beat Bangkok where the best places to celebrate Songkran include Silom, the heart of the central business district where the whole 5km street is packed with thousands of people carrying water guns as well as Siam Square where Songkran and fashion go hand-in-hand.

But nowhere is this most high-spirited of water festivals celebrated in a more carnival spirit than the backpacking favorite, “Khao San Road”, just a 15-minute Tuk Tuk or taxi ride from Prince Palace Hotel which is the best place to stay to make the most of the Songkran spirit day and night – early reservations are recommended to avoid disappointment.

Now that Covid restrictions are well and truly lifted, though mask wearing is still widely practiced voluntarily, the entire 410-meter length of Khao San Road will be chocker for three solid days and nights from Thursday April 13 to Saturday April 15. Here Thais and tourists alike get to enjoy the wild water play of Songkran Festival Thailand in full swing. Call it a wonderful mix of Thai tradition and fun travelling spirit where decoratively painted elephants walk the streets and everyone is fair game for a soaking.

Of course, being a celebration of everything Thai, Songkran is also a wonderful time of year to be a Thai food and beverage fan, especially in and around Khao San where the street food, pub and nightlife scenes are particularly vibrant.

Sanam Luang area opposite the Grand Palace, not far from Khao San, is another hot Songkran spot. Here, celebrations are more respectful. On the first day of Songkran the Buddha image “Buddhasihing” is taken from the National Museum and escorted along the street to allow people to sprinkle on water before it is left on display for the next three days to enable people to pay their respects. Then there’s Phra Pradaeng District, another place to head to if you want to enjoy a more traditional Songkran. In addition to getting splashed with water, here you will have the chance to join in more cultural activities like Raman dances, ‘saba’ game, the Thai-Ramn flag ceremony, and parades.

A word to the wise: as it’s hot, and clothes are likely to get ruined by sustained water and talc attacks, it’s advisable to wear as little as possible and to leave precious items of clothing in one’s luggage. Near-nudity is frowned upon, however. So put things like your mobile phone and watch in a plastic bag and have a ton of fun.

Oh and remember to bid everyone you meet Sawasdee Pee Mai – Happy New Year!