Every visit to Thailand should include a visit to a market. There are a lot of markets everywhere but in Phuket this one beats them all – just like the Weekend Market in Bangkok!
The market is situated on the outskirts of Phuket Town – see the map or click the link, the market is also opposite Wat Naka – and it is always worth visiting a Wat, you could even make it part of a cultural day out?
Take the shuttle bus to the ‘Central Festival’ shopping mall and we walked to the Market in just 5 minutes, but you could also hail a taxi direct to the market for about 200 Baht.
The beauty of Phuket Weekend Market is the fact that it may be a popular tourist destination but it is also a very popular place for the local Thai people to visit. Because of this, all the street food vendors there serve authentic Thai-style food, instead of the “tourist versions” you see in popular tourist locations.
There are a great number of food stalls selling any number of food on skewers – fish balls, shrimp, Thai beef, chicken and more – all served with a delicious dip which is spicy and sweet at the same time.
Then the Green Papaya salad (Som Tum ส้มตำ) is a must to try, but it is not for everybody. The fresh papaya is grated thinly and mixed with palm sugar, garlic, fish sauce, dried shrimp, tomatoes and chill.
But food is just part of it. There are also seemingly endless rows of things for sale. Clothing is a popular item for sale here - admittedly there may not always be clothing that will fit those of us with a Western build – for this visit the clothing markets in Patong.
There is a plethora of T-shirts to choose from, Reebok trainers, beach shorts, Muay Thai boxing materials and any number of baseball caps.
If you need to purchase clips for your hair, necklaces, wrist bands and more there is so much to choose from!
Then there are the things which one may not want (or be allowed) to take home with you – from the snakes (and other animals) to the fake eyes!
In fact I think that you might want to visit twice – especially if you want to be back in time for Happy Hour at The Lighthouse at 9:30pm until 10:30pm.
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