English
Bangkok's streets can be a bit overwhelming - noise, cars, smells, rats, people, heat... You name it! But hey this is our lifestyle, take it or leave it. Here's a video where my favourite Thai brand so far, Hamburger Studio, illustrates our daily struggles in the concrete jungle - the taxi driver and the water under moving tiles on the street, boy they are just SO ACCURATE.
After a day of sightseeing the main temples - or the Golden Buddha in Chinatown - visiting another noisy-smelly market, may not be the most appealing thing to do. Which is where Yodipman (also known as Pak Khlong Thalat) comes in. Located just south of Wat Pho (the temple of reclining buddha), Bangkok's flower market is open 24x7 and ready to deliver a quick yet memorable experience of color, perfume and beauty.
Pending a visit to the Museum of Floral Culture I can just say that I have never seen a country where flowers are so ingrained, ubiquitous and central to daily life. Everywhere you go, there are stalls and people buying. I am not 100% what they do with them - just bring home? or to temples? large or mini-sized ones - like those you'll see in your hotel, mall and respectable office building.
I am a sucker for beauty and perfume, so of course a visit to this market was one of the highlights of my Thai life. I will continue to bring home flowers, think of a bunch of roses and a beautiful arrangement of delicately packed jasmine for less than 5EUR and to bring all my visitors to this magical place.
Spanish
Las calles de Bangkok pueden saturar un poco - ruido, ratas, olores, gente, calor, basura, motillos... No falta de na! Así es la vida en esta jungla de asfalto, como podéis ver retratada magistralmente en este video de mi marca favorita, Hamburger Studio.
Después de una mañana explorando templos, quizás meterte en un mercadillo no sea lo más apetecible y por eso os propongo la alternativa zen que representa el mercado central de flores de Bangkok que tiene dos nombres, Yodipman flower market o Pak Khlong Thalat. Situado muy cerca de los otros templos - nosotros llegamos caminando desde Chinatown, pero realmente está más cerca de Wat Pho - abre 24x7 y ofrece una experiencia memorable, sin desviarte mucho del plan inicial.
Nunca he visto nada comparable a lo que tienen los Thais con las flores y por lo tanto, visitar este mercado es una forma de experimentar la cultura local, un poco más de cerca. No es un sitio demasiado turístico, carece de Chinos y de explicaciones, que tendremos que encontrar en el Museum of Floral Culture que anda todavía en mi bucketlist.
While the official market name seems to be Pak Khlong Thalat, the fact is that the sign says something different, so watch out!
There's nothing really fancy, but I kind of appreciate a market visit minus hideous odours.
Quite impressive to see the jasmine and roses sold by weight, think of the craft and time it takes to turn them into beautiful malai.
Also available in strings so that other florists can come up with elaborate decorations.
I had never seen this kind of malai, made completely out of roses as opposed to using them only as decoration on the tips. Blue flowers are also quite rare.
The opportunity to buy malai anytime is definitely a perk of the life in Thailand.
But other flowers are also commercialised and arranged.
These little bunches are really cheap, you can buy one for less than 1EUR.
Finally, the yellow ones which are typically used in the arrangements decorating mini-temples.
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