What do you buy in Suan Lum Night Bazaar?

Suan Lum Night Bazaar is the ideal place for nocturnal shoppers, but as at any large market you have to do the leg work to be able to separate the junk from the gems. The fringes of the market are generally loaded with generic Thailand tokens such as counterfeit T-shirts, backpacking uniforms and bags, ethnic jewellery, trinkets, fairy lights and quirky homeware. Beachwear, flip-flops, trainers, miniature tuks-tuks made from the remnants of coca cola cans, tapestries, canvases adorned will saffron-clad Buddhist monks are all common.

Some of this stuff is pretty decent but if you think it isn’t the right price then attempt to barter it down. Once you enter the dense warren of shops, it’s almost an un-navigable bizarre and you’re best orientated by what stands on the outskirts eg a restaurant or pedestrian pathway.
Fashion

Suan Lum is a unique shopping experience in every sense of the word. This is true not only of the goods to be found, but the entire process of buying from an independent trader defies the whole super-brand culture we have become so accustomed to. What the market lacks in the way of air-conditioned changing rooms, and perfectly arranged window displays it more than makes up for in its creative layout and equally impressive attire that you won’t find elsewhere. This is also fertile ground for finding designer-inspired goods with their own unique twists, all at affordable prices.

Everyone – men, women, boys and girls are well catered for here. Many of the stalls adopt striking identities creating boutique like spaces for their clothes which range from quirky one of a kind pieces to indie-kid uniforms, rare vintage finds to some seriously, glam get-up . The Lopburi zone is like Siam Square’s edgier relative – with lots of fresh, young and up-and-coming designers that could well be hitting the catwalks in the future.
Furniture and Home Accessories

If you are interested in picking up some classic teakwood delights or pop-influenced furniture – worry not, you’re in the right place. At the back of the Night Bazaar you will find the Outlet Zone, which is dedicated to furniture and light fixtures. Keeping with the multi-coloured theme that plays throughout the central market, the Outlet Zone is home to bigger spaces displaying various types of furniture ranging from from bold contemporary to more subdued classics. A number of quirky light fixtures can also be found around here.


Art and Design

You can choose from a selection of contemporary and traditionally Thai-inspired canvases, postcards and small frames in Suan Lum. The market takes on the form as a commercial outlet for Bangkok’s creative set and comes highly recommended for those who enjoy buying art without spending astronomical amounts of money. Buddhist -inspired sculptures and teakwood furnishings are also commonly sought around Suan Lum. Usually most shops that sell weighty objects are happy to help arrange shipping back to your respective country.
CDs and DVDs

DVDs and CDs can easily be found at the Night Bazaar, but are not as common as you might expect. Speckled around the outskirts of the market are a handful of vendors selling the latest DVD releases in film and TV. You can also pick up Asian films and TV series. There is a CD store near the Khmer-style building that specializes in dance music, with some good international and homegrown mixes to be found here.

Jewelry

Suan Lum offers more than standard souvenir-style jewelry. You should expect to come across many of the accessories found and worn at backpacker destinations such as embroidered bracelets, chunky beads and turquoise stones. The market is also good for more classic knock offs such as the Tiffany Charm bracelets. When you venture in to the maze of stalls, you’re more likely to encounter sturdy silver pieces and rare stones. Men’s watches are rife, especially counterfeit Rolexes that pass off as the genuine article to the untrained eye.