Our Family Everywhere: Coconut Ice Cream, Mongoose and Pink Elephant Pants: A Classic Bangkok Saturday

By 10 am, I felt that old, familiar sweat - the special overheated, drippy sweat caused by air trapped below corrugated metal roofs, plastic tarps and fueled by too many bodies. The Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the largest in the world, covering 35 acres with more than 8,000 stalls across more than 30 buildings. From Friday at 6pm through Sunday evening, the masses of both tourists and locals flood Chatuchak in search of anything and everything - and in some cases, just to say they had been there.

At Chatuchak, you can buy pink elephant pants, a giant wok, a mongoose (guaranteed to always win against cobra), car parts, a washing machine. a wreath of flowers, fresh Laotian sausages. fermented shrimp paste, plastic bags for take-out food, wooden elephants, rakes, brooms, paintings, lamps, chickens and a two-hour massage - just for starters.

When I lived here in 2001-2002, Chatuchak was more carefully divided into clear sections selling only certain products in certain buildings or rows. Today, the rules seem to be looser and a large portion of the market closer to the main entrance seems to be a "what tourists like" section - with most of the other stuff further to the back.

Luckily for us, we were there for the "what tourists like" items such as breezy cotton Thai pants and gifts for friends and family. Our family, including Matheus arrived around 9:30 am and after guzzling some water and scarfing down some Thai coconut ice cream served in an actual coconut shell proceeded to tacks the market. Ailyn's one wish was new "Thailand pants" in her size - in pink which Emily assumed would be the easiest purchase possible, but turned out to be something between a pink elephant and a white whale. Vendors galore had the light, elephant patterned pants foreign tourists so often end up wearing after a day or two in Thailand. In fact, Chatuchak has more vendors of pushing tourist clothing at low prices than anywhere else. But in kids' sizes, there wasn't a pink pair of pants to be found. It was a "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" situation.

So, while in hot pursuit of an elusive pair of pants, our little group made its way through the labyrinth of a market, taking moments to appreciate just what a unique and amazing place it is. Over the next two hours, many clothes, gifts and chachkes were found, but not until the very end did we find the pink pants. Along the way, Matheus - like any first-timer at Chatuchak - seemed at times overwhelmed by the enormity of the offerings and selections.

And me? I quickly remembered why I only liked Chatuchak in small doses. This time with either Sennen's hand firmly in mine Ailyn on my shoulders, it was extra responsibility and body heat in an already challenging environment. Of course, the best time at Chatuchak is lunch time when all of a sudden the array of selection of some of Bangkok's most delicious food lightens the situation. We found a stand that amazingly served both som tam (Emily and my favorite) and fried dishes such as noodles and rice (the kids' favorites). A fantastic lunch feast for five took place for roughly $15.

Once amply fed and with bags full of loot, we departed Chatuchak for calmer and cooler climes - bringing the kids and Matheus back to the condo for an afternoon nap followed by swimming while Emily and I went on walkabout in the adjacent neighborhood's back-sois. Without kids, Emily and I picked up our laundry, slowly strolled the narrow sois, enjoyed Thai iced teas, got long massages (Emily had a total of 2.5 hours!) and meandered back toward the Central Phra Ram IX mall adjacent to our condo building where we leisurely shopped and bought food to bring home for dinner. Again, another feast of essentially street food.

In short, it was a perfect Bangkok Saturday with a little tourism, a little relaxation, some nothing-in-particular, a lot of shopping and a lot of eating.

But my favorite parts were when the we told the kids what great and adventurous travelers they are. Emily asked, "You guys seem to want to do everything! Is there anything you don't want to see or try?!" Sennen thought for a moment and responded, "Just durian." A great answer.