As one gets older, and older, the objective for travelling shifts. I am only a few more years to half a century and one of the things I like doing nowadays when overseas would be a visit to the local markets.
For my Bangkok trip in September 2026, I made a visit to Trok Mor Morning Market, within walking distance from Sam Yot MRT station at about 700 meters.
How do you know you have reached the start of the market, which was said to be more than 70 years old? The existence of makeshift stalls, many of which were selling food like churros, moo ping, fried bananas etc.
What are the features of a true blue local market? The sale of raw meat and uncooked seafood; bringing the unmistakable "aroma" of the wet market I remember as a kid, when fridges and freezers were not a requirement.
And of course, the sale of vegetables! Should my mom be with me, she would likely go over the different kinds of vegetables and wonder what they would be used for. I would be most curious of the original look of the malindjo leaves, which I first had at Tookpak!
Eggs were about 50% cheaper; for Thai rice, it's a bit harder. Not because there's no price that was on display. Reason being I don't really have rice at home and I don't even know the standard pricing! I only know Thai jasmine rice is said to be the best!
Cooked food would be the main draw for most tourists as I doubt many of us have a kitchen in our accommodation to whip up delicious dishes using local ingredients! Not to mention we had to also buy condiments and sauces.
Another favorite would be fruits!
Imagine Thai durians at just 150 Thai baht, even though I am unsure how many pieces we are looking at, or would it be a whole fruit? Anyway, I prefer Malaysian durians.
I am absolutely not resisting this bag of Thai mangosteens for just 30 baht, about S$1.50. Looking like it's about a kilogram heavy, the same bag would have cost about S$3 to S$5.
Hot Thai weather means we need something thirst quenching.
How about the juice from a head of freshly chopped Thai coconut!?
Check out the moves from the owner!
So precise! For me, sure chop off my fingers.
At just 30 baht a box, this had that addictive pandan and coconut fragrance with a texture that was thinly crisp with a chewy yet bouncy inside that was so yummy! Irresistibly good!
Since Trok Mor Morning Market is a local market, be expected to see alms-giving; a common practice in Thailand where locals would line up and give alms to monks early in the morning. We were actually a bit late at about 9am, but no way am I getting up so early...
While it covers a street of only about 200 meters, this market was good enough for overseas travellers as a much larger market like Khlong Toei Market would have been too large to explore.
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Address
Soi Thesa, Ratchabophit Rd, Wat Ratchabophit,
Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Map
As above.
Operating Hours
5.00 am till 10.00 am
