Krabi Walking Street is an immensely popular weekend night market held at Krabi Town and one that i remember very well for its rustic, old-school atmosphere even though my last visit was in 2011.
Back then, i made the mistake of arranging for transport via the tour counter at Aonang (30-minute drive away) for convenience but i found the timing to be a bit too late. Hence, i decided to grab there instead despite the significantly higher price for just two of us; arriving about 15 minutes before 5.00 pm.
Officially opening from 5.00 pm; many stall owners were still in the midst of setting up; there were early birds like us even though you can see more staff than customers.
Aside from better lighting during the day, the main objective for arriving way before the crowd was to find a place to have dinner! Ample seats at the open-air dining area surrounding the main stage; do note that you might be asked to donate money (voluntarily; not hard pushing) to enjoy the performances on stage.
There were so many options to choose from and the next step was deciding what would be worth our calories! Taking into consideration that Alex is a picky ass, i have to exercise caution as i could end up eating everything!
One thing for sure; i don't think i can stomach crocodile meat.
Here's what we had; barbecued pork ribs, Thai style omelette rice with spring roll, Thai pancake, egg-wrapped pad thai, charcoal grilled squid, cheese toast etc! Click the links for my review!
Well, i can't stop myself from buying crispy chicken skin too! The taste was a bit bland and i used the chilli sauce from the charcoal grilled squid to hype them up.
Alex couldn't resist getting the coconut ice cream too! It wasn't as good as the one we have at Chatuchak Weekend Market but i am the problem as i like mine with glutinous rice and without chocolate sauce and rainbow sprinklers.
Now, let's officially start with the exploration!
Be prepared for photos and more photos!
First; we shall have a short preview of this group of talented kids that marveled me with their rendition using traditional Thai music instruments. For someone like me who doesn't have the musical gene, i am impressed; especially with the little girl in the middle who is maybe about 7-8 years old.
Spades, machetes for sale; the weekend night market is popular with the locals and you can find also find items that's skewed towards the resident population. To me, it still pales in comparison to the Gaya Street Sunday Market at Kota Kinabalu.
So, so tempted but my stomach was already full. Furthermore, i am unsure how fresh the seafood is; given my weak tummy, it's best to give it a miss. To have diarrhea, when one is overseas, is most frustrating.
One of its kind in the night market and it plays an important role for all the stall owners. Need plastic bags, need plastic bowls, need thrash bags, need serviettes? You can get them here.
Promotion for loans i think. Heng they only target the locals; in Singapore, you would likely find droves of agents offering insurance packages, credit cards etc. Sometimes, i wonder if their existence actually overshadows the nature of the event; like in the case of computer fairs.
Local food souvenirs (although i found a product from China too; Chinese chestnuts) for sale. Samples can be provided and if i recall correctly; i bought 3 packets of cashew nuts for 100 baht.
Tarts from, well, Mr Tart! It also offered pies and bubble tea. At just 15 baht, the tarts were a steal. It's hard not to get fat in Thailand; food are way more affordable than Singapore; thankfully, i am aware of my need to cut down on such fattening stuff.
Caricatures! Both Alex and I did it in 2011; pricing then was 80 baht in 5 minutes. Now it's 100 baht in 2 minutes and you can even opt for a coloured version!
Hand-painted wooden elephants; in the past, i might buy because it's unique. However, such things collect dust and after i moved to my own flat, i decided to just keep a few key items; bottles of absolut vodka and pig-shaped piggy banks.
Straw hats, anyone?
Could you make a vase with flowers using just a 1.5-liter plastic bottle? It's eco-friendly no doubt although it's hard for one to replace realistic looking flowers; regardless of whether it's real or fake.
Woah, legit barbie dolls?
Handmade, hand-painted slingshots; this is something i would love to have but i wouldn't know what to use it for in Singapore. You can't hit an animal with it since it would amount to animal cruelty which is a chargeable offence. Since i have no use for it; there's no point in buying.
Random photos before the sun set! It wasn't as crowded as i expected and my guess is that it's a Sunday. Many travellers would usually stay over Saturday and Sunday to take advantage of the weekends and likely would be flying back on the following Monday. For me, the day before i depart for home would usually be more relaxing and jostling with people is not relaxing.
Piggy banks! Pity the colours were too "loud".
The use of seashells to make these display ornaments. These were popular as souvenirs back when my grandparents were still around and many were proudly placed at display cabinets in the living room.
100 baht for sleeveless tees!? Worth it for me and i am not afraid to let anyone know that i love Thailand; to the extent that i even took up Thai language classes. Phom rak Thailand; excuse my poor grasp of the language. :(
Moo ping; pork on skewers that i could have on a daily basis! Nowadays, you can find them in Singapore's night markets too although the pricing is steeper at 3 for S$5.00 whereas the ones here were just priced at 10 baht (about 50 cents) each.
Game booths! Alex loves this kind of things but i will stop him. The last time i didn't; he brought back a kid-sized soft toy and we had to haul it back from Genting Highlands to Singapore!
Alex got thirsty and got this thirst quenching milk tea that cost only about S$1.00 and came with free toppings (pearls or grass jelly)! Click here for the location!
Life-like dolls that would bring the chill down your spine should you ever hear a baby giggling or crying in the middle of the night. Think i watched too many horror movies.
Stoneware with cute designs; i can't buy this as many would have attested to the fact that my butterfingers are no joke and even my iPhone has to have the necessary covers and screen protectors to keep it safe. For my plates and bowls at home, i had to buy Corelle as it is break resistant or plastic ones.
Actually i need the above; my current saucer dishes are too small and i figure they are quite cheap to replace even if i accidentally break them. With many shops closed due to Singapore's circuit breaker's (affectioinately known as CB which is an recognizable acronym many Singaporeans use for a vulgar word) measures, i would have to wait until after 4 May 2020.
I always wonder; how to wash hair like that???
BBQ seafood; food everywhere! I figure food stalls took up a sizable percentage in Krabi Walking Street; maybe about 30-40%. With so many stalls, my only worry is whether the food would be fresh enough.
Have to play safe, at least for me.
Cocktail in a bamboo cup! From the price list, it cost no more than 200 baht and the items include mai thai, margarita, whiskey sour, sex on the beach, rum punch, screw driver, tequila sunrise, pink lady etc.
Grilled corn! The mind wants; the tummy doesn't. Right now, it's about 1.36 pm on a Saturday and the one thing i would like to have now is cup of buttered steamed corn with salt!
More random photos again!
As you can see from the photographs, there were many options for souvenirs you can buy in Krabi but for variety, please proceed to this brick and mortar shop that's pretty near to the cocktail in a bamboo cup; look out for the above signboard.
Prices were competitive and reasonable; i bought almost all my non-food souvenirs from here and as expected, i would only buy fridge magnets! Now that i travel more often (before this COVID19 shit came), i make it a point to buy a magnet for my fridge when i am at a new city!
A Siamese fighting fish store! There's even a best in show that's available for sale at 10,000 baht! Click here to check out the rest of the photos.
Ending the day with the watermelon men surrounding the banana man. I have no idea why but it's not the first time i see groups of friends wearing this design of attire out in the public. Maybe it's easier to find each other?
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Location
Soi Maharaj 8, Pak Nam,
Mueang Krabi District,
Krabi 81000, Thailand
(behind Vogue Department store)
Operating Hours
5.00 pm to 9.30 pm
(Fridays to Sundays only)
Click here for the itinerary
of my 4-day visit to Krabi
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