Entree Kibbles: Pet Section at JJ Pet Market and Jatujak Plaza (Next to Chatuchak Weekend Market) in Bangkok [Thailand]

For a period of time about 10 years ago, I got quite a lot of hits for the pet section at Chatuchak Weekend Market but every time I attempted to check out the area; the number of pet stores appeared to be lesser and lesser and there's hardly any motivation for updates!

Fast forward to 2022, after a hiatus of more than two years of non-travel, I accidentally chanced upon the pet zone after stepping out of Mixt Chatuchak; boy did my eyes widen with surprise, and a tinge of excitement.

Located next to Chatuchak Weekend Market, this area is known as JJ Pet Market and unlike the popular market, my understanding is this market opens on weekdays too! Connected is Jatujak Plaza, which also has pet shops and non operating days were said to be Mondays / Tuesdays.

I should drop by on a weekday next time although I prefer the crowds sometimes so that the stall owners wouldn't notice me taking photos / video. With the proliferation of camera phones, I think it's harder for them to deter anyway.

Do note that true animal lovers might not be so comfortable with some of the photographs as the cage conditions were not ideal and at times, many animals were cramped into a small cage, resulting in reduced or even hardly any mobility.

Remember, however, that we are in a foreign country with differing cultural and social attitudes. We have had our fair share in Singapore and importantly, legislation and the corresponding enforcement would be necessary to improve the condition. To the stall owners, this is just business.

Fighting cocks? Would you pay to watch? I am not inclined to although in some Southeast Asian countries, cock fighting is an entertainment and who are we, as foreigners, to determine whether it is appropriate or not.

Actually, if you asked me, I have no idea if JJ Pet Market and Jatujak Plaza are the same place. From google map, it feels that JJ Pet Market is the open air section and Jatujak Plaza is the more planned, sheltered version with many air-conditioned stores.

See the sign for no cameras; sadly for those store owners, technology has improved phone cameras by a large margin and some of the photos taken on phone cameras by amateur photographers can be better than professional cameras.

There were more than just pets sold in the market; like this beautiful terrarium tank! Oh well, you can argue that aquarium fishes were kept in the water; hence determining it is still part of the pet industry.

Endangered tortoises of different sizes.

Some were so small; I bet some would escape from the cage.

Iguanas and lizards.

You would see many of the above scenes at the market. Depressing no doubt for an animal lover. Hence, if your aim is to be happy and yet not depressed, my recommendation is to check out the pet cares instead, where the animals can freely roam and better taken care of.

Over here, you can see roaming animals too; like this dog! Only thing is that their defecation can be literally anywhere. Look where you walk!

Hedgehogs! I had the opportunity to play with one in Singapore, where a friend was babysitting the pet from another friend and it was utterly adorable and playful.

In a market filled with animals, the one that made the most noise, wasn't the dogs! The birds were the one and their constant chattering made you wonder if there were so much to say between them or were they simply, singing?

This pet shop had a large variety of animals for sale; just a take a look at the banner! It's literally a mini zoo, albeit without the space.

Bearded dragons, meerkats and even raccoons! The poor raccoons kept going around in circles given the constraint. I may not be a pet whisperer but I couldn't totally feel their stress!

Yes, you saw right; roaming goats!

Again, no photo. Sometimes, in my haste to take photos, I can be quite blind to such notices although I am mindful not to use the animals as 'tools' and tell my friends to stand beside so that I can take a picture.

To me, chickens are chickens. To the fans of ornamental chickens, they are a lot more! Cute no doubt, but in my practical mind, I am more interested in how they fare in the taste test, when deep fried.

When I used to have pets, you would see me popping in every shop, in search of treasures so that I can buy for my pets at home. Without a pet now, I just look look see see, and don't really step in for a closer look.

Newly born puppies??

My heart goes out for this African spurred tortoise; the only way it can move is 360-degree, no forward, no backward, neither to the left and nor to the right.

The African grey parrot was eyeing the food, I think.

While not drawing as much crowd as Chatuchak Weekend Market, many people appeared to chance upon the place as I did. Their main customers were not likely foreigners though; given the restrictions on animal imports for many countries.

Bird feeder containers!

Sale of baskets and cages at irresistible prices; my estimate would be at least 50% off Singapore's prices although I could be wrong with the current worldwide inflation.

This section, particularly the right side, reminded me of my young days in the village, when shophouses were built haphazardly with wood and topped with zinc roofs.

Sparrows were stealing the food from the birds! Maybe that's why the noise from birds were so much more audible; they were complaining!

These don't look like chickens.

Wheatgrass! Aside from a sudden health craze back in the early 2000s, I knew for a fact that some pet owners would add them to the pets' diet. But with anything, moderation is key.

Pails and pails of bird feed! Just recently, I actually forgot the word "pail" and my saving grace was to tell my friend, "take a plastic container to the hot spring".

Mainly birds although I spot something on the floor; adorable kids (baby goats, and not children), on sale for 55,000 baht. That should be about S$2,000.

Random photos!

Aquarium fishes in plastic bags! I often wonder how long can the oxygen stay in the plastic bags and how would the shopkeepers keep track?

Again, the thieving sparrows! It's literally a buffet at the bird shops and from what I see, the shopkeepers don't really mind. But I bet the caged birds do mind!

In the past, this would be of interest for me as I used to keep chinchillas. Moving forward, I am thinking of a cat although the question is whether it would be allowed to roam freely in the house instead. Whatever the case, it would likely be expensive for me to export this to Singapore!

Shuttered stores.

Likely the effect of COVID-19.

Interaction between a kid and a parrot; I always feel that we should expose children to animals for better understanding, instead of relying on books and videos.

Siamese cat on the prowl.

While on a leash.

The much crowded shop with bearded dragons, meerkats and raccoons; obviously many went in with the intention to see exotic animals; I didn't see any monkeys though.

Back to the terrarium tank shop; such a relaxing sight of greenery. That's something I must have at home, given how bad I am in rearing plants and terrariums were said to be quite self sustaining and required minimal maintenance. Good for lazy people, like me.

If I am not wrong, I am now venturing into the Jatujak Plaza. which function more like the internal streets of a more modern Chatuchak Weekend Market, whereby the passages were sheltered and many shops had air-conditioning.

I was expecting more furry animals but what greeted me were these stacked up plastic (or glass) boxes. Given my bad eyesight (no thanks to middle-aged presbyopia), I stepped closer for a better look. Many friends would know I am quite fearless towards animals in general but one species frightens me.

Snakes; and there were literally hundreds of them in one shop! With so many of them offering reptiles (in particular snakes), it's no an exaggeration that should they all escape, there could be tens of thousands of them slithering all over the place!

Thankfully, my fear for them has reduced quite a lot; in the past, I couldn't even bring myself to see them on photographs and on television. Nowadays, I would dare to even touch them. I always believe one should always challenge their fear; lest it becomes a hindrance in the future.

Lizards can be considered as snakes with limbs but I am less afraid of them. However, you still wouldn't see me chasing after them.

Some can be extremely cute though. I still remember going to a friend's place and being totally enamored with his bearded dragons and geckos!

This was so endearing; I didn't believe it was real.

Turned out there was a live specimen! The skin looked so plasticky and wouldn't have looked out of place in a box full of plastic toys.

More photos of reptiles!

Arachnophiles would be glad to know they were not forgotten; there's a store with tarantulas! Do you know tarantulas can live up to 30 years and even though their bite is poisonous, the venom is weaker than a bee!

Food for humans! Well, the employees of those pet shops would need to eat anyway and such stalls would be cheaper than those in the malls.

Chinchilla shop! To be honest, chinchillas are the cutest rodents in the world; their ball-like fluffy body, their adorably blurred look and their large ears! You don't need to wash them with water and their poo is in pellet form! How I know? I used to keep a few of them.

In Singapore, the current trend is rabbit!

Even my sister has one! For me, I would prefer a chinchilla over a rabbit although it could be biasness on my part since I never had a rabbit as pets before. In the past, when I lived in the village; rabbits were food.

This a shop that would attract me if I have a dog / cat. Such nice litter trays, such modern carriers and there were hair dryers for pets and numerous brands of pet clippers to choose from.

UV lights brought out the luminosity of these fishes! Truly captivating!

Putting goldfishes in such containers is ingenious I feel; it didn't take up much space and given the contrast in colors against the white background, they actually caught the attention from bystanders.

Rats for sale! At 65 baht each, I wonder if their destination would be the snakes' stomach. Quite pricey although if memory serves me right, snakes eat like only about once a week?

Your typical pet cages and beds. For the latter, it's recommended to wash the bed frequently, especially for dogs, as they tend to salivate and it can make the bed extremely smelly!

Still deciding; should I get a cat? I don't mind adopting a stray cat actually but if something like a Scottish fold or a munchkin comes along; why not?!

If you ask me, I find dogs much more affectionate but I would love to keep something different. And dogs demand a lot more attention as compared to cats.

Knives of all sizes and shapes; looked like outdoor knives, with some for hunting purpose. Maybe there will be a gun shop somewhere too. Guns are allowed in Thailand, with registration and licensing required. However, with the recent mass shooting in a nursery, things might change.

Humongous rabbits; I think even a small dog would be afraid of it! Imagine having such giants in a HDB, I believe many wooden furniture would be gnawed to bits and pieces!

There were just too many pet stores and obviously, I didn't manage to clear every one of them. Maybe I should make another trip down in my next visit just to see if there would be any interesting shops around, specifically those unusual pets.

Pet litter box in the shape and colour of a tortoise shell.

In addition to pet stores, you do get other commercial entities selling stuff like human clothes, home decorations etc. Shopping in Jatujak Plaza is nicer than Chatuchak Weekend Market as passages were wider and it didn't feel as hot and as humid.

Ending the post with this pretty rabbit!

Please also check out this video, that I collated, combined and uploaded, on the pet sections for both JJ Pet Market and Jatujak Plaza. Hope you like it. :)

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