FABRIC SHOPPING IN BANGKOK (OR: HELLO SWEATY!)

“Horses sweat, men perspire, women merely glow.” Well, I was “glowing” alot at Phahurat market in Bangkok at 33’C last week.

Last time I went to this market for shopping fabrics I went mental. This time, well I went mental too, just not AS mental;) Phahurat market (Little India) is a couple of narrow alleyways crisscrossing between different fabric-, sewing accessoirize-shops, cloth shops and tailors north in Chinatown.

Last time I went about nine or ten in the morning and it was so packed I could barely move. But it was still an experience walking trough then, when you think it can’t get narrower or hotter, a motorbike tries to squeeze trough and a homeless person with a karaoke machine follows. This time we went at about four, fortunately not as crowded then but still hot, emphasizing on HOT. I couldn't even wear my braid down, bacuse it stuck to my skin and tugged at my head! (The “Hello Sweaty”-thing is from a very failed pickup line a French guy tried to pull on me in Paris. Felt a bit sorry for him when me and my friends burst out laughing when he went for his own version of the word “sweet”. So of course we have been using that ever since when feeling… well, glowing.)

I acually ended up buying less fabrics  than planned, when you have tons and tons of stuff to choose from you end up just leaving because of the overwhelming amount of choices.

With the lace and ribbons I was on firmer round, I went to the same vendour as last time I was there, and I basically knew what I was looking for so those choises were easier. After round one we had lunch at a street kitchen in the midst of it all, a chicken curry and ice cold coke that we downed in seconds.

After lunch I spotted this huge yellow fabric rose to wear on my head. I think that might be filed under impulse shopping.

The fabrics cost me 40 baht a meter, which is about 6 kr. The lace was 20 and 10 baht, which is 3 kr and 1,50 kr. The red gingam I delivered to a tailor and got back a lovely rockabilly shirt-dress, for about 200 kr

If you ever go to Bangkok and are not too claustrophobic, I would recommend a visit at this market. I felt like in a candy store