TOYSREVIL In Bangkok: Klong Tom Saturday Night Market
The Klong-Tom Market in Bangkok (Pier: Ratchawongse / N5) is a bustling center for Electronics, hardware and software (CDs/DVDs) by day, and by night - specifically Saturday night, this area of Chinatown transforms into a Flea Market, with a special name and quirk: "Flashlight Market" ~ meaning, tis literally dark out that you'd need to bring along a torchlight to shine at the items on display at pavements and roadsides, to see them clearly! And of course, we are here for TOYS! CLICK THRU for more!
(FYI: Tis cool that some vendors have brought along lamps to help the ignorant touristo ~ like me ~ to better see the toys heheh ;p)
The sidewalks were lined with "gold", as far as I'm concerned ~ "Toy Gold"!
This, of course is hyperbole on my part. But to folks with certain niche tastes, this may well be paved with eye-candies galore.
I was told that the Klong-Tom Saturday Night Market only opens on Saturday (duh) from only 9-ish pm onwards, perhaps even on til the Sunday. Toys constitute a very small part of it, with plenty of other wares surrounding the neighbouring sideways and pavements of buildings
One particular thing to note for bargain-hunters: Sure there is the element of bargaining, and what you need to do is to counter-offer, until perhaps both reach a compromise, and transaction is complete, and closed with a smile.
The Singapore/Chinese/Asian way of turning-down the offer and walking-away-from-the-stall while-waiting-for shop-owner to call-you-back to accept-your-offer = Does Not Really Work here.
They do let you walk away, and you'll end up walking away with an ache in the heart, of a missed opportunity hahahaha
Ziplocked Loose Star Wars and Gundams, bundled kaijus and Ben10s, bootlegged giant Ultraman and kaiju monsters, 1/6 boxed DMLs, latest boxed Hot Toys, manga and anime toys rule supreme - the variety is nigh eclectic, and somewhat focused enough for niche collectors. Do not ask me what else I have seen, for I kick myself right now for not snapping closer pics or higher-res versions for one and all to scour thru ;p
One of the pleasures of flea-market jaunts, is not just because of the bargains you might find, but of the rare opportunity to meet fellow collectors or hobbyists! One such person was the owner of these series of custom 1/6th-figures, inclusive of kitbashes and scratch-built figures!
And while the language barrier (and the tight corners) prevented me from chatting more with the guy who made it, the passion for toys were the common-ground. Hit him up at toysroom@live.com to score yourselves the (apparently) scratch-built 1/6 Storm Trooper armor on a G.I.Joe body (shown below). On hindsight, the 1200 Baht quoted for the Trooper (worked out to around SGD$53-ish), is decent a price for a figure, IMHO. Yes, it would've been cool to score one for myself ... *regretful-sigh*
[Below: A scratch-built Predator - of which I could not confirm
authenticity of claim, as I did not have it in-hand]
Taking a slight detour off the toy-path, we had sidetracked down the inner-burrows of the buildings (the flea market lines the pavements and sidewalks instead) to an intense crush of porno peddlers and even a dude auctioning off gilded-gold statues and objects ala Singapore's Chinese Temple Auctions, in search of Thai movies.
As much as I'd enjoyed flicks like Citizen Dog, Tears of the Black Tiger, Last Life In The Universe and it's arthouse-ilk ~ I was looking for local movies, beyond Ong Bak and Bangkok Dangerous, of course. Alas I walked away empty handed...
Back out into the inner-streets where food vendors line the central "lane" (imagine the street as a three-lane road). Wish I could have grabbed a coupla choice yums to satisfy my hunger and touristo-cravings.
Perhaps next time, where there is no sense of rush, I would have happily saundered about the locale with no care in the world ... aaahhh
Back to "toys"! One thing that was immediately lacking, were the existence of "art toys" / "designer vinyls". I was specifically looking for Thailand-designed toys and had found two (or rather I was told they were), one looked like a cross between Kidrobot's Pecool + Playmobil + Groovisions, and there was another striped bulky critter.
I had bought neither, as I felt they were pretty darn expensive ... but perhaps "price" should not have been the deciding factor here, but rather the chance of discovery and the possibility of sharing it with you folks. Oh well... perhaps next time lucky and clear thinking will be on my side haha. The experience was made more "interesting" for me, as it was artist Jon-Paul Kaiser's last night in Bangkok as well, and I had suggested dragging him along to share and experience in the "fun".
And sometimes it is not about what you buy, but of the experience
of discovery, that keeps the wonder and passion "alive", IMHO.
[Additional Local Info via bangkokeasyguide.com]
