#toyhunt Bangkok: "Bootleg Market" in Chinatown
Continuing and concluding my toyhunt adventures in Bangkok, today we have a quick and elusive look at the "Bootleg Market" - a term coined by my friend, for the cluster of toy shops in Chinatown in Bangkok! Lee Qhew helpfully mentioned in FB that ii is the "Sampeng" area, located within Chinatown!
We might joke "all toys are Made In China", and it seems even moreso when their bootlegged versions also are~! And while bootleg toys are nothing new in the world of toys, my personal preference and interest in them, is. And I look at them with "renewed" eyes, ever looking for their inherent "kitsch" and sometimes downright irreverence.
And while I do not have a "specific" street name, the main thoroughfare in the Chinatown district boasts a few (3 to 4?) shops along both paths of the busy market, all of whom offer faux bootleg LEGO mini figures (the latest trend and my current passion for ;p) and other plush, blister cared or window boxed toys, which frankly escaped my attention. Thee might be more, but I never did venture further ...
Needless to say, CASH is KING here, and with the speed in which things move here, you might do well to have either (A) a Thai-speaking friend in ow, or (B) a ready calculator to do your numbers for you. Funnily, I did not try to speak to the stall owners in Chinese/Mandarin, fearing they'd scold me back for assuming they spoke chinese hahahaha
To say that the bootleg was "cheaper", might be a slight understatement here, but imagine trying to stuff multiple boxes into your luggage home, people! Best bet would be removing the packing boxes and bring along tupperware to store them goodies.
The street reminded me of a Hong Kong street with shops at the side actually, the only obvious difference being the food and drinks sold by the roadside vendors.
One of the more memorable shops (hidden along the alleyways) was one that sold "candy toys" - floor to ceiling with absolutely bootleg Transformers or any other popular culture characters and makes! My attention was so entrapped with the colors and shapes, I only managed to take a few snaps of what I bought LOL
Truth be told, there is not a whole lot of folks I know and have met that would share my enthusiasm looking at bootlegs such as these, and as a "shopping destination", it is not necessarily a "must stop", if not for curiosities' sake versus a laundry list of shopping items, versus my previously featured Iron Bridge Market and Pirom Plaza might provide.
I lieu of being able to provide you folks an "address", permit me to make up for it by sharing a few "bootleg toy" pics! How much did I buy? I'll let the pictures do the taking:
PACKING TIP: I always bring along one or two plastic containers (used to pack food) to store electronics related items such as multi-plugs and chargers, and they work pretty well to store toy figures too! Especially when you do not need the boxes and you don't want to bundle them all in a larger plastic bag too. Works for me anyways :)
