Sukhumvit Road Market Naklua
Sukhumvit Road Market Naklua is a big and busy market which appears on a nightly basis and occasionally during the day too.
Using the large plot of empty land directly next door to Mini Siam and Pattaya Boxing World, the range of wares available is much more eclectic than the other local markets in the city. It offers visitors not only the opportunity to find some great and very cheap local food, but also a unique assortment of souvenirs. Even if you don’t buy anything, a visit to Sukhumvit Road Market is a novel and remarkable experience.
Sometimes known as the ‘North Pattaya Market’ or ‘Naklua Market’, this is the only one of the local markets to be located by the side of Sukhumvit Road, making it very easy to spot. It is home to roughly 600 stalls, about 100 of which sell local food and drinks. These are the first you will come across in this market’s unusual layout. Instead of being a simple grid of stalls like Soi Buakhao Market or rows like the Thepprasit Road Night Market, you instead go straight down the right-hand side of the lot, along a corridor lined with food stands, before snaking your way back towards Sukhumvit Road.
After the food, you enter the main body of the market. Roughly half of the stalls sell clothing, including copied football shirts and designer labels, t-shirts, jeans, dresses, shoes, lingerie and more, all at very low cost. Being away from the town and the beach, Sukhumvit Road Market Naklua is more popular with locals than it is with tourists and, as a result, the prices do not get artificially inflated. However, the wares are also more targeted at local customers, meaning that you may have difficulty finding “farang size” – clothes big enough to fit larger bodies.
Interspersed amongst the clothing are the usual array of other stalls, selling make-up, jewellery, pirate DVDs, mobile phone accessories, watches, religious artefacts, toys, sunglasses and the like. There are fewer souvenir and tourist trinket stalls, with these instead being replaced with homeware stalls. In no other market in Pattaya, for example, will you find desktop computers, widescreen televisions, Tupperware, games consoles, and an extensive range of plugs, adaptors and other electrical goods.
Amongst the really odd items to be found at the Sukhumvit Road Market Naklua are satellite dishes, vehicle suspension springs and a worryingly large collection of airsoft weaponry. There is also a large inflatable children’s slide right at the back. On the rare occasions that the market is open during daylight hours, it becomes a sea of greenery as all of the stands sell plants and garden supplies, with a few pet shops thrown in for good measure. This occurs at irregular intervals, roughly once a week.
It is self-evident that this market caters more to the needs of locals that tourists, but is nonetheless an interesting experience and well worth visiting for the amazing bargains. It also offers a calmer, less crowded and less stuffy experience compared to the smaller markets in town and gives you a look at how the locals shop.
Opening Hours: Approx. 17:00 - late
