Sunday Night Market in Phuket Old Town

Also known as Lardyai (from the southern Thai dialect version of talaad yai, which means ‘big market’), Phuket Walking Street allows visitors to discover some typical southern Thai culinary specialities as well as local handicraft and gift stalls. This weekly event is definitely family-oriented with the presence of toy stalls as well as musical performances and other entertaining acts.



The main entrance of Phuket Walking Street is on the eastern (Phuket Road) side of Thalang Road, at which a superb wooden Chinese-style gate is installed. The gate boasts a sign with 'Lardyai' written in 3 languages (Thai, Chinese and English) and is a popular photo op. The colourful Sino-Portuguese-style house facades are enhanced by the addition of colour-changing lights, which also make a lovely backdrop.

The 2 main items sold at Phuket Walking Street are food and souvenirs. Barbecued squid, chicken and pork are certainly the favourite dishes if you consider the number of stands selling them. Fruit juices, ice creams and Khanom (Thai traditional sweets) are also very popular.



Some young Phuket entrepreneurs have started interesting T-shirt and handicraft businesses here, with shirts featuring stylised Sino-Portuguese architectural elements, knitted dolls, custom-made flip flops (customers pick the sole, top and decorative elements of their choice which are assembled on-site) and fancy jewellery, of which there is a good choice of cool and inexpensive items to browse through.

Location: Thalang Rd, Talad Yai, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand