Last updated on February 14th, 2020 at 03:01 pm

BANGKOK’S NEW JJ GREEN 2 NIGHT MARKET – IS IT SAME AS THE OLD?

When the original location of the iconic JJ Green Market closed down in late 2019, a noticeable grumble was heard throughout Bangkok.

I was one of the many voices that cried out, noooooo! This can’t be happening! It was Bangkok’s coolest night market with an amazing vibe.

JJ Green was located inside Chatuchak Park, right across from the market and 90% of the market was open air.

There’s music, food, all sorts of flea market items and vintage clothing. Even power tools if you’re planning to lug one back home.

FLASH FORWARD TO FEBRUARY 2020 – THE ALL NEW JJ GREEN “2” NIGHT MARKET

I was thrilled to find out that JJ Green has opened up not far from one of my businesses in Bangkok’s Laksi district (เขต หลักสี่).

This time they added the “2” next to JJ Green as a confirmation that this is the second iteration of one of Bangkok’s most famous night market.

Though also at the front entrance sign is the an additional word “Square” in Thai สแควร์ which is kind of odd. Hope they’re not going through an identity crisis as it certainly might confuse people.

In addition they’ve extended their days of operation. Now JJ Green 2 night market is open Thursday to Sunday, from 6pm to midnight.

JJ GREEN 2 NEW NIGHT MARKET LOCATION

The map still says JJ Green, but I updated the information so hopefully Google will approve to clear up any confusion.

DIRECTIONS TO THE NEW LOCATION

BEST WAY TO GET TO GET THERE

JJ Green 2 Night Market is located in Bangkok’s Laksi district. On Prachachuen Road (ถนน ประชาชื่น). It’s about 15km west of Don Mueang Airport.

Chances are you passed it while traveling from DMK airport to central Bangkok by taxi.

The market area is about two football fields, nestled in a largely residential area. So I don’t think they’ll be able to play loud music and host live bands. And also not far from Dhurakij Pundit University so no more rustic bars for beers and interesting cocktails.

Still, JJ Green will surely benefit from all the locals and university students living and studying in the area.

As much as I think they like having a cool night market in their neck of the woods, I think they don’t like the amount of traffic its attracted.

THE TRAFFIC PROBLEM

As long as I can remember Prachachuen Road has always had a traffic problem during the rush hours. There are lots of homes, condominiums and apartments in that particular area and also community malls.

We drove to JJ Green 2 at around 8pm. What normally takes 30 minutes took 2 hours.

It’s a long stretch of road with no traffic lights. Adding to the problem, Prachachuen road has 4 lanes, two lanes going northbound and two lanes southbound.

If you’re coming from central Bangkok you’ll have to pass through the northbound lane of Prachachuen Road.

The right northbound lane, while we were there, was stuck in a perpetual rut. While the southbound lane cars had easier access to the bridge entrance going in to the market’s parking entrance. Even then there was really long wait due to traffic congestion.

Drivers on our lane got frustrated. We could see cars in front of us peel of and make U turns to head home. Or to Talad Liab Duan night market or a mall.

The wife and I on the other hand, planned to stick it through.

BUT THERE’S HOPE IF YOU’RE COMMITTED TO GOING THERE

IT’S EASIER TO GET THERE WITH A TAXI

While doing this blogging thing, I look at it all through the perspective of foreign tourists.

As I mentioned earlier the original location was super easy to find cause it was near Chatuchak Weekend Market. Which had more choices of public transportation to get there.

This time it’s in Laksi district and there are no train stations in that vicinity.

Your options, if you’re staying in central Bangkok, are the metered taxis or Grab taxi.

And long distance running if you’re up for it.

If you’re staying at a hotel in the Pratunam area I think a metered taxi fare might cost about 250B to JJ Green 2 Night Market.

Don’t run there. I’m only kidding. Had to put it here because you just never know…

I’M A TOURIST. IT’S KINDA FAR. SHOULD I GO DESPITE THE CRAZY TRAFFIC?

Yes I say you should absolutely go check it out. Go eat the food, shop around and go support the local businesses.

The traffic is a huge problem only if you self drive, like we did. It’s a different story with a taxi because you don’t need to look for parking.

An experienced taxi driver should know to stay on the left side of the northbound lane of Prachachuen Road.

The driver can let you off opposite from JJ Green 2 night market. From there it’s only a few minutes walk over a short bridge.

The left lane moves a lot quicker because there’s policeman controlling traffic and not allow vehicles to park long on the left lane.

Taxi drivers are briefly permitted to drop off and pick passengers.

BUT…

This JJ night market is still “green”, get it? Okay, joking aside, it’s February 10th now as of writing.

This market opened on February 6th. All things considered, it’s still very new and undergoing a soft run.

If any chance you’re reading this and it’s still February 2020, I recommend not visiting at this point in time. Especially if you don’t have a lot of days in Bangkok.

A night market is like fine cheese. It needs time to marinade, ripen and develop its own flavor.

I know, I’m horrible with metaphors.

Lots of shops are not open yet. And there are still lots of vacant shop locations to fill with renters. So everything inside is not running at 100% capacity.

However, if you’re like me and have plenty of time in Bangkok, then please go check it out!

WHAT TO BUY AT JJ GREEN 2 NIGHT MARKET?

AND IS IT EXPENSIVE?

I’m not a shopper. And I’m old. Most of the items found inside JJ Green 2 are geared towards the younger Thai generation.

And that’s their target demographic and rightly so since there are so many university students living in that area.

So the answer is most of the items sold inside JJ Green 2 Night Market won’t be that expensive. As most of the visitors to the market at this point are local Thais.

I didn’t see any counterfeit merchandise like you’d find inside Bangkok’s MBK Mall which is geared mostly towards foreign shoppers.

But as I mentioned this market is mostly about local Thai fashion trends.

Also t-shirts with pop culture appeal and unique styles can be found. If you’re a western L or XL size you will not have a problem finding cool graphic tees to add to your closet collection. I’ve noticed Thais like to wear larger and looser sized t-shirts these days which could be the current fashion trend.

For ladies clothing most of the items I saw were priced from 100B to 500B, depending on style and trends.

Men’s graphic t-shirts were about a 100B to 200B. There’s a sneaker shop but I don’t know how much they charge nor if it’s legit. Lots of customers inside checking out their styles though.

Prices were never too crazy and there might even still be some space to bargain. But I wouldn’t try to lowball the vendors too much.

I found out the rent for a shop selling ladies clothes pays 15,000B a month. Keep in mind shop owners inside only open 4 days a week from 6pm to midnight. So they have limited days to turn a profit.

GEL MANI AND PEDI ANYONE?

Every night market in Bangkok have small little nail salon setups that charge really cheap prices.

I saw shops charging gel manicures for 100B and 200B. Whether or not they can do a good job or use good gel polish products is a whole different story.

Though one of the best nail salons in central Bangkok is Glamour Girls Nail Art Salon so I don’t recommend any ladies coming all the way out here just to get your nails did.

THE FOOD

Most of the foods sold inside JJ Green 2 are located in the middle and end section of the market and the entrance to the parking lot. Though the middle food section area was a lot busier than the hawker stalls in parking section.

In the middle is a large central covered food court. Though not all the shops inside are open yet. Which is a common sight while we were there.

Flanked around the central food court are designated sections of food vendors selling grilled meats, juices and desserts.

Whatever food you purchased you can sit down and enjoy your meal at the food court.

I saw restaurants on the second level above some shops but those aren’t opened yet. Though the chairs and tables are already set up.

Many shops sell western foods. I saw french fries, kebabs, burgers and Korean fried chicken. The young Thai generation today love western and far east fast food.

I also spotted some of my favorite Thai foods also. But I’m trying the carnivore diet so I opted for some grilled beef for the night.

CONCLUSION

I loved the original JJ Green. There were more shops selling curios and bric a brac. Plus there were plenty of antiques to gush at and get nostalgic about for old farts like me.

This new JJ Green had more vendors selling clothes that matched the style and taste of the young business owners. Swank fashionable clothing is the common theme now which makes a lot of sense because it’s a university town.

But honestly the new JJ Green 2 at the moment is missing the original ambiance, back when it was located inside Chatuchak park.

There’s no music or live bands as that will surely piss off the residential neighbors. And it’s a lot smaller than the original.

I don’t think it’ll ever get that special charm back. That’s not to say I don’t think that number 2 will ever succeed.

I think it will certainly be successful by the sheer amount of local residents living in the Laksi district of Bangkok.

It’s like the movies. The Matrix was awesome and it blew everyone’s minds. Then Matrix 2 Reloaded came out and it was like, meh. Yeah, I still need work on my metaphors.

If you’re doing your Bangkok trip planning at this moment and thinking of dropping over in a few months, I say go check it out. A few more months and and I’m sure all the vacant shops will get filled up with vendors.

If you’re here right now reading this you might want to wait until your next trip to Bangkok.

Personally I’m going to give it some time before going back. And I will be excited to see how it looks then.