One Night Market You Should Visit in Bangkok

Talad Liab Duan – Night Market by the Highway (ตลาดเรียบด่วนรามอินทรา)

There’s just something about the chill atmosphere of a night market in Bangkok that is so soothing. I’m not a big shopper for all sorts of knick knacks. But just walking through stalls and stalls of things that I don’t need but still love to look at is just simply – fun.

Talad Liab Duan is a very popular market for the locals because prices for clothes, toys, cosmetics, fashion accessories, and even copies of luxury items are affordable for the locals.

Of all the times I’ve been there, I don’t see a lot of tourists. I’m pretty much the only idiot with a camera. You can also find used camera equipment.

Talad Liab Duan in Thai ตลาดเรียบด่วนรามอินทรา means night market by the highway or expressway. As you’d guessed, this particular night market gets its name from the adjacent highway.

This very popular local hotspot is open every day but doesn’t start to get busy until evening times and closes around or after midnight.

Because every vendor inside pretty much makes up their own hours. If a certain stall is quiet with no customers, they’ll close early. If a restaurant runs out of main ingredients, they’ll close early as well.

Speaking about food – and when is it not a good time to talk about food? All the restaurants are located under one aluminum roof covered building.

You can find all sorts of Thai classics from egg or rice noodles with chicken feet in a spicy broth to fried hot dogs and tofu skin. Barbecued squid, Chinese dim sum and buns, and foods from Isaan are represented. It’s pure food bliss.

For this night, however, we opted for some pork chops over at Highway Steak and Pasta. This place was packed full of customers, too.

I was salivating, waiting for a seat, and some poor guy who was sitting down caught me eyeing his pork chop while we waited for a table.

There are many hawker style food vendors, and I even saw a small shop with a mookata setup. Though I don’t think they do buffet style. It looked more like an à la carte type joint.

This area also has a handful of pubs and bar establishments nearby, and I’m guessing those close around 1 am or perhaps later into the night. Seems like a very popular watering hole for Thai teens. There was even a pub with a live band playing.

And yes, there are loads of places to get your dessert fixes from ice cream to ice shakes to shaved ice desserts.

So what kind of stuff can you find in Talad Liab Duan night market?
They’ve got a little of almost everything. There’s even a small petting zoo with sheep. You’ll find mostly fake items, though, from watches, handbags, and clothes.

There’s even a place selling well used heavy construction tools (hmm, I wonder from where), used car stereos, and used boots that are still in decent condition. I’m guessing this could be a place where thieves offload their “wares”.

In these types of outdoor markets, you may find antiques. But you really have to know what you’re looking at, though, because today I know many things are made to look older than they really are.

I saw many old lamps and trinkets as well as toys. There is even a section on old movie posters and commercial signage. But I can’t tell if they were made decades ago or a few days ago.

You can always ask, but since I wasn’t interested, I never bothered to ask. This is probably a place you want to go to find things to sell on eBay.

Aside from all the dubious items, there are small makeshift nail salons and handmade arts and graphic t-shirts from starving artists.

You’ll see that a lot of the vendors selling fashion items and accessories are young entrepreneurs, out there working under hot lights to make an honest living. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Thailand.

WHEN TO GO AND HOW TO GET THERE

As one of Bangkok’s most popular night markets, it is open daily, though things don’t start becoming lively around 6 pm or 7 pm.

Most of the vendors probably have day jobs elsewhere or have finished school for the day. Also, it’s cooler in the evenings when the sun starts going down.

Talad Liab Duan night market is most likely not anywhere near where your hotel is. There are no MRT or BTS stations nearby. Not even close.

So the best way to get there is by taxi. I don’t recommend going there even if you’ve rented a car. There is no parking at all unless you arrive there early on. My wife and I always take a taxi.

And don’t worry, there are plenty of taxis in the area waiting in the area or passing by. So you’re not going to have a problem at all getting back to your hotel.

I estimate that it will cost roughly 150 THB by taxi (with no traffic) if you’re staying at a hotel in the Sukhumvit/Pratunam area. Show the driver this ตลาดเรียบด่วนรามอินทรา or the map above.

Talad Liab Duan is one of the most famous night markets in Bangkok, so any taxi driver should be able to find it without any problems.

There are plenty of night markets in Bangkok that are probably closer to wherever you’re staying. But if you want to roam around some place where you can count the number of tourists on your hands, then Talad Liab Duan will satisfy your adventurous instinct.

Be prepared, the ground where the vendors set up shop is not paved, so there’s plenty of sand and gravel. And there are public toilets, but you’d have to pay a couple of Baht to use them.

If you’re a frequent visitor to Bangkok and have already been to a lot of night markets, but are seeking something different, Talad Liab Duan is a must visit.