When I first moved to Bangkok, back in 2010 I lived in an apartment just a few yards away from Lalai Sap market. I had viewed and moved into the apartment on a weekend and had no idea there was a market nearby. But when I ventured out on the first Monday morning I was shocked to see how packed with people it was.
Lalai Sap is officially known as Silom Soi 5 and is located right next to the headquarters of Bangkok Bank between Sala Daeng and Chong Nonsi Skytrain stations. Chong Nonsi is the closest though.
This is a real local Thai market, and if you want to see how the locals shop, and pay local prices, you should head here. The market is only open Monday to Friday from early morning until late afternoon. It doesn’t have fixed times, as different stalls will open and close at different times.
At lunchtime, it seems like all the office workers from the surrounding buildings descend on this market and it gets extremely packed. It sells a wide range of goods in different sections of the market, including clothes, cosmetics, household goods, food and drink, and much more.
If you enter the market from Silom Road the first set of sellers mostly sell clothes as well as some takeaway food items. There is a food court located within the first building on your right, and, as you’d expect, this gets very full.
Further along, you’ll find a warren of small stores to the right. You won’t really notice them unless you head inside through the narrow entrances. Once inside though you discover another world. I was always surprised that these stores did so well, but the lunchtime crowds love to shop.
Walk past these small stores and you’ll come to a narrow lane on your left. This leads all the way to Soi Pipat. It’s mainly filled with stalls selling takeaway foods of all sorts. There are also two food courts in this section as well as some stalls that have their own small seating areas.
If instead of turning left you head straight ahead you’ll come to a corner where you can turn right. This heads to Chong Nonsi Skytrain station. This is another section that mainly sells food, although there are some general stores there as well.
As well as the market Trinity Complex, right next door has a Villa Market and some very nice restaurants. It’s become a kind of extension to the market and a few times a month they have a separate market there. If you enter the ground floor of the main Trinity Complex building you’ll also find a popular indoor market that mainly sells women’s clothing. There is also a True Coffee store if you fancy a break from all the shopping.
I still visit this area fairly regularly, as it’s a great area of the city. It’s also somewhere we are thinking of basing ourselves next time we come back to Bangkok. It’s busy on weekdays and nice and relaxing on weekends.
Lalai Sap Market Details
Location: Silom Soi 5 (next to Bangkok Bank HQ)
Nearest BTS: Chong Nonsi (also an easy walk from Sala Daeng)
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri early morning until late afternoon