Chang Chui, formally known as Chang Chui Creative Park (changchuibangkok.com), calls itself both a creative space and a night market. Centered on an abandoned airplane that now houses a fine-dining restaurant, you’ll find performance spaces, installations and an art gallery here, but also vintage clothing stores, craft beer bars, many restaurants, mellow live music and even a hipster barber shop. It’s an almost exclusively Thai scene, with few foreign visitors, and it feels rather more sophisticated than other night markets in Bangkok.
The plane that looms over the market is an old Lockheed Tristar that has been artfully converted into the high-end Na-Oh Bangkok (naohbangkok.com), which has live jazz on Saturdays and a posh tasting menu; reservations are essential. There are also numerous food stalls and Thai restaurants, as well as Olive Kitchen (facebook.com/olivekitchenthailand),which combines craft beer with pizza, pasta and artisanal sausages.
Spanning 18 different structures – all made from discarded objects and around which more informal vendors cluster – the market is open 11am to 11pm Tuesday to Sunday, but not many places operate during the day. To experience the market properly, come on a weekend evening after 5pm.
Chang Chui is located on the Thonburi side of Chao Phraya River in Bang Phlat. To get here by public transport, take the Metro (MRT) Blue Line to Bang Yi Khan and then hop in a taxi for the final 3km.
