Date: 28th November 2010
I began today with a taxi ride to Phahurat Raod.
Figuring the gurdwara was behind the shops, I found a gap and walked into an alley. There, an old Thai man saw me and just raised his arm to point to where I needed to go. I guessed I wasn’t the first Indian he may have come across in search of the elusive gurdwara.
You can read about the history of the gurdwara at their official site, but apparently Sikhs have been in Thailand since the early 1900s. 
All non-Sikhs have to cover their heads with a scarf, which they provide by the stairs in the main hall.
You also have to take off your shoes if you want to go upstairs. They have a big shoe rack in the main hall and you get a token.
As much as I love Thai cuisine, after nearly two weeks, eating simple dal curry, sabzi (vegetables) and chapathis felt soooo good.
Feeling full, I went all the way back down, collected my shoes and left the gurdwara.
Here’s a map to give you a better idea:
After a bit of asking around, I was directed to Sampeng Market.
Sampeng market is a massive space with stores selling, well, just about everything: clothes, Chinese medicines, other Chinese specialties, toys, households items, pirated CDs and anything else China mass produces.
Sampeng isn’t for everyone. It’s quite congested inside (or I assume it’s like this every weekend) and it can get very hot. Also, I didn’t find much of the merchandise to my liking, so unless you want loads of stationary for your kids, cheap, then Sampeng is the place… if you feel it’s worth the effort. I only stopped to buy one of those inflatable travel pillows/neck rests (cost ฿50).
I still felt like ‘buying something,’ so decided to head back to my favourite ‘market’ in Thailand.
Though most clothes shops sell more or less the same merchandise, there are a few (relatively speaking) independent studios selling something creative that sets them apart from the rest.
Called Paracetamol Studio, the guy in the photo above says he does all the drawings and art himself, and then prints them on t-shirts and bags. I really liked his art and ended up buying three t-shirts at ฿300 each. He wouldn’t allow for bargaining but if you bought more, the price per t-shirt comes down.
I just can’t recommend Jatujak market enough! There’s a reason why I like coming here. The variety of things you find is simply amazing. A lot of it is inexpensive and the rest, still rather affordable.
Because despite coming here for a third time, I still can’t tell you how much of Chatuchak Weekend Market I have covered!
So if you wish to return to a store you once shopped from, take my advice, note down the store number.
Just as I was rushing out, I stopped by a store that sells genuine rock band t-shirts, many of which are seconds, but in very good condition and well washed. I finally managed to score a Def Leppard (my favourite band) Hysteria t-shirt and got it bargained down to ฿300 with the excuse it was my last night in Thailand. I was quite happy 🙂
I called up my friend Sawmteii as we had agreed to meet for lunch, but she was still busy with family.
I therefore headed back to my room, freshened up and got my ticket printed for tonight’s Jay Park fan meet at Siam Paragon.
I have already written about the Jay Park fan meet in another post, which you can read here.
After the fan meet, I went to a supermarket to pick up snacks and other items to pack in now itself as I was leaving Thailand tomorrow.
As I was packing and trashing unwanted covers, I ended up having a right laugh reading the instructions on the Chinese travel pillow I had bought from Sampeng earlier in the day.
My Thai Airways flight was at night, so I still had tomorrow morning to do something. Which means, there’s one more post before I conclude this trip! 🙂
Final post in this series:
Thailand 2010: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market tour, Cobra show… and leaving Bangkok
Previous posts in this series:
Thailand 2010: Back to Bangkok — Chinatown, Patpong, Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market
Thailand 2010: Pattaya — Beach road, Viewpoint, Jomtien Beach, Walking Street
Thailand 2010: Golden Triangle in Mae Sai; Chiang Rai’s White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)
Thailand 2010: Heading to Chiang Rai by bus, Wat Jedyod and Golden Clock Tower
Thailand 2010: Last day of Loi Krathong; Sunday Grand Parade (Day 4, Part 2)
Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Zoo (Day 4, Part 1)
Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Loi Krathong celebrations; first Grand Parade
Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai cooking class; Loi Krathong celebrations in Mae Jo, Sansai
Thailand 2010: First day in Chiang Mai for Loi Krathong; driving up Doi Suthep
Thailand 2010: Arriving in Bangkok and preparing for Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai
The Indian guy fromTexas
28/07/2013This is an interesting and commendable pictorial diary. My only regret. Here is a fellow Indian who seems to know next to nothing about the Sikh Religon and judging from his own comments has obviously no knowledge or even a clue about other Indian religions. I am a proud son of the Sikhs, but that never prevented me from reading and understanding Tulsi Dass’s ” RAM CHARIT MANAS”. At the age of 75 and after 4 decades in the USA, I can still recite, from memory, many stanzas of Ramayana (in old Hindi) and the Bhagwad Gita in Sanskrit. Recommend you visit the Sis Ganj Gurudwara on your next visit to Delhi for half a day- preferably on a Sunday and collect some informative books about the Sikhs. The Sikhs are as much a part of your heritage as it is mine. Best wishes.
AKBAL
02/05/2016We are a gaggle of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your site provided us with helpful info to work on. You have done a formidable process and our whole neighborhood can be thankful to you.
Gurdev Singh
03/07/2016Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Bangkok
Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru ji Ki Fateh,
I, 78 alongwith my mother 99 both world champions while participating in 2013 World Senior Games held in St.George, Utah. My mother is the only women athlete from India who holds four world records in Track and Field. I have more than 70 medals won from various countries. I am helping people by visiting various gurdwaras in Canada and US to fight diabetes with food only. Taking one pc. of bread by the diabetic person the blood sugar level goes up. But the way I ask them to make Indian Style bread and on the first day they can check their fasting blood sugar level and then after taking these roties to their full the blood sugar level will remain in normal range if it is not already higher than the normal range. However in that case too the blood sugar level not increase much. Even the people who are taking insulin injections have benefited from this diet.
I am a permanent resident of Canada and have toured Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto area and presently I am in Prince George.
I show a practical demo of the diet I recommend wherever I go. It helps because when one take part in a practical working of the diet.
I do not charge any money from anyone but want them to tell others about the way they have benefited from this diet.
One of the users of my diet from US has sent me an email that he started one year back to tackle the problem of diabetes but he got so many other health problems solved. He sent the following data after using my diet plan for one year:
Before (Sep 2014) After (August 2015)
Blood Sugar 120 105
Blood Pressure 145/88 128/78
Cholesterol 136 129 (this should be less than 200)
.. .. .. HDL 33 38 (should be over 40)
NON HDL 103 91
Triglyceride 261 138 (This should be less than 150)
My Weight 185 170
I can show in presence of doctors the results from as many people as they want. I can go places and train any number of persons who may wish to do free service for the ailing humanity and at the same time we can reduce burden on Health spending. I am presently in India and am visiting Bangkok on 11th of this month and would be staying there for about a week. I can visit your place to show my skill and am confident that people would benefit from the way I would guide them.
With regards,
Gurdev singh