When I told my friends that I was going to Bangkok previously, all of them went like OMG MUST GO VISIT ARTBOX, and I was like… What in the world is this Artbox? Isn’t it the stationery shop in Singapore?
OH.. It’s a night market ah, in fact it’s a market that opens from mid afternoon all the way to midnight. Artbox isn’t open all year round though, it’s only opened for certain periods of time. Unfortunately, it was closed on my previous trip to Bangkok just last month! I was very lucky to be sent to Bangkok for a trip again, and this time, ARTBOX IS OPEN!! MUST GO.
Do note that this time round, they are opened till 19th June, only from Fridays to Sundays (3pm to midnight)! The following would be a rundown of what you can expect at the market, details on how to get there and of course, my experience!
First up, HOW TO GET THERE?
The nearest BTS station to access Artbox is Phrom Phong. Take Exit 6 and walk down the stairs. It will take you a short 3 minute walk to react Artbox, and it will be on your left!
You’ll pass by a huge park that looks like this! Because I didn’t know what to expect from artbox, I thought it was further into the park. The answer is.. No. It’s not. You’ll have to walk past this park.
The Experience
While their instagram page (@artbox_th) states that the market opens from 3pm to midnight, the best time for you to visit them is about 5pm. Why?
So, I headed there bright and early because I wanted good lighting for my pictures and also because I knew it won’t be as crowded in the mid afternoon as compared to the night, hence I arrived at 3pm. Guess what?
From my movie experience in Bangkok and now, THIS, it reminds me fondly of something – KR timing (KR is a hall from NUS). What is KR timing, you ask? It means meeting at half an hour to 45 minutes AFTER the stipulated agreed timing, i.e. people will start appearing at 7.45pm or 8pm when you say meet at 7.15pm. THIS IS HOW THE BANGKOK TIMING IS, for me at least. They were the least bit ready at 3pm. I cry.
Even when i arrived at 4pm, only about 50% of the stalls were opened. Moral of the story? Visit after 5pm! It’s less scorching as well!
What to expect at Artbox!
Quirky food, clothes and random shopping items!
Clothes
Pretty much like all the “blogshop” items, mostly below 500baht per piece!
The shops selling clothes are all in one area, it will be on your left as you walk in from the entrance!
Random Shopping Items
Here’s my favorite part.. FOOD. LOTS OF FOOD. If you’re intending to go to artbox, bring your glutton friends along, because these are not just any kind of food, they are quirky and mostly, instagrammable food.
I try to take as many pictures but I got lazy halfway so.. Here’s roughly all that is lah.
Carrot Cake
Cheese sandwiches! There’s another stall in artbox, but I thought this one looked better!
This was toasty and super yummy. I wish the cheese was slightly less cooked though so it could be more lava-ish instead of a little hard and sticky!
Chocolate banana coins and MORE. Perfect for banana lovers!
Beside it was an algae drink. Wanted to try it but the owner was MIA.
OYSTERS and seafood. A couple of such stalls around! Here’s one, and the other one I saw was the Oyster Bar.
They even have Japanese food. Check oout the sashimi! Quite affordable as compared to Singapore. But where got people go thailand eat jap food one? HAHA!
Fried chicken!
Northern Thai Food – didn’t try because too full
Xiao Long Baos with a twist. Even got tomyum flavored one! Wanted to try but you can’t just buy one.
It comes in a long. I cannot finish so many. Don’t waste money, go eat other things better.
They have classic Thai street food items as well such as the fried quail eggs and grilled pork. Ah, that reminds me, I got to go find my sotong to eat later (yes I’m still in Bangkok while typing this).
The classic snack at fairs – CORN DOGS AND CANDY FLOSS. But you get them with a TWIST here at Artbox!
Candy floss of your choice! Wanted to get one of these but decided against it because.. AIYA WHAT FOR?! INSTAGRAM LIKES?! Hahaha! So I didn’t.
They’ve got cute bite sized brownies as well. Looks pretty BUT I think it’s just brownie with different toppings (Yawn).
Didn’t buy them also because the owner was actually swatting flies. Hmm.
They’ve got tons of other food as well, especially really indulgent fries that would probably clog up your arteries. They have SALTED EGG CROISSANTS, which I didn’t get because the pastry itself looks weak, and also a couple of stalls selling beef quite affordably!
There are also food trucks lined up at the side of the market.
Wanted to get the lobster burger.. But I forgot. I was also too full.
They’ve got drinks as well to make sure you stay hydrated. Water aside, they’ve got beers, somersby, juices, TUBS of sodas, milk teas, and even bubble tea.
I never thought I’d ever buy such colored drinks from any where or even drinks from a fair, because they are usually overly sweet and unhealthy. I don’t know what got over me, probably the damn spicy chili sauce, i decided to get one bottle of this lightbulb drink. Went for the blue lemonade (89 baht, S$3.40). No regrets because it’s not too sweet. Not only that.. I get to keep the bottle (hehe it’s in my bag now, oh shit I forgot to wash), and I GET A FREE LIGHTBULB KEYCHAIN. GOT LIGHT ONE SOMEMORE. CAN CHANGE COLOR ONE. OH MY. Worth it~
They’ve got bags of “blood” and syringes like these as well.
Don’t worry about eating space because they’ve got PLENTY of seats in the form of wooden crates, some stalls have their own seatings and the photo shown below:They have seats further inside the bridge! More than enough space for you to sit and enjoy your food and have a good view of it all!
As you can see, the place gets more packed as the night falls. But it gets prettier as well with the lighting up of the little bulbs and fairy lights.
Wa perfect capture hor, the girl in the foreground so happy.
They’ve got live band performances too. Chill vibes and truly a place for hipsters.
Artbox was one of the highlights of my trip, although it wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. It’s actually kinda boring after a while even though the food all looks interesting but there is only so much one can eat! I wish there were more retail stalls though, I’d have been more entertained! Hehe!
If you’re heading to Bangkok from now to June, make Artbox one of your destinations! Besides, Phrom Phong also houses THREE upscale shopping malls like EmQuartier and the amazing food haven at The Helix, as well as a gourmet market place! Definitely a good place to spend half your day there! Damn. I’m good at this itinerary planning thing huh? HAHAHA!
Oh my potatoes, I love Thailand and been to BKK so many times, but I’ve never been to Artbox!
I heard about it before, but the last time round I wanted to go, it was closed.
Your blog post about it just gave me huuuge wanderlust to go to Bangkok again! Hehe, I’ll have to plan my trip ahead to go when Artbox is open so that I don’t miss out on the awesomeness!
Hahahaha AWW YES! You definitely should pay artbox a visit when you have the time! (: It’s pretty cool!
Lucky come across your blog and very useful informations about the ArtBox Bangkok. Am substitute this over another place in my itinerary lol :)…..
Have never been there! Must go the next trip, thanks for the review !
Hi, Just to double confirm the ArtBox location. From what i had reed from your post. it seen that the artbox is at Phrom Phong. However, when i search it on google, it shows that the location is at Queen Sirikit Station.
Can I confirm this please?
It is now at the Chatuchak area!
I see! Thank you! 🙂