Street and covered markets in Korat, Thailand.

Korat is well served with several street and covered markets where you can find, day and night, almost anything you need, from fresh meat to live fish to fruits and vegetables to ready-made food and sweets to canned and dry food to houseware and cleaning products to garments and toys and so on. These markets are all popular and often very crowded. They do not open all at the same time. Here we offer a non exhaustive list of markets we visited downtown Korat in the last few weeks, with some basic information on each of them.

Maegimheng ( เเม่กิมเฮง )

167, Suranaree Rd ; Tel 044 268231

Open 24 hours, but most stalls close at night. The garments and boutiques section opens from 09:00 to 19:00.

Also known as New Maegimheng ( ใหม่เเม่กิมเฮง ). This market is the most central and popular one. It is a covered market nicely located near the town’s main square, and accessible from three sides. The southern entrance on Pho Klang Rd is just about 300 m. away from Ya Mo monument and facing a large parking lot. Here there are several stalls with offerings for temples, some food stalls, and sale of live animals such as turtles and frogs. For walkers and cyclists, the parking lot facing this entrance connects to Jomsurangyart Rd near Klang Plaza 2, through the parking lot of KH Chaophaya Inn. A handy shortcut!

The northern entrance on Suranaree Rd is facing Wat Sakae. Here there is a long raw of food stalls on the sidewalk, extending to the east well beyond the market’s proper area until reaching Ratchadamnoen Rd and the main square. Within the market’s proper area, on the western side there are several flower shops, while on the eastern side you can access directly the garments and boutiques section, looking more like a department store than a street market. The central side and the main access corridor are occupied mainly by food shops, including grilled chiken and meat. The street here is normally crowded with all kind of vehicles for transport of people and goods, including many mini buses (song theau) that are stopping here in both directions. It feels like being in the real core of the city.

Another entrance is found on Buarong Rd, shortly after the traffic light with Suranaree Rd, going south. It is a side entrance that connects to the market through a long arcade. Despite presence of some food stalls at the opening of the arcade, you would easily miss it, unless seeing the big sign above.

Inside, the market is often very crowded and a bit chaotic here and there. Aisles are rather narrow. The market offers just about everything, including a Thai food court at the eastern edge. A small administrative office is found inside, at the edge of the garments and boutiques section.

Yamo ( ย่าโม )

551/145 Mitthapap Rd ; Tel 044 261504

Open 24 hours, but especially lively at night, until after midnight. Most stalls close in the morning.

This large covered market comes probably second in order of popularity. It is bigger than Maegimheng. Although not as centrally located, it is still in a nice position, at a comfortable walking distance from The Mall in the direction of the railway sation, and vice versa. If you exit The Mall and cross Mitthapap Rd, take the lane that opens just in front of the The Mall’s waterfall. Then take the first left and you will reach the market’s northwestern corner in two minutes. Coming from south, you have to take off Mukmontri Rd on one of the lanes heading north from approximately facing the railway station (Dtrook Samo Rai or Dtrook Sao Thong).

All around the covered area of this market there are plenty of stalls and much traffic, except on the western side, where there is a replica of the Ya Mo monument and the administrative office is located (on the upper floor of a separated building). Also inside, the western edge of the market looks a bit different than the rest, with an area dedicated to medals and images.

The name of this market, Yamo or Ya Mo, is one of the nicknames for Tao Suranaree, Korat’s beloved heroine who lived in the 19th Century.

Petsimaa ( เพชรสีมา )

426/10 Mitthapap Rd ; Tel 044 295244

Night and morning market open from about 23:00 to about 10:00. Some external stalls on Soi Bprapbaa open also during the day.

This is essentially a food market, although you can find also other things, especially crowded in the early morning. The position is convenient as it is just beside the IT Plaza, 100 m. away from the northern edge of the main square. It is accessible directly from Mitthapap Rd or from Soi Dtalat Brpabpaa (the Soi opening immediately west of IT Plaza), or indirectly from Bprabpaa Rd through the adjacent Bprabpaayukmai (see below). Consists mainly of two attached covered areas, plus an open area on the eastern side.

The market’s full name is Petsimaa Company ( บริษัท เพชรสีมา ), meaning something like the Sima Diamond Company. It shares the very crowded Soi Dtalat Brpabpaa with the adjacent Bprabpaa market. In the norhern part of the inner covered area you can find some non-food stalls. The administrative office is located in the northwestern corner of the covered area.

Bprabpaayukmai ( ประปายุคใหม่ )

35, Bprabpaa Rd ; Tel 044 272176, 256775 ; Fax 272176

Night and morning market open from about 02:00 to about 12:00. Some external stalls on Soi Dtalaat Bprapbaa open also during the day.

Commonly known simply as Bprabpaa market. Located next to the above-mentioned Petsimaa, and attached to the back side of IT Plaza. Accessible from Soi Dtalat Brpabpaa (the Soi opening immediately west of IT Plaza), or directly from Bprabpaa Rd. Consists of a main covered area plus open areas on both sides.

The market’s full name means something like New Plumbery or New Waterworks. It shares the very crowded Soi Dtalat Brpabpaa with the adjacent Petsimaa market. Compared to Petsimaa, it is more spacious, looks more tidy, and offers a bigger range of non-food products, including garments. Moreover, there is an external area also on the eastern side (Bprabpaa Rd side), consisting mainly of a vegetable market. The administrative office is located upstairs, at the eastern side of the coverred area.

Suranakhorn ( สุรนคร )

438/1 Mitthapap Rd ; Tel 044 293004 , Fax 270501

Open 24 hours.

This is both a retail and a wholesale market, always crowded with people and vehicles. It is located just a little bit outside of town, on Mitthapap Rd direction Khon Kaen, facing between the new bus station (bus station no. 2) and Makro wholesale store. That means that you will find it on your right-hand side if driving in the direction of Khon Kaen. There is a fly-over for walkers in correspondence to the main gate, connecting to the other side of Mitthapap.

The market’s access way and internal lanes are often clogged with all kind of vehicles, including trucks of a medium and even a large size. Traffic guards have to be employed sometimes.

The market is very large and includes more than one covered areas, plus additional stalls and shops along the internal lanes. The main covered area is mostly a retail area and resembles that of other covered markets downtown, especially Yamo’s. However it is a bit bigger and includes some wider corridors, where small vehicles are admitted. Other covered areas are specially for wholesale and accessible also with larger vehicles.

There is an administrative office on top of one of the internal buildings, accessible through a pompous entrance with a statue in front of it. Outside, next to the main gate, there is a replica of the Ya Mo monument. The name of this market means something like “Heavenly Town”.

Huarotfai ( หัวรถไฟ )

186-266 Mukkamontri Rd

Morning market open from about 06:00 to about 12:00.

This market is found outside the main railway station, on the other side of the road, a little bit to the east, at the junction with Dtrook Sao Thong. It is accessible directly from Mukkamontri through a crowded entrance dividing immediately in two parallel aisles, or more comfortably from Dtrook Sao Thong at the rear side of the market, where there is also a small parking lot. Following Dtrook Sao Thong you would reach the above-mentioned Yamo market, a little off the road to the west, and then a traffic light junction with Mitthapap Rd just where the KS Pavilion hotel is found, not far from The Mall.

Together with Noongphailom (see below), this market presents the advantage of offering a great variety of goods concentrated in a relatively small area. It is an excellent food market, also for ready-made food to eat on the spot or to take home for breakfast or lunch. There are a garments section and different shops around the external perimeter. The administrative office is located in shop no. 190, almost facing the toilets (eastern side).

The name of this market (literally: “head of train”) corresponds to the name of the area surrounding Korat’s main reailway station.

Noongphailom ( หนองไผ่ล้อน )

Detudom Rd, at the traffic light junction with Soi Detudom 6

Late afternoon and evening market open from about 16:00 to about 21:00.

This market is located at the edge of a large residential compound belonging to the Thai army. It is accessible from two different gates on Detudom Rd, or from inside the compound. It consists of a covered area (south) and an open area (north). The covered area is mainly for food products, fresh or cooked, and offers a great choice of ready-made dishes to take away. It is a nice, spacious area, with relatively wide aisles, with a mark of military order and organization. The open area is more for garments and some other goods, and it has more narrow passages.

Like the above-mentioned Huarotfai, but with a different opening time, this market offers the advantage of a great variety concentrated in a small space. Although it does not offer the possibility to eat on the spot, it is one of our favorite markets downtown. If you really want to eat something while shopping there, there are food stalls always open on both sides of the road just outside the market. The administrative office is located at the southern gate, immediately left as you enter, attached to the sentrybox.

The name of this market (literally something like “bamboo pond enclosure”) corresponds to the name of the residential community to which it belongs. The camp’s full name can be translated as Community Welfare Project Noongphailom.

Soisukmaat ( ซอยสุขมาศ )

Soi Sukmaat

Night and morning market open from about 02:00 to about 11:00.

Of all markets described so far, this is the only one deprived of any covered area, thus a street market stricto sensu. Due to its location and character, it can be considered as a sort of extension of Wat Boon Night Bazaar (see below), but with different opening hours.

It is accessible from its two ends, east and west. The main access (east) is on Kudan Rd, next to Iyaraa hotel. That is a busy spot in the morning, with breakfast stalls and mini buses stopping by. The secondary access (west) is from a narrow lane connecting Chomphon Rd (Iyaraa market area) with Asdang Rd, and bordering the rear side of the Wat Pra Narai pond.

The market is long and narrow. It extends along this whole side of the homonymous lane. Like all other markets in Korat, it offers a good mix of all different products. There is no administrative office. For information, Soi Sukmaat does not stop there: it continues beyond Kudan Rd, to the east, until turning south to connect into Chomphon Rd at the eastern end of the Night Bazaar area.

Thaetsabaan 5 ( เทศบาล ๕ )

Kamhaeng Songkram Rd, next to southern city gate

Open 24 hours.

This market is located on the southern edge of the old city, bordering the water channel, just east of the southern gate (Pradtu Chainarong). It is a covered market made up of two long sheds ranged one after the other, and openly connected to each other, to form a very long single covered area. Although it is accessible all the time, we were told that it is never very crowded. At the time we visited, around 9:00 AM, only about one third of the stalls were open. Yet, the variety of goods was granted just like in all other markets we visited.

The name of this market means Town Hall 5.

Jira ( จิระ )

Watcharasart Rd, outside the Jira junction railway station

Early moring market open from about 05:00 to about 10:00.

This market is located just outside the Jira railway station. It is set on dirt land and does not have any covered area. It is the less organized and less ordered market of all those we visited. It is made up of two main sections: a predominantly food section facing the railway station, a little bit to the east, and a flea market extension along the dirt road that connects the area to Chainarong Rd, to the east. The food section, however, is relatively small and does not offer the whole variety found in other markets. The real appeal of this market, therefore, is probably represented by the flea market section, offering different kinds of items, but especially clothing items.

The name of this market corresponds to the name of the location where it is set (Jira junction).

Night Bazaar Wat Boone ( ไนท์บาซาร์วัดบูรพ์ )

Chomphon Rd, last stretch to the east

Street market open in the evening from about 17:00 to about 22:00.

This market is found in the last stretch of Chomphon Rd before reaching the eastern city gate (Pradtu Phollan). Although you can find here some garments, clothing accessories, and other stuff, this market is specialized in ready-made food, also to eat on the spot. Excellent place for a rapid gastronomic excursion into Thai specialities, or for an evening stroll accompanied by economic dinner in a quiet atmosphere, as the market is never excessively crowded.

It is not advisable to go there before 18:00. The name is derived from the adjacent tample.

Night Bazaar Korat ( ไนท์บาซาร์โคราช )

Manat Rd and Mahathai Rd

Street market open in the evening from about 18:00 to about 23:00.

This market has the shape of a T turned upside down. The long leg is the stretch of Manat Rd running from Chomphon Rd (north) to Mahathai Rd (south). The short leg is an extension on both sides of Mahathai Rd, around the traffic light crossing. The market is also known as Manat Road Night Bazaar.

Although you can find here some good food, this market is specialized in garments, shoes, bags, lingerie and other clothing accessories of all kind. On the Mahathai Rd stretch, eastern side, there is a curious shopping centre known as Suanmaak ( สวนหมาก ).

It is one of the most lively meeting points in Korat, also due to vicinity of popular bars and night-clubs. It is not advisable to go there before 19:00.

Save One ( เซฟวัน )

1485/1 Mitthaphap Rd ; Tel: 044 222588

Evening market with a flea market section, open from about 17:00 to about 22:00. Probably the biggest market in Nakhon Ratchasima. See our articles on Saveone in our menu.

Markets | Korat | Nakhon Ratchasima | Thailand | Khorat