We did manage to get out more on our second day in Bangkok. We decided to go to the Museum of Siam, and we took a taxi. The streets of Bangkok are a giant maze and many streets are one-way. When we were about 2 blocks away from the museum, the street map looked one-way the wrong way so we paid the cab and hopped out to walk (I think the taxi was a bit confused). We saw in front of us a couple of stalls selling electronics and stopped to take a look.
C heading into the market
It turned out that there were not just a few stalls - there was an entire market (or district) spanning multiple blocks.
The market was amazing. There were stalls selling every possible piece you might ever need for an electronics project. Based on the stories we have heard A's dad tell about the Radio Shacks of yore that were for real hobbyists, before they became like mini Best Buys, A's dad would have loved this!
One shop sold connectors, another switches, another batteries, wire insulation, even one selling high-end test equipment like oscilloscopes.
Stall selling all kinds of doo-dads
We found a few items that would be useful to us, at very reasonable prices, so we ended up buying the following:
Outlet splitter/European to American adapter -- $0.49
Half of the power cord for our netbook -- $1.30
(we had been having some trouble with the half that goes from the wall to the power brick)
5-pack of CR2032 Lithium batteries -- $1.63
Even if these items turn out to be less than stellar quality, I think the price was right and it was fun doing some actual shopping at the market.
C buying an outlet splitter/adapter
We even managed to find a local restaurant stall in the market where we bought lunch for about $3 for two dishes and a yummy Thai iced coffee. We don't really know what either of the dishes was (there was a lot of pointing and smiling involved) but one of them tasted an awful lot like Pad See Ew and they were both yummy.
C eating lunch at the restaurant in the market
In addition to any little piece you might need for an electronics project, there were stalls selling speakers, TVs (with tubes - no flat screens!), surveillance cameras, electronic test equipment (like C uses at work), DVD players, and every remote from every TV or VCR ever made. It was truly impressive. Several stores were dedicated to car stereos and everything you need to trick out your car (or taxi, as we saw). Some shops had technicians at workbenches out front building and soldering things right on the sidewalk.
Stall selling every kind of remote (not universal remotes - the ones that go with each model)
Test equipment
After we had our fill of the market we walked to the Siam Museum and then managed to catch drinks watching the royal barge rehearsal in preparation for the King's 84th birthday celebration in November and then had dinner overlooking Wat Arun.
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