It’s easy to be put off by the tween-dream vendors selling sparkly cellphone covers and Hello Kitty beach towels at the entrance of the Rod Fai Market (a.k.a. Rot Fai Market, Talad Rot Fai, and Tarad Rod Fi) in Bangkok. Don’t be turned off; just cut past those trendy “Market Zone” tents and head straight for the “Rod’s Antiques” section and “Warehouse Zone.” This is where the serious brick-and-mortar shops dealing in serious vintage and antiques cut deals at seriously low prices. The breadth of what’s on offer is astonishing: classic cars, old radios and TV sets, Elvis memorabilia, Coca-Cola collectibles, mint-con “Roman Holiday”-era Vespas, tuk-tuk lights, 1960s bobby helmets, Mao Zedong dolls and rare Japanese action figures, fashionably rusty gas pumps, and beat-up leather jackets. No one is up your butt while you’re browsing and the vendors are open to bargaining (a little).

Street food is plentiful and includes a variety of deep-fried insects, if you dare. You can buy beer from a pop-up bar in the back of a converted VW, or stick to any number of open-air drinking establishments dotting the market’s perimeter. If you’re super lucky, you might catch a band of Thai rockers covering “Sweet Child O’ Mine” or “Back in Black.” All told, it’s an adventure well worth the taxi schlep.

Note: There is a newer sister train market on Ratchadaphisek Road in Ratchada. It’s smaller than the Srinakarin market, but much easier to access: Just take the MRT to the Thailand Cultural Centre station. Hours are Thursday through Sunday, from about 5 p.m. until midnight. The closest station to the Srinakarin market is the BTS at On Nut, but you’ll still need to hire a taxi, tuk-tuk, or motorbike to ferry you the rest of the way.

Srinakarin Road, Soi 51, behind Seacon Square, Bangkok, Thailand; +66-0-81-827-5885.
Ratchadaphisek Rd., near Esplanade Shopping Mall, Bangkok, Thailand; +66-0-92-713-5599.