Jingjok
ของแท้ ของปลอม: real, fake and fine
kǎawng-bplaawm
Thai markets sell a lot that is not what the label says, and everybody knows it. A 100-baht shirt with a big logo is a fake; so are the bags and the watches on the same rack, however often the vendor says แท้. Buying one for fun is normal here. Check the seams, the zips and the print, because the fake that falls apart on day three is the only bad deal. What is genuinely local and genuinely good: elephant-print trousers, cotton ลายช้าง and ผ้าขาวม้า cloth, soap and balm from the north, dried mango. Bring fakes home at your own risk: some customs offices do confiscate them.
Try this today
Pick one real Thai thing at the market tonight instead of the logo.
Learn this in “Night market” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.