Buffalo me die!

[ceejay]

Ever been told a "sick buffalo" story? Well now you can, if you are in the Chiang Mai area, check out the price of a buffalo and even buy one, to make sure the money is spent as intended!

Returning from a trip to Doi Inthanon a couple of weeks back, the driver pointed out a place on the Chiang Mai-Hod road to me and said it was the Saturday Buffalo Market, where farmers from miles around come to buy and sell buffalo. Well, I had to see that - it's one of those places that you can end up regretting not seeing while you had the chance. Buffalo are not much used as agricultural animals now, and it's hard to see a market like this lasting for ever.

It starts before dawn and is all over by about 1.00 pm so I was up at 5.00 and, along with Bob and the same driver, off at 6.00 to go there. What a surprise! The market is enormous, and sells everything. It extends for about three quarters of a mile along both sides of the road, and this picture is of a lane leading away from the road, so you can see how deep it goes:

It's so big that it even has its own permanent police booth, although it only runs for half a day a week. Spiritual matters are attended to as well - there were mobile shrines on both sides of the road, with monks handing out blessings to those who needed them:

The diversity was enormous: household goods, computer equipment, used motor bikes, clothes, food, agricultural implements, artificial flowers - you name it:

You could even get goldfish:

Or have an eyetest if you wanted one. There was a fully equipped opticians in a roofed, but otherwise open stall:

and, of course, there were buffalo - lots and lots of them (along with other cattle). The farmers were doing what farmers do at markets all over the world - looking over the animals and chatting amongst themselves:

The wicker cages are for fighting cocks. The men in that circle in the background are fighting their birds (much less brutal than in some countries. The birds have their spurs removed and, when a bird is getting the worst of it, the owner pulls him out of the ring:

The market is as big as Chatuchak, and more diverse (have you ever seen buffalo in Chatuchak?). It's also a local market for local people - Apart from myself and Bob, I only saw 2 or 3 other farang there. If you're in Chiang Mai and get the chance, go out there and see it - it's a chance to see a bit of Thailand as lived in by Thais, and it won't stay the same for ever.

[Bob]

There were so many people out there that I made a crack to ceejay that I wondered if there was anybody left in Chiangmai proper. And, after the first couple of hours, never saw another falang (and, like ceejay said, only saw two others the whole time we were out there).

 

I didn't know what to expect from a "water buffalo auction" (well, other than water buffalo!) but I didn't expect acres of booths selling everything one could imagine (and then some). It reminded me to some degree of Chatuchak market in Bangkok (excepting I don't think Chatuchak ever had cows, water buffalo, brahma bulls, cockfights, let alone relatively cool weather).

 

I'd note that Khun Khortose once indicated to me that he liked them with big ears. Well, I found him a date.....

[KhorTose]

I'd note that Khun Khortose once indicated to me that he liked them with big ears. Well, I found him a date.....

She was a beauty, but I found out she was no good in bed. She can't stop kicking when she gets excited. One look at my magnificent------oh well if you saw it you would be excited too. 

 

Great report and pictures ceejay.

[Guest abang1961]

Thanks for the information..

I like such rustic and simple market.

That makes travelling to Thailand and other less-industrialised towns/villages more interesting..

Definitely on my list of things to do in Chiangmai.

 

Thanks, once again.

[NIrishGuy]

Great post deejay - but the one critical piece of information you left out about the market was the actual cost of a typical buffalo there !?  Did you check ?  And the reason I ask of course is so that the next time I hear the buffalo die story I can immediately pull out the right amount and  say "no problem, go and buy yourself a new one !"  ( cause I'm good that way lol)

[Guest anonone]

Great report.  An interesting way to spend the day.

Thanks for posting all the pictures.

 

I joked with BF once about the family needing a water buffalo.  He reply was basically....Hell, no.  Don't do that.  Buffalo are a lot of work to take care of.  We use a tractor.  555.  I love my lazy BF. 

[TotallyOz]

You mean water buffaloes do exist?

 

Thanks for the photos and great report. Very fascinating!

[kokopelli]

The cost of a buffalo is like the cost of a used car; it all depends. 10,000 - 20,000 Baht unless a calf.

[Bob]

but the one critical piece of information you left out about the market was the actual cost of a typical buffalo there !?

I'm not sure if there is a "typical" water buffalo but our Thai driver/guide told us the prices on a couple of them - 12,000 and 17,000 baht. A friend's bf told me that a "really good one" (one that's really "beautiful") has a large rounded hump just behind it's head but didn't say how much the "beautiful" ones cost. I saw one Thai guy haggling over a water buffalo and noticed he had a wad of 1000 baht notes (looked like at least 100 of them) in his hand that he was excitingly waving back and forth (he looked like he was haggling in Italian).

[baobao]

Great report, ceejay!  I'll get there next trip to Chiang Mai - thanks!

 

BTW, Bob, they do have - or have had - cockfighting (and dog fighting) at Chatuchak. I ran across it one one of my early trips, and found it more than mildly disturbing.  I kind of stumbled across the dog area while poking around for photo ops off the heavily traveled paths, and got looks from a couple of guys that made me turn on my heel and head back out onto the regular walkways.