Mae Wilai Market Until Dawn

The name tells you most of what you need to know: this one runs through the night, every night, on Thanon Pattaya Klang. It's a working market rather than a shopping attraction, which is the whole appeal. Fresh produce, prepared food, clothes, household bits, and vendors who are pricing for the neighbourhood, not for people off a tour bus.

Go for the food stalls. That's the reason to make the trip, and the reason to come hungry rather than curious. The rest is useful if you're staying somewhere with a kitchen or you've forgotten something mundane, less so if you're after souvenirs. Nobody's arranging a display for your camera here.

Timing matters more than anything. Being open 24 hours doesn't mean it's busy 24 hours, and a market with half its stalls shuttered is a fairly bleak thing. Evening and the small hours are when it fills up. Mid-afternoon, you'll be wandering past a lot of tarpaulins.