Why should you go there and how do you do it right?

This is a village market on a holiday island, not a night market for tourists. Here you'll find inexpensive Thai food, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothing, and household goods—the kind you'd typically buy on a Tuesday. For souvenir stalls and a beer garden, head to Chaweng or Lamai. Maenam offers something quieter and, in my opinion, more interesting.

Visit the market in the evening. Officially, it opens at 11:00 AM, but it's quite quiet in the afternoon—only a few stalls are open, and the heat makes it uncomfortable. As soon as the sun sets, the hot food starts coming out, and the market fills up with locals. It's busiest on weekends. My tip: Come hungry, walk around the entire market once without buying anything, and then go back to the stall that smelled the best. The market is small enough that this only takes a few minutes, rather than an entire evening. So, it's best to combine your visit with dinner and a stroll through the village of Mae Nam.