Shopping in Thailand
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Chatuchak Weekend Market
Among the largest markets in the world, Chatuchak Weekend Market seems to unite everything buyable, from used vintage sneakers to baby squirrels. JJ, as it’s also known, is the ideal place to finally pick up those gifts for people back home, not to mention a pretty item or two for your own home. The market is roughly divided into thematic sections, the best guide to these being Nancy Chandler’s Map of Bangkok. Because Chatuchak is a Thai institution, food also plays a significant role, and there are numerous drinks and snack vendors, and several good restaurants on the outside edges of the market. Plan to spend a full day, as there’s plenty to see, do and buy. But com…
reviewed
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Baru
OK, imagine that (fashion) disaster has struck. More specifically, that the ‘bozos’ at the airlines have misplaced your bags. Which means that you have arrived on Phuket with only the clothes on your back – ie sweaty leather shoes, a ‘comfortable’ (read: unsexy) ankle-length skirt and a long-sleeve knit sweater (relax, we know, you were dressed for the plane). But now the sun is shining, the beach boys are beckoning and you need a shot of beach sexy (think skimpy bikinis, beach wraps and candy-coloured flip-flops), and fast. Welcome to your Eden.
reviewed
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Mahboonkrong (Mbk)
This unbelievably immense shopping mall is quickly becoming one of Bangkok’s top attractions. Half of the city filters through the glass doors on weekends, stutter-stepping on the escalators, stuffing themselves with junk food or making stabs at individualism by accessorising their mundane school uniforms with high slits or torturous heels. You can buy everything you need here: mobile phones, accessories, shoes, name brands, wallets, handbags, T-shirts. The middle-class Tokyu department store also sells good-quality kitchenware.
The 4th floor resembles something of a digital produce market. A confusing maze of stalls sell all the components to send you into the land of …
reviewed
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Central Airport Plaza
Anchored by a Robinson department store and, compared to Kad Suan Kaew, this mall is more upmarket with more international brands and a more affluent clientele. The Northern Village complex on the 2nd floor sells high-quality souvenirs with set prices. Silks and ready-made clothes are good buys.
reviewed
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Pantip Plaza
Near the night bazaar, this shiny shopping centre is a more legitimate version than its grey-market counterpart in Bangkok. Mainly licensed suppliers of electronic hardware, such as computers and cameras, fill the space without a single bootleg software vendor in sight.
reviewed
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Nickermann’s Tailor
Corporate ladies rave about Nickermann’s tailor-made power suits: pants and jackets that suit curves and busts. Formal ball gowns are another area of expertise.
reviewed
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Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is one of the city’s main night-time attractions, especially for families, and is the modern legacy of the original Yunnanese trading caravans that stopped here along the ancient trade route between Simao (in China) and Mawlamyaing (on Myanmar’s Gulf of Martaban coast). Today the night bazaar sells the usual tourist souvenirs, like what you’ll find at Bangkok’s street markets. In true market fashion, vendors form a gauntlet along the footpath of Th Chang Khlan from Th Tha Phae to Th Loi Kroh. In between are dedicated shopping buildings: the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar Building is filled mainly with antique and handicraft stores. Across the street is th…
reviewed
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Gaysorn Plaza
A haute couture catwalk, Gaysorn's spiralling staircases and all-white halls preserve all of fashion's beloved designers in museum-curatorship style. Local fashion leaders occupy the 2nd floor 'Thai Fashion Chic', while the top floor is a stroll through home decor, highlights of which are the eclectic D&O Shop, the fragrant soaps at Thann and the Asian-influenced ceramics at Lamont.
reviewed
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Siam Paragon
Paragon epitomises the city’s fanaticism for the new, the excessive, and absurd slogans. The ‘peerless’ venue is the second-largest mall in Southeast Asia, sprawling over 500,000 sq metres, and is a showcase for luxury retailers, like Van Cleef & Arpels and Mikimoto, who had not previously had a pedestal in the country. There’s a Lamborghini dealer on the 2nd floor should you need a ride home, and one floor up a True Urban Park ‘lifestyle centre’ featuring a cafe, internet access and a shop selling books, music and camera equipment. Bookworms will fancy Kinokuniya (3rd floor), the largest bookstore in Thailand, as well as an expansive branch of Asia Books (2nd…
reviewed
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Central World Plaza
Bangkok's hippest mall suffered greatly during the unrest of April 2010, but the vast majority of shops are open again and Zen department store was being rebuilt at research time. There's an extrahuge branch of bookstore B2S, and you could spend an hour sniffing around the fragrances at Karmakamet.
reviewed
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Thai Home Industries
A visit to this temple-like building, a former monks' quarters, is like discovering an abandoned attic of Asian booty. Despite the odd assortment of items (our last visit revealed items ranging from elegant handmade flatware to wooden model ships) and lack of order, it's heaps more fun than the typically faceless Bangkok handicraft shop.
reviewed
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Classic Model
Bold geometric patterns define this clothing brand from fashion designer Sumate Phunkaew, a native of Nan Province. Certainly, the boy-from-the-province success story is heartwarming, but the clothes have a high frump factor. If you flip through the racks with enough concentration though you might find some suitable ‘teacher’ wear.
reviewed
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Uthai’s Gems
With 40 years in the business, Uthai’s fixed prices and good service, including a money-back guarantee, make him a popular choice among expats. The showroom boasts a huge stock, and gems can be custom-cut to order.
reviewed
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Studio Naenna
If you liked what you saw at Adorn with Studio Naenna, then head out of town to the main gallery of this textile cooperative. It's about 1km northwest of the intersection of Th Huay Kaew and Th Khlorng Chonprathan, along Soi Chang Khian.
reviewed
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Angel
Original and modern silver designs decorate this shop further bolstering Thailand’s reputation for fine silver jewellery.
reviewed
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Raja’s Fashions
One of Bangkok’s famous tailors, Raja’s gets a mixed bag of reviews but the majority swear by the service and quality.
reviewed
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Siam Center & Siam Discovery Center
These linked sister centres feel almost monastic in their hushed hallways compared to frenetic MBK, just across the street. Siam Discovery Center excels in home decor, with the whole 3rd floor devoted to Asian-minimalist styles and jewel-toned fabrics; we love the earthy, Thai-influenced designs at Doi Tung. The attached Siam Center, Thailand's first shopping centre built in 1976, has recently gone under the redesign knife for a younger, hipper look. Youth fashion is its new focus, and several local labels, ranging from anr to senada*, can be found on the 2nd floor.
reviewed
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Amulet Market
Catholics with their parade of saints and protective medals will recognise a great kinship with this streetside amulet market. Ranging from pendant-sized to medallion-sized, prá krêu·ang (amulets) come in various classes, from rare objects or relics (like tusks, antlers or the dentures of abbots) to images of Buddha or famous monks embossed in bronze, wood or clay. Itinerant dealers spread their wares on blankets along the broken pavement across from the temple, and more-permanent shops proliferate in the sunless alleyways along the river. Taxi drivers, monks and average folk squat alongside the displays inspecting novel pieces like practised jewellers. Mixed in with …
reviewed
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Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The most famous of the floating markets – the one you’ve seen photographed hundreds of times –is the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. You can hire a boat from any pier that lines Th Sukhaphiban 1, which is the land route to the floating market area. The going rate is 150B per person per hour, but you’ll need to haggle to get it. The 100-year-old market is now essentially a floating souvenir stand filled with package tourists. This in itself can be a fascinating insight into Thai culture, as the vast majority of tourists here are Thais, and watching the approach to this cultural ‘theme park’ is instructive. But beyond the market, the residential canals are quite peace…
reviewed
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Pratunam Market
The city's biggest wholesale clothing market, Pratunam is a tight warren of stalls trickling deep into the block. In addition to cheap T-shirts and jeans, luggage, bulk toiletries and souvenirs are also available.
reviewed
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King Power
Towering over leafy Soi Rang Nam, this ‘sensory extravaganza’ has taken duty-free shopping from the airport to the streets of suburban Bangkok. The selection and prices are the same as that of the airport, but occasional discounts and promotions can make it worth the trek. Featuring the largest watch centre in Southeast Asia, the ultramodern complex also includes a hotel, buffet restaurant and, at the King Power Theater, a branch of the Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre. To make duty-free purchases here, bring your passport and flight information and register at the lobby. Purchases of domestic goods can be taken away the same day, while imported goods are picked up at …
reviewed
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Damnoen Saduak
The most heavily promoted floating market is Damnoen Saduak, 104km southwest of Bangkok between Nakhon Pathom and Samut Songkhram. Though little more than a souvenir market catering to tourists, it is one of the most accessible markets from Bangkok and is ideal for those who haven’t yet filled their suitcases with touristy gifts. Air-con buses 78 and 996 go direct from the Southern bus terminal in Thonburi to Damnoen Saduak (80B, two hours, every 20 minutes from 6am to 9pm). Most buses will drop tourists off directly at the piers that line Th Sukhaphiban 1, which is the land route to the floating market area. The going rate for boat hire is about 300B per person per hour.…
reviewed
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Siam Square
This low-slung commercial universe is a network of some 12 soi lined with trendy, fly-by-night boutiques, many of which are the first ventures of young designers. It's a great place to pick up designs you're guaranteed not to find anywhere else, not to mention the best place for urban naturalists to observe Bangkok teens in their natural habitat.
reviewed
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Taling Chan
This is a close descendant of the original floating markets. On the access road to Khlong Bangkok Noi, Taling Chan looks like any other fresh food market busy with produce vendors from nearby farms. But the twist emerges at the canal where several floating docks serve as informal dining rooms, and the kitchens are canoes tethered to the docks. Many local Thai families come to feast on grilled shrimp and noodles, all produced aboard a bobbing boat. Taling Chan is in Thonburi and can be reached from Bangkok’s Th Ratchadamnoen Klang or Th Ratchaprasong via air-con bus 79 (16B, 25 minutes). Long-tail boats from any large Bangkok pier can also be hired for a trip to Taling Cha…
reviewed
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Thai Knowledge Park
Spanning eight stories of more than 500 shops and 100 restaurants, Central World is one of Southeast Asia’s largest shopping centres. But it suffered a huge setback in May 2010 when its centrepiece Zen department store was torched by fleeing protesters (for details on the 2010 political unrest, see p35). Other parts of the complex were largely unaffected, but at press time the specifics of the reconstruction had yet to be announced. We hope that, in addition to a new Zen, the mall’s funky F section and Thai Knowledge Park, a multimedia library meant to cultivate reading and learning habits in children, will be operating as normal by the time you read this.
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