Visitors to Thailand will be amazed by the variety and value of the shopping
opportunities. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new set of clothes than it is
to use the hotel's laundry service. Weather searching for designer labels in
flashy malls or cheap knock-offs at the myriad stalls lining the streets,
prices are decidedly low. Although there are shopping plazas all over
Bangkok, the main retail centre is around the Siam and Chit Lom areas.
Clothes, electronics, furniture, silk and home wares are all easily found.
Most popular is the wealth of Thai art and craft, both traditional and
contemporary, available everywhere from smart boutiques to bustling weekend
market.
Siam Center
The mall that started it all in 1973. After a thorough
overhaul its bright, inviting interior hauls in trendy teens and young
adults who shop for Eurofashion and innovative local brands (Jaspal and Soda
being the most popular ones). Afterwards, many cross the street to hand out
in Siam Square, Bangkok's heart for trendsetters, a maze of mini-boutiques
carrying local up-and-comers, fast food outlets and gastro-gems and indie
cinemas.
Siam Disovery
Siam Square's most up-market mall-light, pleasant and
never too busy. Inside it's all cool chrome and steel international him
young brands (Diesel, Replay, Armani Exchange), impressive interior store
(Loft and Mae Fah Luang), neat bistros and a swish cinema.
Central Chidlom
Central Department group's flagship store offers seven
newly-upgraded floors of clothes, shoes and accessories from all the major
labels, plus some eye-catching Thai designers. It might lack a distinctively
Thai charm, but the quality-price ratio makes up for that. Food Loft is
Bangkok's deluxe food court, with lots of cool restaurants setting up stalls
here At night they even play live jazz
Erawan Bangkok
The posh boutique mall adjacent to the Erawan Shrine is
home to super deluxe boutiques (think Burberry), great restaurants and a
wellness floor. Every time Club 21 - a Singapore based multi-label concept
store housing 30 super-hip designers - changes its window display, young hip
things check for up-coming fashion trends.
Siam Paragon
It is the new epicentre for Bangkok mall crawlers. If you
don't happen to have one a paragon is a flawless diamond of over 100k. To
that effect, the brand-new high-end complex sparkles and glitters in the
eyes of ladies and gents who shop. It's Southeast Asia's largest mall,
although it's more than just a mall. Located on 21 acres, the 550,000 sqm.
15-biliion-baht complex is home to 14 "worlds". More than 300 retail
outlets cater to all kinds of lifestyle and leisure pursuits, entertainment,
edutainment and technology.
Several zone invite tourists and locals alike to linger:
the Paragon Department Store, which occupies 80,000 sqm; the shopping zone
with high-end fashion, bookstores, spa, a handicraft centre and restaurants;
and the entertainment zone, comprised of a huge cineplex, Siam Ocean World,
and a multi-purpose hall. If all this sound overpowering fret not: 40
specially trained bilingual Paragon Ambassadors are on site to assist you in
finding what you need.
Playground
Thonglor is in the grip of a major outbreak of chic,
thanks to the hyper-sleek, definition-defying extravanganza named
Playground. The black-clad building's other primary colours are hot pink and
white - bold, gay and uber-cool. The corner music retail store has iPods
built into the wall, for your aural pleasure - that should tell you. Check
the magazine store for your favourite Euro-fashion mags and the hip art
gallery. Grouped around an airy atrium, two sprawling floors are stacked
with design, fashion, jewelery and decor items produced exclusively for
Playground. The goods are the creation of homegrown designers and renowned
overseas names (including must-have interior accessories by Amsterdam's
droog design).
Central World Plaza
From outside, this block-long mega-mall is all boring
cement; inside you'll fid more than 300 shops but also a dull atmosphere. So
we expect a lot from the grand facelift that might revive the shopping
experience here. The beer garden outside ( in Dec-Jan ) is ideal for
people-ogling.
Gaysorn
The all-white interior of glitzy Gaysorn might be a
doctor's nightmare, but this top-end mall - expect Vuitton and Dior and
Givenchy - caters to Bangkok's hush-hush yuppies. It's always pleasingly
empty so window shopping is actually fun here. Hold on to your credit
card, even if you're just using the mall for and air-conditioned short cut.
The Emporium
Very chic mall with the most amiable atmosphere, thanks
to its airy architecture. Bangkok's hi-so shops at funky designer boutiques
(Kenzo, Versace, Paul Smith) bibliophiles get stuck at Kinokuniya, while
gourmets can't decide which restaurant to visit first. A plush cinema
adjoins the impressive Thailand Creative Design Center.
MBK
This perpetually packed shopper's paradise is a
mind-boggling, one-stop bargain place. Always busy, on weekends half of
Bangkok's teenagers seem to converge here, hunting for the latest mobile
phone covers ( a whole floor is packed tight with anything cellular ) and
dining at the enormous food court. Pirated Lacoste and Polo are big here, so
fake fans must try to control themselve. Find good sourvenirs for Mum in the
Thai crafts section (6th floor).
Panthip Plaza
The city's computer accessory centre. Packed with
licensed and pirated software, it's the one-stop shop for any computing
needs; hardware, software and gadgets - all unbeatably priced. It's a loud,
brash, somewhat dingy place crammed with savvy vendors but a mecca for
techno geeks. Avoid frantic Saturdays.
All Seasons Place
The sleek mall in a skyscraper complex is known more for
its batery of eateries than its shops although the high-end retail range is
impressive-art galleries, cigar shops, tailors and Euro-fashion beckon the
office ladies invading the mall during their lunch break. At times, it 's
hauntingly empty but that is not a drawback.
River City
Four well laid-out floors of stores selling ethnic and
tribal art from Southeast Asia, with the South Pacific, Indonesia, Nepal,
Tibet and Bhutan thrown in. It is not the tourist knock-offs you find on the
streets and Chatuchak but the real thing. Deck out your house with
furniture, sculptures , antique maps to turn it into an "Asian Style" coffee
table book. Or simply watch serious dealers stocking up on antiques. The
prices here are much cheaper than in other Asian cities.
