What to Buy and Where to Shop in Bangkok
Shopping in Bangkok is an experience to thrill and delight the most discerning of shoppers - whatever it is you're looking for. From the gleaming chrome and towering size of modern, air-conditioned malls, to the hustle and bustle of its famously buzzing street markets, Bangkok has all kinds of places to blow your baht. With everything from antiquities and the latest pair of trainers to designer jewellery available, Bangkok has an equally exhaustive, and potentially exhausting, variety of things to buy.
Don't miss our 'Shopper's Survival Guide'with lots of useful tips, and vote for your favourite in our interactive'Top 10 Shopping Experiences in Bangkok' feature. Whatever you choose to purchase, and wherever you may want to pursue it, be sure to polish your bargaining skills and sport a big smile – an important 'tool' to help you fetch the best prices.
Top 10 Shopping Experiences
The winners
The variety of shopping experiences in Bangkok goes far beyond a stroll in a mall or a morning spent browsing a market. Shopping in Bangkok is a day-and-night activity that runs parallel with the best in the West, while also giving a flavour of the cultural uniqueness of the East. Work your way through these ten entirely different experiences, and you’ll soon come to realize why Bangkok is such a famous shopping hub. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite! |
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 | | The market of all markets, Chatuchak Weekend Market is the ultimate. You will be amazed by its sprawling size, but perhaps even more so by the unbelievable variety of wares. Stumble across anything from vinyl records, beads, suits of armor to a live seahorse! Haggling is allowed; in fact, it is encouraged. Just do so politely. Possibly the most exhilarating, chaotic and lively shopping experience that can be had anywhere in the world. | | |
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 | | In a city blessed with some of the world’s most sumptuous malls, how do you choose? Do you want bargains galore? Go to MBK. After the biggest and most trendy? CentralWorld is your ticket. How about classy? Make your way to The Emporium. Of course, if glamour makes you go wobbly at the knees, you will already have found Siam Paragon – the epitome of high-class Bangkok. | | |
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 | | In most cities nighttime means closing time. Not so, here in Bangkok. Come dusk, Khao San Road teems with unkempt travel wear. And Patpong Market’s tarpaulin covered stalls – each brimming with counterfeits or exotica - don’t even kick into life until the area’s office workers are tucked up in bed. Just two examples, among several, of Bangkok’s love affair with the after-dark shop. | | |
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 | | This is an excursion all of its own for the young at heart. If modish describes your style, ZEN will blow you away! ZEN, proclaiming itself to be the ‘largest lifestyle trend megastore’ takes up a big section of the very big CentralWorld, consisting of six floors of urban youth orientated delights. Also in the category of funky, places like Manga, Q Concept and Fly Now on the ground floor of CentralWorld, turn shopping into a multi-dimensional experience. | | |
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 | | For the most comprehensive overview of traditional Thai crafts, OTOP is an excellent starting point. Here you can appreciate the spirit, effort and pride that go into the making of these products, coming to you from all the corners of Thailand. Other places to pick up quality handicrafts in Bangkok are the Narayana Phand Pavillion and Chitralada shops. | | |
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 | | Imagine a place full of quality items, both imported and domestic; a place where shop-hopping is obsolete, and every ilk – fashionista, bargain hunter, or house-wife – is catered for. Nice isn’t it? Well in Bangkok they are called department stores. Open-plan, and spread over many gleaming floors, these retail realms offer the opposite of street commerce – they’re calm and whisper quiet. They’re also not shy about price slashing. | | |
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 | | There is something oddly kitsch, charming and nostalgic about Bangkok’s Chinatown. Walking through the many little streets you might find yourself in a market, a shophouse-lined backstreet or a crowded space jam-packed with hawkers of every ilk. Along with many gold shops, you’ll also find sacks of roasted chestnuts, sequins, feather boas, eccentric virility boosters and martial art weapons. | | |
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 | | An aspiring techno-geek? Then Pantip Plaza is your heaven on earth. Looking for a new mobile, notebook or the latest gadget? That’s right, Pantip. Packed from floor to ceiling with stalls and shops selling all kinds of computer and electronic paraphernalia, make sure to allow enough time to explore this bustling, indoor IT mall. | | |
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 | | Among the many fresh produce markets in Bangkok, the jewel without a doubt is the Pak Khlong Talad Flower Market. The colours, fragrances of jasmine and the sight of garland weavers busily at work makes for a dazzling sensory experience. Prepare yourself for a really late-night experience, but one worth staying up for. | | |
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 | | There is a huge market for reproductions in Bangkok, which can be a collector’s nightmare. If the real thing is what you’re after, you will be interested in OP Place, next to the Oriental Hotel. A historical landmark in its own right, the contents are simply to die for. Close by is the Rivercity complex, equally well-known for prized collectibles. | | |
Credit : http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-top10-experiences/index.html
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