Shopping

Smart people arrive in Bangkok with empty suitcases and go back with full ones. The reason is that Bangkok is one of the world’s best shopping centres. It has many advantages: quality, cheap prices, skilled artisans and friendly good-natured bargaining. Favourite purchases include Thai silks and cottons, modern and traditional jewellery featuring precious gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds, semi-precious stones including opal, jade, topaz, turquoise and zircon, nielloware, silverware, pewterware, ceramics, specially-fired celadon, woodcarved paintings, custom-tailored clothing and hundreds of other special buys.

There is also the selection of authentic Thai handicrafts and contemporary crafts and housewares from “One Tambon One Product (OTOP)”, a project to promote quality cottage industry goods and folk handicrafts in Thailand. Shopping in Thailand is divided into two types and several areas. Visitors can buy at street stalls and pick up clothing at very cheap prices, (but with no guarantees) or they can buy in plazas, shopping centres and hypermarkets where prices are fixed. Surprisingly, street shopping such as at the Chatuchak Weekend Market often gives good value and quality and the prices are relatively low, although bargaining is expected and carried out with humour and with a smile. Supermarkets, plazas and hypermarkets offer good value too compared to the West. Service is excellent and the establishment often contains cinema complexes and other entertainment areas, including excellent eating out facilities.

Mahesak/Silom/Charoenkrung Road Areas
Besides major hotels including the Shangri-La, the Royal Orchid Sheraton, the Holiday Inn and the Oriental, this area contains a major gemstone-dealing and jewellery manufacturing area and houses boutiques, art galleries, department stores and plazas, including the River City Complex where a wide selection of goods can be found everywhere with an emphasis on antiques, tailored clothing and contemporary Thai and Asian paintings.

Yaowarat is what the Thais call Chinatown and a purely Chinese community has lived here for many years. The inhabitants, of course, consider themselves Thai now and many can no longer speak Chinese, but a look at their faces will tell their origins. It is an interesting place to explore. Two of Chinatown’s symbolic roads are Yaowarat Road leading westwards from near Wat Trimit, and Sampheng Lane,running parallel south of Yaowarat. Busy Yaowarat Road is Chinatown’s main street, and has surely one of the greatest concentrations of gold shops anywhere. There are dozens of shops, all in red and gold, most with competitive prices. Much of the gold is over 99% pure. Thais buy it not only for decorative purposes but also as savings for a rainy day, because gold shops will gladly buy back gold at the daily rate, for a small charge. This area is also famous for fine Chinese food, where you can get bird’s nest soup, dim sum, and other traditional Chinese delicacies. Shops also offer selections of Chinese herbs for sale. The narrow, crammed Sampheng Lane is a very busy predominantly pedestrian street. It is a hive of constant commercial activities, mostly in textiles and cloth, and a fascinating street to walk along.

Phahurat Bombay Market
There is a large Indian minority in Thailand. Merchants have spread out all over Asia from Southern India and many have come to Thailand. Many have arrived to trade the brightly-coloured cloth used to make saris and the beautiful ankle-length dresses Indian women like to wear. In Phahurat Market, on Phahurat Road parallel to Yaowarat Road just west of Chinatown and towards the river, visitors will find a variety of supplies to suit the clothing needs of those Indian ladies and more. The market sells all kinds of cloth from plain white cotton to batik to silk, to cover every need; for cushions, curtains, upholstery coverings, suits, dresses and skirts. Think of the cloth requirements or even the buttons and tassels one needs, and it is a good bet one will find what one wants here. Cloth is sold by the metre, straight from the bolt. It is usually very cheap. Phahurat is a market really worth exploring. Not only is it a cloth centre, but a spice centre as well. As visitors go round the market, they will be aware of that spicy, Indian smell made up of incense, which they can buy here, and of course Indian curry. Visitors can buy incense to lend their living room an exotic atmosphere; search the tiny side streets for spices and other Indian specialties, household goods and shoulder bags in Thai silk.

Sukhumvit Area
This long thoroughfare is Bangkok’s major artery and its major hotels include the Landmark, Ambassador and Sheraton Grande. The major shopping areas are concentrated between Soi Nana (Sukhumvit 3) and Sukhumvit 24 and there is a thriving street market. A variety of shops, shopping centres, plazas and department stores including Robinson and the Emporium (mostly imported brand-name merchandise) offer a great range of choices to buyers. Also, check out H1 on Sukhumvit Soi 55, a very hip place for a trendy lifestyle in Bangkok, which has a shop with imported furniture from Italy , a graphic bookshop, restaurants and home-made ice cream. The area is a group of white buildings surrounded by trees and bushes.

Phloen Chit/Pathumwan Areas
Big-name hotels include the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Arnoma, Regent, Imperial and Novotel. The area has several department stores and shopping centres, including the Central World Plaza, on the 7th floor of which the duty-free shopping outlet is located, Central Chitlom, Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Square, Siam Discovery Centre, and MBK Center. Visitors will certainly find something they take a fancy to.

Suan Lum Night Bazaar
Suan Lum Night Bazaar is located on the east side of Lumphini Park. It is a big new place for shoppers to spend their time and money shopping at night from 5.00 p.m. to 12.00 p.m.
The large area has many restaurants, pubs, beer gardens, and stalls (fashionable clothes, handicrafts and handmade products, mostly OTOP).

There are traditional small Thai puppet shows (Tel. 0 22529683-6) and the BEC-TERO Hall where visitors can catchinternationally famous classical, rock and pop concerts and iceskating shows.

Pratunam/Phetchaburi Road Areas
The area is best known for inexpensive ready-made clothing, which is sold partly in a street market where bargaining is the order of the day. Major hotels include the Amari Watergate and the Indra Regent. A few hundred metres west along Phetchaburi Road from the Amari Watergate Hotel and across the street, is an enormous computer goods establishment called Pantip Plaza for the cyber-connoisseur, devoted to hardware, software and other electronic goods. It offers incredibly good value. This is a place to spend a whole day in, the true Aladdin’s cave for computer geeks.

Not only can visitors buy a brand-name computer and a tailormade computer assembled on the spot with very low prices, but they can also buy second-hand computers and have their computer repaired for a very reasonable price. As in all Thai plazas, there is good food to eat, too. www.pantipplaza.com Also in this area is Baiyoke Tower II, the highest edifice in Bangkok with buffet restaurants on the 77th and 78th floors that offer a spectacular panorama of the city. Around its base, there are many small markets and shopping streets to explore.

Banglamphu
Near the river exists this lively market and commercial area favoured by locals for its good bargains; however, over the last twenty years, it has become famous for Khao San Road, where backpackers and budget travellers have found a home away from home. The road has gone more upscale in recent years, however, and now has a Boots and Burger King.

Although the street is not very long, Khao San Road is extremely interesting with people from all over the world examining the market stalls, looking for accommodation, eating in cheap restaurants and using cyber cafes. This is where you can buy second-hand books and cheap clothing, reserve a really inexpensive hotel or guesthouse, or just sit in an open-air restaurant watching people go by and guessing where they come from. In the evenings, loud music takes over and during the Songkran water festival, visitors will not escape a soaking. It is a good humoured friendly place and well worth visiting.
Website: www.khaosanroad.com

Bo Be Market
This well-known clothing market opens at 10.00 a.m. and is situated along Krung Kasem Road, near Saphan Khao and the Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation on the therefore, bargaining is necessary if one is preparing to buy large quantities.

Pak Khlong Talat
This market is at the base of Phra Buddha Yodfa Bridge along Chakrawat Road. Also known as the “flower market”, most people come to buy flowers from lilies, carnations, roses, daisies to orchids, and so on. Vendors can arrange beautiful bouquets for every occasion.

Chatuchak Weekend Market
Located near the Bangkok Bus Terminal (Mo Chit II), this enormous weekend market, hugely popular with local and foreign shoppers is open every weekend from dawn to dusk approximately 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Chatuchak Weekend Market is a Bangkok landmark where visitors can buy just about everything from all over Thailand, ranging from clothing to pets and everything in between - a paradise for browsers and bargain-hunters. It is also where professional and amateur art-lovers and artists meet.

Thewet Market
Reachable by the river taxi, as well as road transport, this market is best known for potted plants and shrubs.

Langkrasuang Market
Between the Royal Hotel and the Ministry of Interior, a row of shop-houses sell moderately priced second-hand goods, like antique cameras, typewriters, musical instruments, radios and all manner of electrical goods. Bargaining is recommended.

Woengnakhon Khasem
Better known as the “Thieves Market”, located between Yaowarat Road and Charoenkrung Road, this area sells antiques including Thai and Chinese objets d’art, porcelain, brassware, copperware and furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Bargaining is essential.