Bangkok Shopping

[sam79london]

Hey,

I'm off to thailand for a couple of weeks tomorrow....

keen to off-load my hard earned dollars but not sure what to expect...

Is the shopping good and is it really that much cheaper than the west?

What are the best bargains to be found?

Any shopping areas I should head for?

Any tips in general?

Thanks for your help!

Sam

sam79london

[Analyst]

Sam,

Thailand is a fun place to shop. Depending on what you are interested in buying, there are several places to check out.

Siam Square (Phloen Chit BTS stop)-small boutiques are arranged around two side streets. Here you'll find tons of denim stores all selling the usual Seven, Diesel, Replay cuts (Diesel is popular with Thai kids and Seven is just now blowing up and harder to find). You'll also find several boutiques selling clothes by Thai designers.

Maboonkong (MBK)-This shopping center is right around the corner from Siam Square. Basically, the MBK center is a massive 6-7 story building with tons of small kiosks/boutiques that sell everything. Denim/cellphones/food/watches/etc. Thai teenagers come here after they get out of school and walk around.

Patpong (Silom Rd)-Basically the red light district of BKK but also lots of kiosks selling Red Bull shirts/fake rolexes/etc. Good place to buy gifts for people back home.

Erawan/Gaysorn Center/Emporium-High end shopping in BKK. Prada, Gucci, Pucci, Cartier and the like. Gaysorn just opened a small boutique called Chloe (if i remember correctly) that carries designers from Europe/US -Marc Jacobs, Seven, Etc. Club 21 (company from Singapore) opened a store in Erawan that carries Y-3, Maharishi, Diesel, etc. Other than the typical stuff you would see in NYC/LA/London, there are also other Thai designer stores here: Grayhound, Soda, come to mind. Go to the Grayhound Cafe for some great food (Thai and Western). Here stores offer 7% Vat refund. Probably cheaper for everyone but me now that the US$ has gone to s***.

Siam Square/Discovery Center-same as above but slightly lower-end. Think Guess Jeans, AX Exchange, Diesel.

Other than that there is the Chatuchuk Market which is supposed to be pretty cool place to shop. Vast market of stores selling housewares, denim, DVDs, etc. I've never been but lots of visiters to Thailand always stop by.

Suun Lum Night Market-small time designers often open shops here. Closes at midnight.

Let me know of any other questions.

[sam79london]

Hey Analyst,

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Just arrived in thailand a couple of hours ago - Jesus it's hot!! - Will hit up Chatuchak today and let you know what I find!

Sam

sam79london

[Analyst]

Cool. Let me know what you find out there.

Chieng Mai in the north is also a great place to visit. Have fun!

[Lex2]

Buy a bespoke suit. They can have one ready for you within a day. Not exactly Savile Row but hey, it's Super 100 wool.

[david66]

Hi,

Do not miss the MBK and Siam Center!

I also like Central Chidlom, I can spend a whole day there!

Cheers

Dave