Bangkok: Shopper’s Paradise

Without a doubt, Bangkok is a shopper’s paradise. The city has spacious markets and luxurious malls to cater to anyone’s interests. From high-end retailers to electronics to flowers and produce, the shopping scene in Bangkok is nothing short of magnificent. If you’re planning to visit the city, here are five shopping hubs that you can’t miss.

1. Chatuchak Weekend Market  

The Chatuchak weekend market is the largest marketplace in Thailand. Also referred to at Jatujak (or JJ), this marketplace boasts over 15,000 different vendor stalls. Visitors can find almost anything that they’re looking for with products ranging from antiques to animals and everything in between. Open every Saturday and Sunday, the Chatuchak weekend market attracts over 200,000 visitors each day. This is the perfect place for someone who is looking for handmade items and some potentially great deals. Tourists taking public transport can easily reach the market by taking the Skytrain to the Mochit Station – the market is just a few minutes’ walk away.

2. CentralWorld 

CentralWorld is another of Bangkok’s most impressive shopping centers. Originally named the World Trade Center, this complex boasts an eight-story, 550,000 square meter (nearly 6 million square foot) mall, a 45-story office building and the Centara Grand hotel. The mall includes major department stores such as Isetan and Zen Mega Store, electronics stores, grocery stores and even an indoor ice skating rink. Divided into six different “zones”, the mall delivers a number of unique shopping experiences all in one place. CentralWorld is located right in downtown Bangkok and is within walking distance from some of the best hotels in the city.

3. Pantip Plaza

If you have a strong interest in computers and electronics, Pantip Plaza may be your vision of paradise. Although it might not be the most architecturally stimulating building in Bangkok from the outside, inside you will find five floors of nothing but electronics and accessories. Featuring two major tenants, IT City and Data IT, Pantip Plaza also boasts countless other smaller vendors hocking computers, tablets and cameras, along with a myriad of other products and accessories. Computer software and DVDs are also popular products at the mall, with illegally pirated copies being found throughout. Situated near the CentralWorld plaza, visitors not staying downtown find it easiest to take the Skytrain to the Chit Lom Station and then then taking a taxi for the remainder of the short 1.1km trip.

4. Siam Paragon 

For the upscale shopper, Siam Paragon is the place to go. This shopping complex has it all – a multiplex movie theater, a concert hall and even the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia.

Some of the most luxury brands in the world can be found to have locations at the Siam Paragon, including:

• Giorgio Armani
• Prada
• Hermès
• Dolce & Gabbana
• Bvlgari

One the ground level, Siam Paragon has an 8,000 square meter (roughly 86,000 square feet) international grocery store with products from all over Europe and Asia. Using the Skytrain makes getting to Siam Paragon a piece of cake – simply get off at the Siam Station and the entrance to the mall will be right in front of you.

5. Pak Khlong Talat Flower Market 

The Pak Khlong Talat flower market is one for the early risers – the best products arrive prior to dawn and are awaited by a large number of buyers. Can’t make it out that early? That’s alright, because Pak Khlong Talat is open twenty-four hours a day with a steady flow of fresh flowers and produce. A diverse range of products come into the market from all over Thailand, giving shoppers a unique array of choices. The market is easy to find once you arrive by boat to the Memorial Bridge pier. Once you exit the pier turn to your left, and a very short walk will put you in front of Pak Khlong Talat.

Just the Right Bangkok Shopping Experience!

For most visitors, even eager shoppers, there are more unique shopping experiences in Bangkok than can be seen in a handful of visits to the city. No matter what you are looking for, there is bound to be a marketplace for you. You can find rock-bottom prices on computer equipment at Pantip Plaza during the day, ice skate at Central World in the evening and then shop for some of the world’s most beautiful flowers at Pak Khlong Talat in the middle of the night. The city of Bangkok is considered by many to be a shopper’s paradise, and with the strong numbers of visitors the city’s malls have seen, the scene is likely to continue to evolve in the future.

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Images Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

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