Bangkok! volume 1

Sawadee Krap!

It's been a long time since i last update my blog. Had been feeling bad about it. But nevertheless, I went to Bangkok recently and went for a mega shopping! Bought alot of nice clothes, shoes, accessories and gifts.

For people who are planning to go to Bangkok for shopping trip, i hope this post helps!

Staying in Bangokok

Probably one of the toughest decision to make, where exactly to stay! Alot of hotels are strategically located near popular shopping places. But the good thing is, accommodation in Bangkok is pretty cheap! So it's actually not much of a worry to choose which hotel to stay in as long as they are all located near the heart of the city. A friend introduced me to this hotel called Bangkok City Hotel which i stayed in and i find it pretty good!

Bangkok City Hotel is newly opened in 14 Dec 2010. That explains why everything is almost new and comfortable. This 3.5 star hotel is only sg$40 per night with breakfast provided every morning, comes with free internet wifi and indoor swimming pool! Cheap right! Except for the breakfast, it's almost the same every morning with minor changes only to the menu. But considering the price, it's all worth it!



For more info or bookings with the hotel, you can visit:
http://www.bangkokcityhotel.com/index.html

Shopping in Bangkok

Within walking distance from my hotel are Siam Discovery and Siam Paragon shopping centre where they are both located side by side. From a sporty yellow Ferrari to a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes straight from the set of Sex and the City, Siam Paragon is a shopping mall without rival in Southeast Asia when it comes to luxury goods. A place where you can get your Gucci, LV, Dior, etc. Siam Discovery has nothing much except for some restaurants and a wax museum which i did not visit.

If you are not out for some expensive shopping, you might want to look out for shops/stalls outside the shopping mall. They sell very trendy and nice clothes! I had a mad time there buying what i want. It's usually around the evening time the shops are opened and alot of people will be roaming around the shops making it difficult to walk through.

Short-named MBK, the multi-storey Mah Boon Krong is probably Bangkok's most legendary shopping mall, popular with both tourists and locals. Eight floors packed with 2,000 shops that sell everything from clothing, fashion accessories, handbags, leather products and luggage to furniture, mobile phones, electric appliances, cameras, stationery and DVD's. Probably because it's a shopping mall, items there are harder to get discounts. MBK is just a crossover bridge from Siam Discovery and Paragon.

The market of all markets, Chatuchak Weekend Market is the ultimate. It only operates on Saturday and Sunday. Its sheer size and diverse collections of merchandise will bring any seasoned shoppers to their knees – this is where you can literally shop ‘till you drop’. There are so many and i really meant MANY shops around that i need to do 'carpet sweeping' style of shopping to comb every shop to make sure i do not get lost inside and miss out some great shops. There are alot of things for the ladies to buy there. It is actually a bermuda triangle in there. If you are there over the weekends, please make time for this weekend market. I guarantee it will never be a disappointment.

The streets are numbered so it is easy for tourist to navigate through
Some random angmoh taking a picture of me -.-

Thailand's ice milk tea is a must try!

Coconut ice cream <3

I went to the weekend market for 2 days, cause it's almost impossible to finish shopping there in a day. Please go to lane 2 and 3 if you want to find more fashionable clothes. But of course, the prices of the clothes are slightly higher. Anyway it's still cheaper than buying in Singapore and Taiwan. Other than shopping stuffs, you can find good food around too. So it's eat and shop, eat and shop as you go. Don't be surprised, they do sell pets there too! A puppy cost about 10,000 baht. Which is about sg$400+.


Spotted: an incredibly cute dog riding a bike with its owner
Captain Jack Sparrow selling accessories? Thai version.
Caught on cam. This is how you try the pants when the shop does not have its own changing room

A relatively new shopping center in the Petchburi area, Platinum Fashion Mall caters especially to wholesale clothing, selling a similar range of clothing to the Pratunam Market across the street, except in air-conditioned comfort.

The mall has six floors which are filled with small outlets - most of them specialising in women's clothing and fashion accessories. Since this is a wholesale mall, you can get items at very reasonable prices - provided you buy larger quantities, usually three items and up. The price you pay will be about 30% lower per piece. I suggested everybody to go with more friends here. There's a big food court at the top level of the mall.



And the saga continues in the next volume of Bangkok trip!