Shopping in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is visited by millions of tourists each year, and it has become a shopper’s paradise rivalling Singapore and Hong Kong as the shopping destination of the region, thanks to its unique combination of prestigious malls, department stores, local markets, ubiquitous street vendors, and the bustling Sampeng Lane in Chinatown.

Bangkok has many malls scattered across its central area. These range from malls with hundreds of low cost outlets such as the Platinum Fashion Mall, or the famous Mah Boon Krung (MBK), to the luxuriously appointed, high end malls such as Siam Paragon or Gaysorn Plaza. MBK is aimed mainly at the locals, but is also often frequented by foreign tourists in search of bargains. On the other hand, Siam Paragon and Gaysorn Plaza are stuffed with expensive designer shops to attract a wealthier clientele. Most of these malls are designed to keep you fed, watered and entertained in between serious bouts of shopping as they house various entertainment activities such as cinemas, bowling alleys, restaurants, bars and karaoke establishments.

The recently opened Siam Paragon, which is aimed at the high end of the market, offers 5 themed shopping floors entitled Luxury, Fashion, Lifestyle Leisure, Living Technology and the combined floor of Paragon Passage and IT World. Most of the famous designer’ label shops such as Versace, Gucci, Giorgio Armani and Thailand’s very own Jim Thompson are ensconced on either, or in some cases both, of the Luxury or Lifestyle Leisure floors. Additional floors are named Gourmet Paradise which features a wide variety of eating places from expensive restaurants to a food court; Siam Ocean World which is south east Asia’s largest aquarium and Global Entertainment which houses a Cineplex, a bowling alley, the only IMAX and 3D theatre in Thailand with the largest cinema screen in the country. The Royal Paragon Hall is also available for various entertainment events.

CentralWorld, previously known as the World Trade Centre has recently been extended and refurbished. It is now the largest shopping mall in South East Asia and is aimed more towards the mid range shopper. There are hundreds of shops and restaurants as well as the usual entertainment complex which includes a cinema, bowling alley and an ice rink. The department stores Isetan and Zen can also be found within this cavernous mall and the addition of a 5 star hotel in the near future will mean that you never have to leave the place!

MBK is usually