You can cover all the shopping destinations, from the world’s largest weekend market, Chatuchak (BTS Morchit stop) to King Power Duty Free Shop (BTS Victory Monument), to Siam Paragon and Siam Center (BTS Siam Square), MBK (BTS: National Stadium), and on to CentralWorld, Gaysorn, Erawan and Amarin shopping centers as well as a little farther off, Platinum Mall and Pratunam (BTS Chidlom), Terminal 21 (Asoke), EmQuartier and EmDistrict (BTS: Phrom Phong) and even up to the BITEC (BTS: Bangna), where regular shopping fairs are held. And that’s just one BTS line. Many hotels are situated right to the shopping districts and they are great for shopaholics. The variety of items and products you can purchase is even more staggering, ranging from arts and antiques to international brand-name fashion apparels and accessories. Thai products – from jewelry and precious stones to Thai silk – are popular splurging choices, of course as the international fashion world becomes more interested in the country’s high-quality gems and jewelry products, and Thai silk becomes favored by many international fashion designers, from Beijing to Paris, from New York to Milan, from Tokyo to London.
Chatuchak
The Chatuchak Weekend Market is the largest market in Thailand. Also known as JJ Market, it has more than 8,000 stalls, divided into 27 sections. The market, opened in 1982, remains a favorite of both Bangkok tourists and locals; and it is said that you can find everything that Thailand produces and more from here.
Location: 587/10 Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd, Chatuchak
Pratunam
From rainy, cool to hot, the weather in Bangkok rarely ever falls below the 20- degree mark; making it the best place to stroll around and take in the sights. If you’re looking or a steal, head on to the Pratunam Market (Ratchaparop and Petchburi roads), a 24-hour wholesale market is the best place to nab a bargain. Bangkok shopping inevitably means more choices for clothing purchases and shoppers are spoilt for choice. Be it chic ensembles from local designers, a tailor-made suit from bespoke tailors, or wholesale deals in Pratunam, Bangkok has you covered. Weaving through narrow alleys, you’ll get to experience shopping, before air-con, personal shoppers or luxury brands. How to get there: The easiest way is to take the BTS skytrain from your destination and get off at Chidlom Station. From there, you can walk to Pratunam, or take a motorcycle or bus.
JJ Green Market
Right behind the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market (also called JJ Market) is the JJ Green market, a popular vintage night market. JJ Green is a community mall during the day but when dusk falls especially during weekends, it transforms into a night market that locals call “Siam Gypsy Market.” The market selection includes a mix of clothes, crafts, accessories, retro collectables, antiques and second hand items, but there’s really all kinds of items available here. Of late, this night market has become filled with bars, live bands, vendors and street artists, adding a special flavor the any hangout time. How to get there: From BTS Morchit (or MRT Chatuchak), walk through Chatuchak Park to Kampaeng Phet 3, turn right and walk for about 200m until you see the big ‘JJ Green’ sign on the left hand side.
Pahurat
Considered the cultural heart of the Indian diaspora in Thailand, Pahurat is the place to go for bolts of fabrics, some made in Thailand but most woven in India, as well as ready-to-wear pieces and more notions than anyone could ever know what to do with. Pahurat is in Chinatown (Yaowarat).
Amarin Plaza
The five-storey shopping plaza draws in a mixed crowd – from affluent Thais to expats and business travelers because of the diverse offerings it offers. Location: 496-502 Ploenchit Rd, Ratchaprasong Square (BTS: Chidlom)/ Tel: 02 256 9111
Asiatique The Riverfront
From a once-bustling international trade port, the area now known as Asiatique has been transformed into a combination of a mall and a night bazaar. With more than 1,500 boutiques and 40 restaurants housed under a huge replica warehouse complex, here is something everybody here. Foodies can enjoy at the restaurants and bars; and those looking for some entertainment can enjoy nightly shows such as the Calypso Cabaret, Thai puppets performance, and Muay Thai Live.
Location: Chareonkrung Soi 74-76
Central Chidlom
A seven-storey department store with modern, friendly ambience. Well-stocked, each floor has a straightforward layout dedicated to urban lifestyles, including beauty products, shoes, handbags, lady’s fashion, men’s fashion, home décor, travel, toys, electronic gadgets, books and more. Location: Corner of Ploenchit and Lang Suan roads
(BTS: Chidlom)
Central Embassy
Opened since May 9, 2014, this giant futuristic building is home to eight floors of designer brands and unique boutiques as well as plenty of exclusive restaurants. Also attached is the six star Park Hyatt Hotel, which rises 37 floors above the city. Entertainment comes in the form of the most exclusive cinema in the city. All these delights are housed inside a brushed silver casing, the curved roof rising at one end to incorporate the hotel. Architecturally it stands out, more sci-fi than shopping, and adding another destination to the mile of Siam malls, which runs from MBK to here. Location: Ploenchit Road, Bangkok (BTS: Ploenchit)
Central Rama 9
The seven-story shopping plaza houses some 300 shops, plus restaurants, cafés, SFX Cineplex, The Rink Ice Arena and anchor stores such as B2S, Power Buy, Uniqlo, and Robinson Department Store. Occupying a prime location at the intersection of Rama IX and Ratchadapisek Roads, Central Plaza Rama 9 has direct access to the MRT underground’s Rama IX Station at the basement level. Location: Corner of Rama IX and Ratchadapisek roads
Centralworld
A mega-shopping complex that offers one of the most exciting shopping experiences in Bangkok. It has everything from brand name clothing boutiques, funky fashion, high-tech gadgets, bookshops and designer furniture to imported groceries, a lineup of banks, beauty salons, gourmet eateries and even an ice-skating rink. Location: Ratchaprasong Intersection, opposite Gaysorn and Erawan (BTS Chidlom)
Crystal Design Center (CDC)
CDC’s vast 100,000sqm area – the size of 14 standard football pitches – comprises eight buildings, set on a landscaped ground dubbed the ‘sculptural park’. As a one-stop shopping mall, it offers everything imaginable in the realm of product design, from lighting, fitting materials, tiles, windows, doors-to-furniture and home accessories. Apart from iconic designer brands (e.g. Philippe Starck and the like) and imported collections, the CDC Weekend Market features locally designed items that cater to those with smaller wallets. Location: 1420/1 Praditmanutham Rd; Tel: 02 101 5999
Digital Gateway
A digital lifestyle center displaying the latest IT gadgets as well as hosting IT-related events and activities. Contrary to other IT malls around Bangkok, Digital Gateway has no counterfeit products; so, don’t come looking for them here. Location: Ploenchit Road (between Siam Square Soi 3 and 4, with direct access from BTS Siam exit 2)
EmQuartier Bangkok
EmQuartier stands tall on the opposite side of Emporium Shopping Mall on Sukhumvit Road. Expect to find a long list of designer brands as well as a distinctly futuristic design with dozens of restaurants, offices, event halls and a cool atrium garden – complete with a waterfall. Location: 637 Sukhumvit Rd, Bangkok (BTS Phrom Phong)
Emporium
Seven layers of shopper’s paradise, with the first three floors dedicated solely to fashion. Exclusive world-class brand names dominate the ground floor, hot international designer items, leather and jewelry the first floor, and glamorous garb for the young and trendy, the second.
Location: Sukhumvit Soi 24/26 (BTS: Phrom Phong)
Esplanade
The Esplanade is a seven-storey shopping and entertainment complex with an innovative ‘artetainment’ concept. Location: Ratchada Road (MRT Thailand Cultural Center)
Erawan Bangkok
A five-storey space covering about 13,000sqm, it’s a boutique mall that offers a selection of only the most elegant lifestyle brands. Location: 494 Ploenchit Rd, Ratchaprasong Junction (BTS Chidlom)
Gateway Ekamai
This mall aims to offer an alternative shopping experience from the other cookie-cutter centers across Bangkok. The mall is meant to epitomize the Japanese lifestyle that Thai people embrace readily with a mix of restaurants, clothes stores, health and beauty shops, as well as an edutainment center, a large IT zone and a 24-hour supermarket.
Location: Sukhumvit, BTS Ekkamai
Gaysorn
A luxurious, upmarket white marble and gleaming chrome complex housing exclusively high-end luxury goods and designer labels, Haysorn boasts a contemporary design and an innovative retail concept. Location: 999 Ploenchit Rd, Ratchaprasong Junction Tel: +66 (0) 2656 1149
IKEA Bangkok
IKEA, the world-famous Swedish furniture brand, brings its sleek minimalist design to Thai homes. Its 43,000sqm warehouse and showroom space on Bangna-Trad Road displays more than 7,500 furniture and home décor accessories for bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens outdoors and much more. Location: Bangna-Trad Highway (km. 8)
MBK
The multi-storey MBK 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 DVDs. Location: Pathumwan Intersection, diagonally opposite Siam Discovery Centre (BTS National Stadium)
King Power Duty Free Mall
Part of Pullman King Power Bangkok Hotel, this modern glass-and-steel mall offers two floors of exclusive duty-free shopping. All purchased items can be picked up at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on departure date. Location: Soi Rang Nam near Victory Monument) (BTS Victory Monument)
K Village
Set on an expansive 24,000sqm area next to Carrefour Rama IV (inside Sukhumvit Soi 26), K Village’s two open-air buildings house some 100 air-conditioned shops divided into five zones: Fashion & Accessories, Café & Restaurants, Health & Beauty, Lifestyle & Technology and Gourmet Market. A major highlight of K Village is its dining zone, and the place is usually packed with diners on weekend evenings. Location: Sukhumvit Soi 26 (BTS Phrom Phong)
Mega Bangna
Located half way between Suvarnabhumi International Airport and the centre of Bangkok, Mega Bangna is a 35,000sqm low rise shopping mall is mainly known as the home of IKEA, attracting a huge crowd of ‘Do It Yourself’ home decorators. This is not a high-end shopping mall for tourists but a very convenient escape for locals and residents. Location: Bangna-Trad Road
Palladium World
Located on the corner of Petchaburi Road and Ratchaprarop, an area is already known for wholesale shopping at Platinum Fashion Mall, electronics Mecca Pantip Plaza and the frantic, all-day and all-night experience of Pratunam Market found just across the road. Location: Petchaburi Road, Pratunam
Paradise Park
Paradise Park brings high street shopping and contemporary lifestyle to eastern Bangkok. It has five floors, with over 700 retail shops, a Cineplex with digital and 3D screens as well as large floor spaces dedicated to modern Thai fashion, IT gadgets, food, banking, home décor and wellness. Location: Srinakarin Road
Golden Place Plaza
This exclusive center, catering mainly toward expats, moneyed Thais and business class travelers, exudes an air of old-world charm. Various leisurely eateries and cafes are scattered throughout. Location: Ratchadamri between Grand Hyatt Erawan and The Regent (BTS Ratchadamri)
Platinum Fashion Mall
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 specializing 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. Location: Petchburi Road infront of Amari Watergate Hotel
Pratunam Center
Pratunam Centre is a four-storey shopping complex targeting the bargain-happy teenagers and young workers by offering cheaper Chinese import product. Location: Intersection of Rajprarop and Petchburi roads
Rivercity
River City is a four-storey mall overlooking sweeping views of the Chao Phraya River. It specializes in antiques and collectibles, with monthly on-site and online auctions, although there’s also a good range of fashion and jewelry shops as well as riverside eateries with outdoor dining terraces. Location: Charoen Krung Soi 30 (next to the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel)
Seacon Square
Seacon Square, a 96 football-field sized entertainment center, is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest malls.
Location: Srinakarin Road (midway between On Nut Road and Bangna-Trad Road) (BTS: Take a taxi from On Nut station)
Siam Center
Siam Center may have been around for over 40 years, but it is still enlightening and surprising its customers with cutting-edge, unusual fashion. Location: Siam (BTS Siam Square)
Siam Discovery
Siam Discovery offers the most pleasant and leisurely shopping experience of any of the major shopping malls in Bangkok thanks to its sophisticated concept of how it presents the items on display. Location: Next to Siam Centre (BTS Siam)
Siam Paragon
Siam Paragon is an immensely popular shopping mall housing a host of international high-end fashion brands, Southeast Asia’s largest aquarium, a 16-screen Cineplex, and a comprehensive selection of world cuisine. It is considered by many tourists to be the center of Bangkok.
Location: Siam (BTS Station)
Silom Complex
Owned by the Central Group, it is smaller than other shopping centers around Bangkok but still offers a nice variety of international and local boutiques as well as the multi-leveled Central Department Store.
Location: Silom (BTS Sala Daeng)
Terminal 21
Terminal 21 brings the dream of traveling the world to downtown Bangkok, with its cutting-edge concept that places several world-famous cities under one roof.
Location: Sukhumvit Road between Soi 19 and 21 (MRT Sukhumvit/BTS Asok with direct access via skywalk.
