Bangkok Shopping

Banglamphu Market
Banglamphu Market extends over Phra Sumen Road, Chakrapong Road and others nearby. Despite it's proximity to touristy Khao San Road, this is still mainly a market frequented by locals to buy clothes, household accessories etc...

Hotels In Banglumpoo Area

Bangrak Market
Bangrak Market, on Charoen Krung Road near the Shangri-La Hotel. It's not solely a flower market though - meat, seafood, fruit and clothes are all also on sale here. Prices are reasonable for Bangkok, and very cheap for this rather exclusive neighborhood. Also on Charoen Krung Road is the stamp market, which takes place next to the GPO (General Post Office) on Sundays only.

Bo-Bae Market
Bo-Bae Market, located where Klong San Sab meets Krung Kasem Road. It is a well known to be the center of wholesale clothes and textiles market with cheap prices. For over 30 years, now Bo-Bae Market has revolutionized the garment wholesale business. There are well over 700 shops all under one roof making Bo-Bae Market the biggest garment wholesale center in Thailand. The complex is owned and managed by Prommaharaj Land Development Co., Ltd.

Charoen Krung (New Road)
Si Phraya/Mahesak Road, western end of Silom Road
On Si Phraya Road, near the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, is the 4 storey River City Shopping Complex. This is home to a large number of prestigious art and antiques shops and prices are not surprisingly, very high. It has several good restaurants which are reasonably priced though, and give impressive views over the Chao Phraya river. Oriental Plaza, part of thee Oriental Hotel, is another very upmarket shopping arcade and the shops here mostly sell art, antiques, handicrafts and clothes. Also around here is a street market, selling fake and cheap clothes, cheap handicrafts etc. It's pretty similar to the stalls on Sukhumvit Road. There are many bronzeware shops along Charoen Krung Road (New Road) and the western end of Silom Road. Quality is generally high, as are the prices - many shops here also have stalls at Chatuchak Weekend Market, and it is much cheaper to buy there.

Chatuchak Weekend Market
Though there are many markets throughout Bangkok, Chatuchak Weekend Market is still pretty much the undisputed king of them all. The scale of it is pretty unbelievable - it covers an area of 70 rai (35 acres), contains more than 15,000 shops and stalls, has over 200,000 visitors each day. The range of products on sale is extensive and includes household accessories, handicrafts, religious artifacts, art, antiques, live animals, books, music, clothes, food, plants flowers and etc. The published opening hours for the market are from 09:00am to 18:OOpm on Saturday and Sunday. Chatuchak is also open on Friday as a market for wholesalers, but there is no problem doing normal shopping on this day either (same opening times). The Garden Plants section is also open on Wednesday and Thursday from 07:OOam to 18:OOpm. Chatuchak always gets very hot and humid during the day, and it's far from the most comfortable shopping experience but for most people the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Going early in the day when it is a bit cooler is recommended. BTS : Mor Chit Station

Chinatown
Lying south of Dusit and Banglamphu, Chinatown is one of the oldest areas of Bangkok as Chinese merchants were originally moved to this area in the early 1780's when Bangkok was founded. In this chaotic area, the hustle and bustle of Chinese hawkers, vendors and peddlers will amaze you as you browse through the shops and market stalls. Even though the area is known for its variety in traditional Chinese herbs, medicines, gold shops and textiles are also available here.

Hotels In Chinatown

- Grande Ville Hotel
- White Orchid Hotel

Khao San Road
About 10 minutes walk north of Sanam Luang (in Koh Rattanakosin), is Khao San Road. This is home to a very lively traveler's scene, and a mass of budget accommodation is available. A extensive market with a huge range of goods, from cheap clothes to Thai handicrafts, as well as many inexpensive restaurants make it a interesting experience. Despite serving as a weigh station for backpackers all over the world, the nearby backstreets retain a genuinely Thai feeling, much more than Bangkok's other main tourist accommodation areas like Sukhumvit and Silom.

Hotels In Khaosan Area

Klong Thom Market
Always congested but ever popular, Klong Thom's charm is unrefined, yet undeniably worthwhile. Second-hand goods are always valued at this old-fashioned flea market, regardless of their condition. Hardware and electrical appliances are Klong Thom's major commodities. It seems everything can be put on sale here. No need to spend your money, a troll around Klong Thom could be an experience in itself.

Pahurat Market
Pahurat Market is in 'Little India' next to Chinatown. It's basically a wholesale market for textiles, and there's a wide selection of all sorts of fabrics, sarongs, and clothes available from all over Asia. The Old Siam Plaza is north of Pahurat and has many gun shops in the area, as well as a handicrafts market.

Pak Klong Talad
Pak Klong Talad is a very large and busy wholesale market for fresh flowers and vegetables. Many flower vendors throughout the city buy their stock here at night and sell it the following morning. It's best to go between 02:OOam and 04:OOam when boats on the Chao Phraya River and trucks from nearby provinces arrive with large quantities of flowers, vegetables, spices, and fruits. These all are piled high inside the market and along nearby streets, making the market very photogenic, though the smell given off by some off the produce can be quite overpowering. The market takes place where Klong Lord meets the Chao Phraya river, next to the Memorial Bridge on the northeastern edge of Chinatown. To get here, either walk south on Maharat Road from Wat Pho, take a river taxi to Tha Saphan Phut or ask a taxi to go to bpahk klong dta-laht (Pak Klong Market) or sa-pahn put (Memorial Bridge). The wholesale market is mainly near the river, the cheap normal market in small streets nearby. Ordinary buses 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 21, 37, 42 and 82 all pass nearby. The market finishes by about 10:00am. Also nearby is the Memorial Bridge Night Market, a large all-purpose market night market with very cheap prices if you bargain.

Patpong Night Market
Patpong Night Market is very popular with tourists, but there's no real good reason why. It's got the same combination of souvenirs, fake brand name items and cheap clothes as in any tourist area in the city, but prices are way over the going rate. Bargaining very hard is essential to get a good deal, and the touts for the go-go bars for which Patpong is most famous can be aggressive. Patpong is between Silom and Surawongse Roads, and any taxi driver will know it. BTS Saladaeng Station.

Hotels In Pattong Area

Penang Market
Located in the Klong Toey port district, clothes, food , and especially TVs, stereos and other electrical goods are on sale here. Prices are much cheaper than in department stores and shopping centers due to the fact that most of the products have "fallen" off ships coming into the port, and so haven't been taxed. Check anything you plan to buy very carefully , because all purchases are on an 'as is' basis. Any receipts or guarantees you may be offered are just about worthless.

Ploenchit/Rama I/ Ratchadamri Road
This area, east from the top of Sukhumvit Road, is a modern and fashionable shopping district with several large shopping centers. This area includes the 8 storey Central World Plaza which houses the Zen and lsetan Department Stores, Central Chidlom Department Store, Tokyu Department Store, Sogo, Narayana Phand Handicrafts Store, and the expensive and very upmarket Gaysorn Plaza, Peninsula Plaza, Promenda Decor and Amarin Plaza.

Pratunam Market
Pratunam Market is situated by the intersection of Ratchaprarop and Petchburi Roads, very near to the Amari Watergate Hotel. It is perhaps the best place in Bangkok to buy cheap clothes, fabrics and textiles. Wholesalers and exporters buy here, as well as individual consumers. The market is not on the main road, look for the entrances that lead to it behind the shops.

Hotels in Pratunam Area

Ratchadaphisek Road
This is quite a large commercial district, with many shops including branches of Robinsons Department Store, Tokyu, Jusco, Yaohan and others. Also in the area is the showroom of the Department of Export Promotion, an organization serving businesses interested in exporting Thai products.

Hotels In Ratchada Area

Sampeng Lane
Narrow Sampeng Lane (also known as Soi Vanit) in Chinatown is an interesting place to wander down, and has a colorful history involving mur ders, drug sales, gang wars and prostitution. Nowadays, it's operates less dangerously as a wholesale market, though you're not likely to find much that you want to buy. Items offered for sale include fabrics, textiles, preserved food, household and kitchen accessories, spices, cheap toys, etc. It's obviously a good place for any sort of Chinese specialty and prices are cheap, though bargaining skills are essential. It's worth going just for the experience -it's amazingly busy and every possible space is used with street vendors setting up shop anywhere they can. Since it is always crowded, pickpockets abound- so don't take too much money with you, just in case.

Silom/Surawongsei Rama IV Road
This is Bangkok's main business and commercial district, but it's really only an average shopping area. The larger hotels, such as the Dusit Thani, Narai and the Montien, have shopping arcades, but these are expensive for what they offer. Also in this area there is the Silom Complex Department Store, a branch of Central next door to it, another branch of Central not far away, Robinson's Department Store, the Charn Issara Tower, the upscale Thaniya Plaza shopping center and many very good silk, antique, and clothes shops. Silom Village, near soi 24, is a complex of small shops selling antiques and traditional handicrafts.

Hotels In Silom Area

Sukhumvit Road
Though the western end of Sukhumvit Road (between soi 1 to 33) has a lot of foreigners, both tourists and residents, it is not an especially great place for shopping. There are quite a few tourist shops (cheap tailors, camera shops and etc.), and up to around soi 11, there are street stalls selling fake clothes, handicrafts and other similar merchandise. On soi 5 is a popular branch of the Foodland Supermarkets, a branch of the Robinson's Department Store chain is attached to the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel (between soi 17 and 19), and Times Square Shopping Plaza is just opposite it across the street. There is also the Ploenchit Center near soi 2, and the Ambassador Hotel and Landmark Hotel Shopping Arcades, but none are particulary inspiring compared to elsewhere in the city. The new and very upmarket Emporium Shopping Center on soi 24 has many quality designer labels, but it's not a cheap place to shop by any means. Further along Sukhumvit Road, in the Phrakanong district around soi 71, is a better shopping area but it's not much visited by tourists. There are shopping centers and a market, and prices are cheap. The Bangna branch of the department stores is located all the way down near soi 103

Hotels In Sukhumvit Road Area

Thieves Market
Nakhon Kasem, known in English as the Thieves Market, is a second hand market for Thai and Chinese antiques (though most, if not all, are fake) and pawn shop goods, porcelain, brass, furniture, musical instruments and similar items. It's really past it's best now, and is not a particularly inspiring place to shop as many of the better deals have left for more profitable locations. The name comes from the fact that once upon a time this was where stolen goods would turn up, but it's you're unlikely to find anything illegitimate today. Bargain hard. Selling similar types of goods is the Lang Krasuang Market, on Atsadang Road in Banglamphu.