Bangkok, Thailand — Shopping
Shopping in Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok is arguably the best place in Asia for shopping and visitors will be spoilt for choice. The city is also great for bargain hunters and haggling with street vendors is to be expected. Good buys to be found throughout the city include silk items, silver and gold, gems (rubies and sapphires are indigenous to Thailand), pearls, painted umbrellas and fans, ceramics, wickerwork, woodcarvings and leather goods. It is also an ideal place to have clothes made and the quality is of a high standard.
Markets
The Sukhumvit Road area has a street market that runs most of the day but is busiest at night. Apart from the colorful nightlife in Patpong, the area also has a bustling night market. The weekend market at Chatuchak Park, on Phaholyothin Road, sells virtually everything.
Shopping centers
Ploenchit and Rama I roads have several glitzy shopping malls along them with designer brands, restaurants and cinemas. The River City Shopping Complex, adjacent to the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel, has two floors devoted to antiques. Prices are fixed in most department stores but they do frequently offer discounts to interested buyers. Sukhumvit Road has a wide range of silk and gift shops, as well as many tailors.
Key areas
Chinatown is full of gold shops and the nearby cloth market at Phahurat has a huge range of fabrics. Woeng Nakhon Kasem, better known as the ‘Thieves' Market', located between Yaowarat Road and New Road, sells antiques.
Shopping hours
Many stores are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week and the street markets have even longer hours, although some are busier in the mornings and others in the evenings.
Tax information
A Thailand Duty-Free Shop is located in the Downtown Duty Free Mall, King Power Complex, Rangnam Road. Tourists can pay for their purchases here and collect them at the airport immediately prior to departure. Value Added Tax (7%) can be refunded on goods bought in shops labelled ‘VAT refund for tourists’.
