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Though
not as well known for shopping as Hong Kong or
Singapore, Bangkok is actually a great shopping
city, with everything from international retailers
offering haute couture to street vendors selling
"antique" opium pipes and phony Rolex
watches (that may be confiscated -- with no
compensation -- by customs agents). Bangkok's most
popular exports are its lovely silks and silk
products, jewelry, celadon pottery, lacquerware,
masks, carvings and antiques. If a price seems too
steep, chances are you can talk it down. The
language barrier isn't a problem: Every street
vendor carries a calculator, and without a word
spoken, the calculator passes hands sometimes six
or seven times before a settlement is reached.
Treasure hunters won't want to miss the Weekend
Market at Chatuchak Park, on the north end of the
city. Silom Road, near Patpong Road, is a hive of
activity every night.
Antiques
You'll
find an especially large concentration of shops up
and down Silom and Suriwong Roads. Small shops
abound in Chinatown, north of the Grand Palace.
Note: Be very cautious when buying
antiques. Thais are not only famous for their
excellent fakes, but government regulations are
very strict concerning the exportation of genuine
antiques, especially religious items (the export
of Buddha images, old or new, is forbidden). If
you do find something you like and it is
authentic, be prepared for a mountain of
paperwork. Before you can take the item out of the
country, you'll need approval from the Fine Arts
Department, which can take up to a month to
obtain. Some reputable shops provide this service.
The government agency called The Fine Arts
Department is on Na-Pharathat Road, phone
221-7811.
Erawan
Antiques, near the river, sells quality
antique furniture, religious artifacts,
bric-a-brac and reproductions. They're always
willing to discuss the price. Monday-Saturday 9
am-6 pm. 148/9 Surawong Rd., phone 235-8981.
Krishna's
Asian Treasures is a delightful shop
where snarling lions, serene Buddhas and erotic
ladies peek out of every corner. Four floors of
antiques, semi-antiques and reproductions.
Balinese wood carvings, Burmese wall hangings,
Ceylon masks, Indian and Nepalese jewelry, plus
quirky things from local artists. 137/6-7
Sukhumvit Rd., between Soi 9 and 11, phone
253-7693 or 251-6867, fax 253-5792.
At
the River City shopping
complex, many of the shops on the upper
floors specialize in antiques and bronzeware. It's
on the riverside, between the GPO and the Royal
Orchid Sheraton, on Yotha Road. Phone 237-0077.
Art
Galleries
Many
of the finer art galleries are located in upscale
malls, big hotels (where exhibits come and go) and
foreign embassies. Check the daily
English-language newspapers, The Bangkok Post and
The Nation, as well as Metro Magazine, for current
exhibits.
Akko
Collectors' House can usually be
counted on for paintings of good taste and
accomplishment. Monday-Saturday 10 am-7 pm and by
appointment. 919/1 Sukhumvit Rd. (between Soi 49
and Soi 51), phone 259-1436.
About
Cafe & About Studio concentrates on
photography -- the only gallery to do so.
Exhibitors are Thai and resident foreigners. On
occasion, this is a setting for performance art
and alternative bands. Monday-Friday 9 am-6 pm and
by appointment. The cafe is open later and on
weekends. 402-B Matreejit Rd., Pomrap (near
Hualampong Railway Station), phone 623-1742 or
623-1743.
Carpe
Diem Galleries mainly showcase foreign
artists -- Western, Asian and Westerners who are
working in Asia. Daily 10 am-5 pm. 806/1-2
Sukhumvit (Soi Thonglor), phone 714-9903.
Ruang
Pung Art Community provides space for
the most fringey, dissident artists --
installations, performance art, sculpture,
whatever. Not members of the academy. Sometimes
there's alternative music. Saturday and Sunday
only, 11 am-6 pm. Opposite Section 13 in the
Weekend Market, Chatuchak Park, phone 513-7225.
Department
stores
SOGO
Department Store, an outlet of the
Japanese chain, is near the Erawan Shrine, Amarin
Plaza and the Ratchadamri Road intersection.
McDonald's at ground level. Brimful of quality
goods and apparel. Pleasant restaurant, too. Daily
10 am-8 pm. 494 Ploenchit Rd., phone 255-0831.
Robinson
Department Store, near the end of Silom
Road, past Patpong, combines a supermarket (with
garden-fresh vegetables), a restaurant and an
extensive dry-goods area. It's a popular local
hangout as well. Daily 10 am-10 pm. 2 Silom Rd.,
phone 235-0471.
Narayana
Phand isn't quite a department store,
but it's large, government run and sells every
type of traditional handicraft, from nielloware to
basketry. Daily 10 am-8 pm. 127 Ratchadamri Rd.,
across from the World Trade Center, phone
255-4328.
Central
Department Store is a popular shopping
center in the heart of the Silom Business
district. Good quality merchandise with good
prices. Silom Complex, 191 Silom Rd.
Big
C is
relatively new store, found all over Thailand,
with very cheap prices.
Malls
Oriental
Plaza is exclusive, with international
fashions, art galleries and jewelry. Daily 10 am-6
pm. 301 Charoenkrung 38 New Rd. (next to the
Oriental Hotel), phone 236-0411.
Chao
Phraya Tower Shopping Arcade offers
designer boutiques, leather shops, Thai silk shops
and art galleries. Daily 10 am-7 pm. 23
Rongnamkhaeng Lane (next to the Shangri-la Hotel),
phone 237-0077.
On
the other end of town, near the Siam
Inter-Continental and Siam Square, is Siam
Center, a huge complex filled with
restaurants, flower shops and such names as Gucci,
Lanvin and Polo. Daily 10 am-10 pm. 965 Rama I
Rd., phone 251-1890.
Mah
Boon Krong Center (MBK), also next to
Siam Square, is a window on popular culture. (Not
that you'll find much to buy, unless you're
looking for plastic shoes, polyester dresses and
counterfeit watches.) But it's very Thai and
always bustling, while the upscale malls seem to
echo. On the upper floors, dozens of shops are
dedicated to the second-most important status
symbol: the mobile phone (the first being
Mercedes). We recommend the new and used camera
shop, Fotofile, on the ground floor. Daily 10 am-9
pm. Southwest corner of Phyathai and Rama I roads,
phone 217-9111.
Seacon
Square. Few will want to waste an
entire day battling traffic in order to visit this
remote, American-style mall. It's not far from the
BITEC convention center, though, and bibliophiles
will enjoy DK Books, reputedly the biggest
bookstore in Asia. Seacon Square is the only city
structure that's wheelchair accessible. 904
Srinakarin Rd., Prawet, phone 721-8888.
Pantip
Plaza is the ultimate source for
electronics -- a five-story mall with shop after
shop selling computers
and electronic gear. Usually there's
nothing (except pirated software) that can't be
gotten cheaper in Hong Kong and much cheaper in
the U.S., but due to the baht devaluation,
computers and printers are temporarily at bargain
prices. But you must know precisely what you want;
salespeople know nothing about their products. No
demonstrations.
Take
a taxi there. Most shops open around 10 or 10:30
am; and although they're open to 8 pm, don't go
later than 3 pm unless you want to spend hours in
a traffic gridlock. New Petchburi Road between
Phyathai and Ratchaparop Roads (close to Pratuunam
Market and Amaari Watergate Hotel).
The
World Trade Center encompasses many
shops, restaurants and an ice-skating rink. On the
sixth floor are two movie theaters with six
screens, a vegetarian restaurant and Pam-Pam -- a
quiet Internet cafe in a fast-food shop. The
Japanese department store in this center, Isetan,
attracts few shoppers, but its supermarket bears
investigation. Daily 10 am-9 pm. 4 Rajdamri Rd.,
phone 255-9400.
Bookstores
Teck
Heng Bookstore is a great place to
browse: good selection of English- and
foreign-language books on Asian affairs, art,
culture and religion, as well as old maps, prints
and European and U.S. periodicals. Monday-Saturday
10 am-8:30 pm. 1326 New Rd. (between Oriental
Avenue and Silom Road, close to the Oriental,
Shangri-La and Sheraton hotels), phone 234-1836.
Look
for English-language books at the numerous outlets
of Asia Books and
DK Books. Headquarters
shop for Asia Books is at 221 Sukhumvit Rd., phone
252-7277; outlets invariably crop up in glossier
shopping malls. Headquarters for DK Books is at
904 Moo 6, Srinakarin Road at Seacon Square, phone
393-8040. Yes, it's remote, but it's enormous and
boasts books in many languages and on many Asian
subjects.
Foreign-language
books are expensive in Thailand. If you want to
grab one or two good secondhand ones, go to Elite
Book House. They also carry lots of
English-language periodicals. Monday-Saturday 10
am-5 pm. Past Villa Supermarket, near Soi 33,
593/5 Sukhumvit Rd., phone 258-0221.
A
half-dozen shops and stalls on Kaosan
Road in Banglampoo are good sources for
used books, mostly paperbacks. Buy, sell or
exchange books
in English, Japanese and European languages. Open
daily roughly 10 am-9 pm.
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