How to Plan to Shop in Bangkok

Bangkok's captivating shopping scene not only includes high-end designer labels at amazing prices. It also offers inviting sights, sounds, and smells of its rich culture through its traditional weekend and night markets that provide more than a simple shopping experience. Here are some tips on how you can plan a shopping trip to Bangkok in a day.

Morning

If you're in Bangkok for the weekend, rise and shine in the morning to indulge in some retail therapy at the Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is open only during weekends, hence the name. It is a massive open-air market that consists of thousands of tiny stalls. Apart from pets and garden furniture, one can look forward to a range of faux-branded clothes and other accessories at this market space. This Weekend Market is located adjacent to BTS Mo Chit Station and MRT Kamphaeng Phet. On any other day of the week, you can visit Pratunam to go shopping in one of the largest wholesale shopping centres in the area – Platinum Fashion Mall. Although most of the clothing and other accessories at this shopping mall caters to the latest trending styles of the teens and twentyish women, they do come at extremely affordable prices. One of the most splendid things about shopping at Platinum Fashion Mall is that wholesale prices become applicable if you purchase three or more items. Towering close to Platinum Fashion Mall is the Pantip Plaza, Bangkok's shrine of all things that may need electricity or battery power to function. At this digital haven, you may be able to scour impressive computer hardware, gaming devices, and other electronic prices at amazing deals.

Afternoon and evening

In the afternoon, you can go to Ratchaprasong area, where high-end shopping malls and sophisticated fashion malls tower above anything else. Siam Paragon is one such place, which is arguably the most popular shopping mall in Bangkok. It is located right next to BTS Siam and is a good starting point to begin your afternoon shopping fiesta. Siam Discovery is more of a lifestyle shopping mall that has enrapturing interior designing and architecture that offers quite a feast to your eyes. It connects with Siam Centre by a sky bridge on its fourth floor and offers a mélange of things from fashion accessories and electronics to books, stationery, and more. At Siam Centre, you'd come across a host of popular brands and retailers such as Steve Madden, Levis, Forever 21, Nike, and many others of their kind. The Chatuchak-Weekend-Market version in Central Bangkok, the MBK Centre boasts of a massive range of clothing, electronics, and its fourth floor boasts of the largest market in Bangkok that sells mobile phones and related accessories. Don't miss exploring the sixth largest shopping mall in the world – Central World, which not only features everything in your dreams but houses one of Bangkok's biggest cinemas and even an ice-skating rink.

Explore Bangkok's Night Markets

Located in Silom's Soi Patpong, the Patpong Night Market is a bustling market space that is specifically aimed at tourists. However, if you've already explored the Chatuchak Weekend Market or the MBK Centre, it isn't likely that you'd find anything new around here. However, one thing that you should keep in mind when shopping at this place is that all the prices are marked several times higher than its authentic value. Therefore, don't think twice to bargain as hard as you can to get a reasonable price. Asiatique Night Market that is located along the Chao Phraya River, has a more relaxing ambience than its Patpong neighbourhood. It is probably the only planned shopping area in Bangkok, where you can find exactly what you need by using a map. You can also go through websites such as Travel Bangkok Now to find the best Bangkok shopping guide, which offers fantastic tips and tricks about shopping at these night markets.

Accommodation in Bangkok

From luxury accommodation that is located within walking distance from retail giants like Siam Paragon to mid-range hotels and budget hotels that agrees with your wallet, Bangkok has a myriad of accommodation options from which you can opt for the one that addresses your needs.