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Shopping in Bangkok is an experience that ranges from the sublime to the phantasmagorical, depending on
which venue one chooses. All of the venues are very colorful, whether the choice is to look at street vendor ware, indoor or outdoor markets, boutique type shops, or huge malls.
My husband and I, who love to shop, began our shopping expedition on our first day in Bangkok by wandering
through the neighborhood around the Shangri-La Hotel where we were staying during the Bangkok Film Festival. Walking along New Road we saw shop after shop filled with strands of turquoise, peridot, and other stones
perfect for making custom jewelry creations. Slinky silk scarves in ice cream colors draped over a mannequin and arranged appealingly in a Thai basket caught my eye in one window. Yet nothing called us to stop.
Maybe it was the twenty hour plane trip from Los Angeles that made us just want to roam.
Suddenly I saw what I knew I needed to find sooner than later, an optical store. One of my goals on this
trip was to buy a fashionable pair of prescription glasses. So, glasses prescription in hand from my optometrist, we entered Universal Optical on 344 New Road between Silom Road and Trok Oriental . They sell really
nice glasses frames. I tried on titanium frames from Denmark, but found them to be as expensive as the frames back home. A young Thai woman, who spoke good English, showed me a pair of lightweight rimless frames
with rainbow anodized sides. They were unusual and perfect. The total cost for frames and progressive lenses with non-reflective coating came to 10,000 baht (about $275). The woman told me that if I had needed an
eye exam the cost would have been included.
My husband was so impressed by the price of my glasses, that he had his eyes examined and chose his first
pair of prescription reading glasses. The total cost for the frames, lenses, and exam came to about $75. We came back in ten days to pick up our glasses. We are both happy with our new glasses. As we continued
shopping during our stay in Bangkok, we found many optical shops, many with designer brand frames in the World Trade Center and in Chinatown.
On our first Sunday, we hit the weekend market that we had heard so much about. We got there by Skytrain
(Mo Chit stop) armed with Nancy Chandler’s Map of Bangkok. This map can be purchased at Asia Books on the third floor of the World Trade Canter. There is a section of the map that has a diagram of the market that
tells what is sold in each section. We found it useful for getting reoriented from time to time. This market is huge and it’s easy to feel lost. Much of it is covered, so when it rains, as it did when we there, you
have some protection, although it can get smelly and close.
As with the typical flea market in the U.S, 95% of the goods consist of cheap Chinese goods. This market
has a lot of nylon clothing, rubber shoes, and plastic things. However, if you walk through the maze of stalls, you will find the good stuff, that makes the trip worthwhile. The weekend market is a treasure
hunt. The more you look, the more you find.
We found two booths that sold Thai silver from Chiang Mai, a city in the north. I bought our
daughter a beautiful silver bracelet, a stunning piece, for $35. I’m sure I could have gotten it cheaper if I had wanted to haggle, but my method was to always ask a vendor once, “Is that your best price?” At that
point every vendor I have ever said that to has given me a better price. I have gotten even better prices for quantity discounts. My husband and I feel we have more pleasant dealings with vendors if we don’t haggle
too much. Then my husband feels he can ask to take pictures for our articles and take time for a nice visit.
The other booths we liked were a designer clothing and jewelry booth that was not expensive, a booth that
sold small sets of incense with holders and nicer than normal silk pillow coverings, and a booth that sold strands of silk flowers wrapped around small white Christmas type lights, perfect for patio lighting back
home. We only stayed at the market for three hours or so, but one could arrive a 8 a.m. when it opens and stay until the 6 o’clock closing time and maybe not see everything. There are little places in the market to
stop for something to drink and a sandwich, and many places to eat inexpensive Thai food. .
The next day, we decided to go to Chinatown, which we heard was the cheapest place of all to buy anything,
especially jewelry. Again, armed with our trusty map, that also details the Chinatown streets and what is available on each one, we covered about half of this section of Bangkok by foot, ending up at one point at
the Prison Museum. The old prison is surrounded by a park that had several homeless people stretched out on benches. The peculiar thing about this park was that there were speakers on posts that blared scratchy
music. Still, after being on the main streets of Chinatown, which was the most crowded and congested place I have ever been to in my life, the park was a relief. It was here that I saw my first Siamese cat in
Thailand.
For us, Chinatown was not a good place to shop. It was interesting to see whole blocks of gun stores with
really expensive guns and blocks of stores selling gold and silver chains. Since we didn’t need any of those, we headed for “Old Siam,” a large two story indoor market selling all manner of foods on the first floor.
It was fascinating to look at the food, since we had no idea what anything was. It looked a lot cleaner and more appetizing than the sizzling intestines I saw roasting out on the sidewalk near those black things. Ugh, what were they anyway?
Chinatown was definitely an experience for the senses. While walking down many streets, you have to duck
around something roasting, boiling, or frying to see the mostly plastic items vendors have for sale. There were many vendors of the weekend market variety, only with smaller stalls that formed catacombs between
buildings. Weaving through one such catacomb, I felt temporary relief at the sudden lack of people and sudden quiet, when we came upon a stall with a pink plastic alarm clock going off and a woman yelling above it
about something. I just shuddered. I felt as if we stepped into Satyricon.
Since we were in Bangkok for the film festival, we attempted to see as many Asian films as we could, since
we don’t see such films here. One shopping experience I really enjoyed was looking at the street vendor ware around Siam Square as we went to and from the theaters. This is the place to buy the things to take home
to give to friends, such as the Thai silk key chain purses that only cost 30 to 50 cents a piece and the cool refrigerator magnets that look like insects. Many items are handmade and just take you by surprise by
their uniqueness. We saw a young Thai couple holding a paper tiger and dragon lit by a small battery operated wands. Even though these were not Thai products, they were so delightful, we bought seven of them,
including the batteries for under ten dollars for all of them.
Some of my favorite shopping experiences and where I saw the best values on this trip were not at the
weekend market, Chinatown, or even Pratnum where my husband returned again this year to buy his half dozen favorite short sleeved shirts for $3 a piece, but on the street. There is a vendor on the street that sells
beautiful handbags right next to the Skytrain entrance at the Saphan Taksin stop. I bought a nice purple cotton bag with bells on the carrying strap and another bag for around eighteen dollars for both.
On the street that runs next to the Shangri-La there is a vendor selling beaded tops, the same type I paid close to a hundred dollars for at Macys. Shopping on the street for me is one of the nicest ways to shop, because you are out in the open air. I felt less vulnerable from pickpockets because there is more room to move.
In Pat Pong, the notorious red light district, there is an evening street market we checked out where they
have nice sandals and lots of purses and clothing. It was not my favorite place to shop, because I find prostitution around me to be depressing, but many western women I talked to while we were in Bangkok really
enjoyed shopping there.
My favorite place to go for higher end shopping and really nice clothing is the World Trade Center, a mall
that is seven stories tall. The clothes I like most are found on the second and third floors. Theatre sells interesting and unusual women’s fashions. I found a business shirt for $45 at a half off sale.
The shirt was imported from Tokyo. I love this shirt for work and social occasions. It has a double collar, something I have never seen, with a fun tuck in the back.
At Asia Books on the third floor we bought several books. They have a good variety of books, ranging from
picture books on different areas of Thailand, to books on Thai culture, food, and Bhudaism . I love reading these books when I get home. It seems to extend the trip and enrich it.
Suitcases bulging with tourist gifts, clothes, and books, and wearing our new glasses, we returned home
well under the $400 limit. I get nice compliments on my new glasses and I contemplate the fascinating Thai history when I read our book on Ayutthaya. When I look at all our stuff, I think about how deeply
this trip to Thailand has affected my psyche on so many levels.
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