Bangkok Sights & Sounds: Bangkok Travel Guide

Bangkok Sights & Sound:

This little compilation was created after some of my friends have been asking me the same questions on where to go & where to eat and so on, when they visit the Land of Thousand Smiles.

So I have put together this ‘Guide’ here to safe me from repeating the same old stories hundred times over. It is as current as the date I have updated.

Shopping Locations:

1. MBK at Siam Square. A must-go shopping mall for all Singaporeans to Bangkok. You can practically spend a whole day there, shopping & eating, or even get a facial or hair wash in between shopping!

• Drop off from BTS Skytrain (MRT) at “National Stadium Station”, sky bridge links directly into Tokyu and the MBK itself.

• Checkout the Food Court on the 6^th flr. Need to buy coupons before ordering food. 100 baht per head will feed you extremely well. Remember to surrender balance coupons on the same day for a refund.

• On the grd flr, nearer to the Hotel entrance. Right in the centre row, 4-5 shops facing each other selling good quality fake branded backpacks, outdoor bags & pouches, going at bargain prices. I prefer the stall nearer to the escalator on my right; run buy a short lady with a young female assistant.

• Wacoal & Triumph Brasserie & underwear, very cheap with lots of design at Tokyu. If out of designs, colors or sizes, go to Central Departmental Store near Chitlom BTS Station.

• Do not buy those little items like incense, ornaments, woodcarvings or cute-cute stuff on the ground floor or the 6^th floor. You can get them at wholesale price in Chatuchak Weekend Market. 

• On the 4^th flr, there’s whole lot of handphone accessories. Get your spare casings, covers, keypad & what not…. Remember to bargain hard. The crystal casings for handphones are much cheaper than Singapore.  

• Want to catch a movie or play a game of bowling? Go to 7^Th floor.

• By Singapore standard, there’s a pretty good Japanese Restaurant on the 7^th flr, Fuji Japanese restaurant. Really value for money !!!!!! (Other branches at Siam Centre and Siam Paragon ) 

• Local delights & delicacies: Many of us would like to buy dried mangoes, minced pork sticks, preserved fruits, Thai crackers & such home for our friends & families. There is this shop beside the Food Court on the 6^th flr that sells just that. Though many smaller stalls have sprung up in the last few years on the various floors, you have to do the tasting to decide whom to buy from. 

• Remember to bargain hard, I heard prices are getting steep now. Could be rental hike recently. 

• Visit their website for latest news: 

• The most popular low rise, shop-front type shopping for local teens, youth & the young-at-heart…prices has gone up over the years, got to bargain hard…
• Types of shop are very similar to our street fashion stalls in Heeren, Parco Bugis Edge, Bugis Village or Far East Plaza basement
• Hard Rock Café is located within this Square.
• A good authentic Thai restaurant is located in this Square, refer to ‘Food References’

• The flagship store of the Central chain of departmental stores
• Accessible from Chitlom BTS Skytrain Station; Link Bridge connects all the way to 4^th storey of departmental store.
• 7 floors of dedicated exclusive shopping. For ladies, you should get your sizes & design of lingerie here if MBK Tokyu runs out of stock.
• The 7^th floor ‘Marche’ style food court, The Loft is my personal favorite chill out spot. Good place to chill out while the ladies go ballistic with lingerie.
• Remember to claim & process your VAT if your decide to burn your ‘plastics’ there, on the 7^th floor customer service
• There’s also a supermarket & a ‘normal’ food court at the ground floor.
• Prepare to spend at least 3-4hrs of quick browsing there.

• The latest up-market shopping mall in Bangkok. Claimed to be the biggest Mall in South East Asia now. Situated strategically infront of Siam Interchange Station, connected directly to the 2^nd floor open plaza. It is the most happening place in Bangkok now!
• You will find all the highend boutiques & many fancy retail outlets here. The shop-front décors & designs are so stylishly attractive!!!
• You will also find BMW, Hummer & Lamborghini showroom on the higher floors, just in case you feel like shipping one piece home.
• Other than the retail outlets, the anchor tenant Paragon is a gigantic multi-level department store to shop in. It’s sinfully spacious & packed full of merchandise! Boys will love the sports section; girls will camp at the lingerie section for hours… 
• At the ground floor, there’s a huge food court, lots of restaurants, & a Japanese standard supermarket. The supermarket is so clean, neat & sterile that you can eat off the floor. The display & presentation of fresh produce is so enticing & attractive. 
• Also at the basement, you will find Bangkok latest playground, Siam Ocean World. A Sentosa-like Underwater World oceanarium. It is 2 floors of underwater world adventure & experience. It’s bigger than our Underwater World. B$450 per entry.
• Visit the following website for more details:  http://www.siamparagon.co.th/

• Take a Skytrain to ‘Mo-Chit Station’, that’s the last station of the northern line. If taking a taxi there, check with your hotel concierge the expected norm taxi fare. Do not take the flat rates offered by the taxi, insist on the meter charge.
• Dress light & simple. Do carry a large empty backpack to store your bargain grabs. Can get bottled water there. Very hot & humid inside the weekend market.
• Open from 9-10am to abt 6pm on Sat & Sun only. Recommended to go early after your breakfast, try to be there by 9.30am
• For a beginner, you would get lost in the huge market. Therefore tie down a mtg place if lost. Eg.the clock tower in the middle of the market or contact via h/p.
• The whole place is an ‘arc’ multi fold structure, if you walk perpendicular across, you’ll get to the middle. Look out for the some location layout sign board outside or near the many entrance to the market. Bring lots of cash !!!! No credit cards or NETS accepted there.
• Look out for free buggy shuttle plying within the market’s main road now.
• If not confident of coming back to the same store, bargain & buy…. don’t hesitate. You may not find the same stall again. (Unless I’m there with you)
• Always carry your bags & money pouches in the front. Look out for pickpockets. They are armed with sharp blades to cut through your pouches & bags
• An extension wing called “Chatuchak Plaza”, situated after the clock tower. Spacious & airy with wider isle to walk, but not as crowded. Cos its more up-market & slightly more expensive than the older bigger premise.
• Lots of small Makan stalls have sprung up within the market. Look for clean & spacious ones, very safe if you order their local favorites like Fried rice, fried Kway-tiaw, green curry & such…

Platinum Fashion Mall

• One of the latest mall in Bangkok, open in 2007 or so
• A least 5 floors of apparels, sold in whole sale price.
• Bring more cash and prepare to buy more to get more discounts. 
• Food Court on the highest floor
  

• Though it is a huge shopping mall, personally I find the shopping there not as attractive or as affordable as MBK. Now that Zen and the whole mall has been given a face-life, guess can spend some time in Zen and anothe Loft eatery within the Mall.

• Relatively ‘New kid’ in town, the nearest hypermart you can find in the heart of BKK. Prices very reasonable.

• A garment & clothing wholesale area where merchants from MBK & Patpong get their supplies of T-shirts, pants, blouses & such in bulk.
• If you are looking for such stuff, that’s the place. Be prepared to pick up more than you need because they like to sell in volume. Single piece they charge more or they may just ignore you altogether.
• Further up the area, a new covered air-conditioned wholesale center called ‘Indra Regent Wholesale’. A more comfortable place to shop in.  

• Not as notorious as before, it has turned into a street selling T-shirts, souvenirs, fake watches (very real ones too), bags & such. Only good to browse or window-shop. Bargains only if you are keen to buy, don’t ask for fun! People there can be quite mean & unfriendly! They can eat you up alive!

• Occasionally, you’ll be approached to patronized the A-Go-Go bar or Strip Tease joint. Do not go in unless you have the make clear the prices, otherwise they will charge you exorbitant prices….

If you really want to experience what “Thai-girl” show is all about, ask your agent to arrange. Its about B$500 per head, only for adults. For a-go-go bars, go Phuket, its safer & cheaper!