Siam Square and Pratunam
The vast area, which is a kind of Bangkok business center, is between two lively intersections, namely Siam Square and Pratunam. This is the promised area of shopping malls, and this is a great place for those who have just arrived in hot and humid Bangkok, as the malls are air-conditioned and where, in addition to shopping, you can sit with a drink or eat at their food courts.
Shopping malls
Siam Square is a fairly lively place and the street on which it is located is an area dominated by a few large shopping malls. Siam Discovery and the adjoining Siam Paragon are especially large and stylish shopping malls that specialize in fashion, where those who prefer the most enjoy themselves. At the intersection at the end of the same street is one of Bangkok’s most famous shopping malls, CentralWorld, which is so large that you can well spend half a day catching it. If you want to find something specific there, you should ask where to go from one of its many information points.
From CentralWorld, it’s nice to walk towards the covered airway at Ratchadamri Street from the Pratunam junction. (R Walk) along. The other side of the street is bordered by large shops, including shopping malls, and can be walked along the bridges across the street.
The large shopping center at the Pratunam junction, mainly focused on clothing and accessories, is Platinum Fashion Plaza , whose sixth floor Food Center is one of the best in town. The center has a lot of interesting shops on five floors over a wide area and is nice to spend a few hours there.
Opposite Platinum Plaza, across the busy street , which is also a large but not very upscale mall. There are a huge number of companies offering massage services and it is a place worth at least a visit.
One of Bangkok’s most interesting shopping malls is the Pantip Plaza next to Platinum Plaza . This is one of the best known malls because it is completely focused on electronics. If you want a phone, computer, memory card, backup power supply or anything like that, this is the best address in Bangkok. It is also possible to repair computers, telephones and other electronic products, and there you can put a screen protector on your phone, tablet or computer, which is done with extreme precision and at an affordable price.
Pratunam market area
There is an overpass between Pantip Plaza and Platinum Plaza, which is always busy to the other side. There is one of the most famous and also the most strenuous shopping places, called Pratunam Market. It is an incomprehensibly lively place most of the time, with pickpockets as well, and its offerings are mainly aimed at local younger women. It’s an interesting curiosity that can be explored a bit if you’re on your way to Ratchaprarop Station, for example.
The area is lively in the mornings and even in the afternoons, but some days are calmer and the shops and stalls close fairly early, as soon as after 5pm. There are also a fair number of shops on the nearby streets of Pratunam Market, especially on Ratchaprarop Road leading to the station, where you can get a wide variety of products at a lower price than, say, around Khao San Road.
The best shopping in Bangkok
You can buy almost anything from Bangkok, but you should also be careful about what and where to buy something.
Many branded products are not genuine, and it is safest to be away from buying clothing and accessories from well-known brands. Platinum Fashion Plaza, for example, has a lot of counterfeit branded products and will also be received around Khao San Road. In general, places like decent opticians sell genuine eyeglasses and sunglasses, but those bought from the market or some other places are not genuine. The price tells what is genuine and what is not, because although it is much cheaper in Bangkok than in Europe, well-known sunglasses and spectacles, for example, cost hundreds of euros.
If you want to buy genuine products, you might want to head to CentralWorld or Siam Square, for example, where everything is genuine. Electronic products are best purchased at Pantip Plaza, Mega Plaza, or other electronics stores in major shopping malls, not stalls or around Khao San Road.
There is a wide variety of products for good shopping in Bangkok. Official pharmacies, opticians and other shops are guaranteed to provide genuine and good products at excellent prices. If you want to get something cheaper, you might want to buy Thai or other Asian brands like bags, shoes and clothes, and not some Boss or Adidas products. For example, North Face branded products are very common from bags to clothing, but they are usually replicas made in Vietnam. They can be quite good and their prices are attractive, so many still buy them.
Genuine products such as inexpensive sunglasses, sunscreens, cosmetics and the like can be obtained, for example, from 7-Eleven stores, which do not have any genuine products. In general, official stores and chain stores sell genuine and quality products and their prices are very good.
One good chain store to watch for a wide variety of products that are genuine and of a good standard are the products of the Japanese Miniso chain . It has shops, especially in shopping malls, and offers a wide range of products from electronics to cosmetics, sunglasses and clothing.
