For grocery shopping: stalls, specialty stores, kiosks and supermarkets
There are few supermarkets in Bangkok where you can get groceries. The most common are the shops in the 7-Eleven chain, many of which are open 24 hours a day and provide drinks, tobacco, snacks and all kinds of products from side to side. Tesco Lotus and Big C are similar stores, but not nearly as many in Bangkok as elsewhere in Thailand.
A variety of specialty stores selling food or beverages, especially fine alcohols, will be met here and there. They are usually not very cheap but can be used to make foreign products, organic products or fine spirits that are not available in normal shops. There are many such shops in large shopping malls.
The best place to watch exotic foods is in the Chinese district, where the Talat Main area in particular is whatever. There are a lot of exotic products there, and touring Chinatown is a unique experience in the sense that you can see products that few have ever seen before.
In Bangkok, people eat at restaurants, eateries next to stalls, and on the street, and there is no custom of cooking there yourself. Food and all kinds of drinks and delicacies are there at a mock price, and in the vicinity of Khao San Road alone, you can bark at something hungry at any time, both small and large. Pre-sliced fruits such as watermelons, papayas and pineapples are recommended, as well as a variety of drinks available from a Chinese district, for example, are better than Western sugar hoses.
Alcohol and tobacco
Alcohol is expensive, and 0.64 liters of Leo beer, for example, costs 50-60 baht in the store. Of the local drinks, rice spirit (Khao Lao) is a favorite of the locals and cheap, but nothing really can be mixed with it and the next day the drinks feel like it. The best local liquor is a whiskey called Hong Thong, which costs around € 8 (250-270 baht) for a euro bottle. Wine is expensive, even more expensive than in Finland, and it is also expensive in restaurants. Alcohol may only be sold in shops from 11 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm to midnight.
Like alcohol, tobacco is priced relative to other prices and wage levels. Tobacco costs roughly the same as in Estonia, but prices vary considerably by brand (100-180 baht). Tobacco should only be purchased from official stores such as 7-Eleven and not from markets or stalls. Tobacco must not be burned properly anywhere, and so many people in Thailand are introducing e-tobacco. In Thailand, the sale of e-tobacco-related products is banned, so it is worth taking your own liquids and atomizers with you on the trip. However, e-smoking in public places is equated with smoking, and in this way it can only be used where you can even smoke.
Shopping malls
Bangkok is a promised city of shopping malls. Most of them are near the Pratunam junction, around Siam Square and around Mega Plaza, near Sam Yot Metro Station. Sukhumvit also has various shopping and shopping malls.
Outlet Centers and Outlet Stores
Platinum Fashion Plaza is a kind of outlet center, and Pratunam Market is also one outlet center.
If you want to visit a large outlet center, this is the Central Village near the airport. You can get there by a free bus that runs from outside CentralWorld and also from another place, Udom Suk Station, which is part of the BTS air train system. You can also get there by taxi, and you can see all the ways to get there from the “getting here” section of the website.
Price level
Bangkok is an affordable city in many ways, but there are also expensive products and things and the price level has risen in recent years. The various comparisons do not give a good picture of the price level, as they usually look at what Western things and products cost and are organized in Thailand.
If you want to save, you can stay with local produce, eat local cuisine and spend the night in locally owned hostels, inns or hotels. All companies owned by foreign chains are quite expensive, although those who like luxury can pamper themselves in Bangkok at completely different prices than in Western Europe.
Currency
Thailand has a baht (THB), the value of which in euros is good to check from XE. For a long time, the baht was 40-45 per euro, but in recent years it has been 33-37 baht.
It is not worth paying in other currencies, and it is important to always carry coins and small banknotes, especially 20, 50 and 100 baht banknotes. Large banknotes are worth breaking in large shops, and 7-Eleven and other supermarkets, for example, are able to give back a banknote rather than a banknote.
Currency exchange
Currency exchange points are common throughout Bangkok and are very open from morning to night. To exchange money, you must have a passport or EU identity card. Currency exchange works honestly and no precautions need to be taken.
The best rate is where the buying and selling rates are as close together as possible. At many exchange offices, you can get more from large euro banknotes than from small ones, and if you want to make the most of your euro, you should bring 50 and 100 euro banknotes.
ATMs
Bangkok has a huge number of automatic teller machines (ATMs) and withdrawing money is easy. All vending machines charge a withdrawal fee of 220 baht, so it’s worth raising a lot at once and not making a small difference with the vending machine.
Payment cards
Debit cards do better in Bangkok than in many other corners of Thailand. They go well in malls, fine shops and 7-Eleven chain stores. Some places have a minimum of 300 baht and some also have a maximum of 3000 baht.
Cards don’t go in many places, like restaurants or clothing stores, so it’s always worth keeping a few thousand baht in cash with you.
