Bangkok shopping

It's been some time since I visited the Land of Smiles, thus this trip served as a walk through memory lane and the exploration of new developments.

Our trip lasted for 5 nights and 6 days, which is considered long to many. We booked a Executive Suite room in Baiyoke Suites for 4 nights and the last night was spent in Baiyoke Boutique.

As we walked down the hallway to our room, the keep out sign along the corridor had been detached and was left dangling by one nail. Our room was located in the corner away from lighting. If this was not creepy enough, the stained wallpaper in the living room had peeled, the furniture and fixtures were old and there were mirrors in many corners. I was suddenly not so enthusiastic about how big the suite was.

However, to be fair, the breakfast area had a pretty magnificent view of Bangkok city. We even tried to locate our destinations from wherever we sat. Also we tried to spot which hotels nearby had nice swimming pools. Breakfast was generally alright.

One of the many views during breakfast

I think a good advantage Baiyoke suite had was that it was pretty near Pratunam. This greatly facilitated our shopping as we could make many trips up and down to ease our load or use the toilet. Besides that, Baiyoke hotels offer shuttle service to the airport rail and siam center, which we only realised on our last day-_-.

Shopping was mediocre as prices have increased quite a lot. Notably, only Pratunam was worth the effort.

Shopping guide:

Pratunam: lots of wholesale clothes that are generally found anywhere. Subject to trends in                           Thailand. (cheapest)

Platinum: Basiacally its twice the price of Pratunam. Once in a while you will chance upon a                         shop selling unique items.

Union Mall: Clothes are close to the price range of Singapore. More unique items than                                   Pratunam or Platinum, but it is quite of the way. Could be grouped together with Chatuchak if you still have the energy.

Chatuchak: Very big, hot, crowded and dirty. However, with a map and systematic                                     narrowing down, it is possible to find some unique items there. Generally the same price                               range as Platinum, especially for clothes less mass produced. Loved the coconut ice cream.

Siam Square: Not worth a visit for shopping. Dirty and expensive. Visit to eat Mango Tango                         or Baan Khun Mei.

MBK: Really Messy. For IT accessories or maybe gadgets. Was a waste of time for me.

JJ Mall: Also a waste of time, as things seemed messy. Perhaps we were too tired by the time we reached that mall.

Most of my shopping was done at Pratunam and Platinum out of sheer distance. Perhaps the next round we could try staying at Glow Pratunam so we would be less spooked.