Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [92]
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CHINATOWN
The Phahurat and Chinatown districts have interconnected markets selling fabrics, clothes and household wares, as well as wholesale shops for every imaginable bulk item. There are a few places selling gems and jewellery.
JOHNNY’S GEMS
Map Gems & Jewellery
0 2224 4065; 199 Th Fuang Nakhon; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat; air-con 3, 60, 73 & 512, ordinary 3, 53, 60 & 73
A long-time favourite of Bangkok expats, Johnny’s Gems is a reliable name in an unreliable business. The namesake founder has since passed away, but his son carries on the spick-and-span reputation, primarily dealing in rubies and emeralds from fun to serious.
PHAHURAT MARKET
Map Market
Cnr Th Phahurat & Th Triphet; 9am-6pm; air-con 3, 60, 73 & 512, ordinary 3, 53, 60 & 73; Tha Saphan Phut (Memorial Bridge, N6)
If it sparkles, then this market has it. Phahurat proffers boisterous Bollywood-coloured textiles, traditional Thai dance costumes, tiaras, sequins, wigs and other accessories to make you look like a cross-dresser, a mǒr lam (Thai country music) performer, or both. This is cloth city, and amid the colour spectacle are also good deals on machine-made Thai textiles and children’s clothes.
SAMPENG LANE
Map Market
Soi Wanit 1, Th Ratchawong; 8am-6pm; air-con 4, 21, 25, 507 & MB5, ordinary 4, 25, 29, 53 & 159; Tha Ratchawong (N5); Hua Lamphong exit 1 & taxi
Sampeng Lane is a narrow artery running parallel to Th Yaowarat and bisecting the commercial areas of Chinatown and Phahurat. The Chinatown portion of Sampeng is lined with wholesale shops of hair accessories, pens, stickers, household wares and beeping, flashing knick-knacks. Near Th Chakrawat, gem and jewellery shops abound. Weekends are horribly crowded, and it takes a gymnast’s flexibility to squeeze past the pushcarts, motorcycles and other roadblocks.
SAPHAN PHUT NIGHT BAZAAR
Map Market
Th Saphan Phut, Chinatown; 8pm-midnight Tue-Sun; air-con 3, 60, 73 & 512, ordinary 3, 53, 60 & 73; Tha Saphan Phut (Memorial Bridge, N6)
On the Bangkok side of Tha Saphan Phut, this night market has bucket-loads of cheap clothes, late-night snacking and a lot of people-watching. As Chatuchak Weekend Market becomes more design oriented, Saphan Phut has filled the closets of fashion-forward, baht-challenged teenagers.
PAK KHLONG MARKET
Map Plants & Flowers
cnr Th Chakkaphet & Th Atsadang; 24hr; air-con 3, 60, 73 & 512, ordinary 3, 53, 60 & 73; Tha Saphan Phut (Memorial Bridge, N6)
This sprawling wholesale flower market has become a tourist attraction in its own right. The endless piles of delicate orchids, rows of roses and stacks of button carnations are a sight to be seen, and the shirtless porters wheeling blazing piles of colour set the place in motion. The best time to come is late at night, when the goods arrive from upcountry.
During the morning Pak Khlong Market is also one of the city’s largest wholesale vegetable markets.
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SIAM SQUARE, PRATUNAM, PLOENCHIT & RATCHATHEWI
If you like your retail upscale and air-conditioned, head directly for the centre of town. Bangkok’s ever-expanding repertoire of luxury malls is a major draw for tourists from Asia and the Middle East, and can be found near the intersection of Th Phra Ram I and Th Phayathai, and further east at Th Ratchadamri. If you’re looking for something a bit more homegrown, designs by Thailand’s emerging fashion designers are available at shops in and around Siam Sq.
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top picks
LOCAL STUFF WORTH BUYING
D&O Shop (Gaysorn Plaza, Click here) This open-air gallery is the first retail venture of an organisation created to encourage awareness of Thai design abroad. The items, which range from furniture to knick-knacks, are modern and funky, and give a new breath of life to the concept of Thai design.
Doi Tung-Mae Fah Luang (Siam Discovery Center, Click here) This royally funded project sells beautiful hand-woven carpets, classy ceramics and Thailand’s best domestic coffee beans.
Harnn & Thann (Gaysorn Plaza, Click here) Smell good enough