If you are in need to shop for leather products or silver jewellery, Bangkok is one of the best places in the world to get them. In Bangkok, you don’t just get quality products but also a wide variety at amazingly cheap prices. One can bargain at selected shopping malls and at the bazaars.
I just returned from a trip to Bangkok and was overwhelmed by the leather products there. Such products include wallets, shoes and bags. If you aren’t after brand names, then Bangkok is the mecca for genuine and quality locally-made leather goods. I would recommend Chatuchak Market and Suan Lum Night Bazaar for great bargains. The former is only open on the weekends, Saturday and Sunday from 7am until late while the latter functions for business from 5pm to midnight.
Here you can haggle for the best prices and shop to your heart’s content. Bags, wallets, shoes and silver jewellery of all kinds are found here and usually they are one-of-a-kind. Apart from leather products, you can find Thai handicrafts, Thai silk, tableware, clothes and paintings. Start low when you bargain and then slowly increase your asking price till you strike a deal. There is no need t bring along a calculator to convert prices as the shop keepers will proffer you one to show the price offered for a particular product.
If you are in the heart of the city, Mah Boon Krong (MBK) mall is a good place to shop for bargain goods of all kinds. At eight stories high and 330 metres long, with 2,500 shops using a total selling area of 89,000 square metres, this shopping mall used to be one of the biggest malls in Asia, when it was first founded in 1985. Here, you can find fashion outlets that cover everything from jeans, outsized clothing (for the ‘larger’ Western frame), trendy apparel as well as shoes, handbags, Thai silk, Polo T-shirts, accessories and jewellery. You can strike a bargain on products sold at some of the stores in the mall. After some effort at bargaining, I managed to buy two silver rings, one studded with sapphire and the other citrine, for US$68. What a good deal! Take advantage of sales in fixed-priced stores. I managed to get two genuine sting ray skin products (a key chain with coin pouch and a wallet) for US$53 after a 20% discount off the original price.
A bonus advantage that MBK Mall offers is the Tourist Discount Card. Apply for it at the information kiosks on the first and second levels. You need to produce your passport. Armed with this card you will be entitled of discounts between 5 and 30% on selected merchandise and at some restaurants. A list of participating stores will be provided when you apply for the card.
Check the internet for information on accommodation, shopping and transport. Plan your itinerary and route carefully. It is convenient to use the Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the underground metro system to hop from one destination to another. Be familiar with MRT routes. Alternatively you can hire a metered cab but be prepared to get stuck in the continuous traffic congestion. I do not recommend taking the ubiquitous motorized rickshaws called tuk-tuk if you are not familiar with the route and have no idea about the cost of the journey.
If you need to shop for clothing, leather products or silver jewellery at great bargains, Bangkok is one place I strongly recommend. I would suggest a three to four-day shopping tour that focuses on selected shopping areas like the above-mentioned. Check out the best packaged deals for flight to and from Bangkok and accommodation in the city and plan your trip well. Bangkok is one of the cheapest destinations for the budget shopper and traveller looking for good deals.
