December 30, 2018

Bangkok Travel Diary: Where to Shop in Bangkok

When the desire to travel started to stir in my heart and venturing outside the Philippines became the main focus of satisfying the burgeoning wanderlust that I was nurturing since my college days; the first ever country that caught my attention was Thailand. It was on top of my list but unfortunately it wasn’t the first foreign soil I stepped onto.




So when the opportunity to visit Bangkok became less murky, flights and hotels were booked. Airfare costs was out of the question because it had to be done as this was a longtime plan of mine and of my closest friends. She comes to this side of the world every few years only so "if not now, when?" So together with two other college friends, we found ourselves on a night flight from Siem Reap to Don Meuang International Airport in Bangkok.

I was already tired from that day touring around the temples in the Angkor Wat complex (check out my Siem Reap Travel Diary here) and then waited 5 hours at the airport before flying to BKK. But the moment we landed to Bangkok, my blood stream was full of adrenaline. I decided earlier that night that I will sleep on the way to the hotel, but while inside our Uber ride, I was like a doe eyed deer, I can’t shut my eyes, I enjoyed the view of Bangkok at night during the drive. I told myself it looks so much like Manila but all the signs are in Thai. Somebody pinch me, my dream is now a reality.




After freshening up and unpacking some stuff, we all went straight to bed as we have a very very long day ahead of us in the Land of Smiles. I am pretty sure I didn't get a good night sleep because I was beyond excited. My friends planned our itinerary and computed our transpo expenses and found out the price would just equate or just a teeny tiny above getting Grab or Uber rides around the city so we decided to avail of the latter. We got stuck in Bangkok once in a while but hey we were comfy and we needed the energy for all the walking that we did in BKK.

Like I said in my previous posts, we had three main reasons why we wanted to visit Bangkok: temples, food and shopping. I have finished writing my posts about the temples and food, now let’s move on to the best part of them all hahahaha! Shopping! Ok, people who know me well, knows how I’m such a shopaholic, but as the years went by and I grew older, I’ve learned to cut off on the shopping a little less in my life. I also buy those at reasonable prices only. And Bangkok is one of those places where you can get cheap buys with good quality. 




A lot of of bazaars and other stores in the Philippines actually get their merchandise in Bangkok because buying bulk here gives you a lot of discounts. You can actually buy almost anything in shopping destinations in Bangkok but the best items to buy in Bangkok are apparel and beauty products. I wish I had so much money with me when I was in Bangkok because I would have bought so many stuff and just sell them to friends and family. Well probably I’ll do that next time around. 




Anyway, there are lots of places you can go to shop in Bangkok. One popular venue is the Chatuchak Weekend Market, unfortunately we weren’t able to visit that one because we were in Bangkok during weekdays. The first one we visited was the MBK Center. The prices of the items there were a little pricier for me. Though there were many items that I liked there I didn’t bought anything there except food. 




Another place that we went to for shopping is at Platinum Mall and the streets surrounding it. Here at Platinum Mall is where we bought quite a lot of stuff. It’s also cheaper here than MBK Center. The clothes and shoes here are super nice and had better quality. We also bought a lot of beauty products here for whitening and such. The lady where we bought those beauty products was so nice and gave us so many discounts. We bought here a handful of those whitening soaps that are popular in the Philippines called Bumibime soap which is way cheaper in Bangkok than in the Philippines. We really stocked up on that lol.




We also visited other night markets almost every day after going around the tourist areas. We went to those night markets surrounding Bayoke Tower and The Palladium Night Market just right outside The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam. I bought a lot of knick-knacks there and clothes.

But for me the best place you can get good deals is at Bangkok’s Chinatown especially if you’re buying in bulk. This is where my friends have bought a lot of stuff that they gave away us Christmas gifts. As for me I bought a couple of bags here and the souvenirs that I gave out to my office mates and friends. The bags here are so cheap but with great quality. The souvenirs here are also cheaper because they are sold in bulk. Most of the merchandise here are sold in bulk, but sometimes they allow you to buy only 1 to 3 pieces. I wish I had more money with me when I was here because I wanted to buy a lot of bags and sell them to friends and family back home. 




Many people love Bangkok because it is really a great shopping destination. If you want to really immerse yourself with the Bangkok shopping experience, better save at least two days just for that and most importantly save money so you can shop until you drop. That’s what I’m going to do the next time I have the chance to visit Bangkok again. 





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