Shop like a Queen in Bangkok for 2 days

There was no entrance fee and my two-day journey has begun. From my research, I know that Chatuchak Market is a huge market and I don’t have the luxury of time to cover every corner. So the moment I see a map directory, I took a picture of the map so I know where I was during the shopping.

I decided to start with women clothing and footwear section. I have to say that this was the biggest and the most popular one. I walked a few stalls and saw one very interesting and elegant yellow a-line dress. This shop has a small fitting room (most other shops don’t have it) so I tried it on and fitted just nice. As I liked it so much, I didn’t haggle and bought it for 300 baht. I also bought two pairs of pants, one shirt, sandals and a nice office high waist skirt for a total sum of 2500 baht.

My shopping continued and as time passed the market become crowded. The best part about this place was that I could walk around looking at things without being hassled by the sales people!

After 3 hours of non-stop shopping, I decided to have a simple lunch inside the market. There were not many food shops and drink stalls. I found one nice restaurant right in the centre of the market, next to the clock tower. I ordered a prawn noodle soup for 70 baht, a bag of fish cake for 20 baht and a refreshing cendol with extra red beans added for 40 baht. Each dish was delicious and fresh. While taking my meal, I noticed more and more people were flooding the market.

After lunch, I went to the house décor section. The temperature was around 35°C and the air circulation was poor but good thing is I had a huge hat, the most comfortable clothes, and a mini fan on hand. From this nice department I bought only three small ornament pillows for my living room – yellow, orange and bright brick-red.

While I was walking through the market I saw the animal department. It was full of different animals like snakes, monkeys, kittens, cutest teacup puppies, fluffy bunnies that were wearing elastic skirts, hope it doesn’t hurt them! I love animals, especially puppies but this section wasn’t for the overseas tourists. I had a short 30-minute walk through this department and I was always smiling, as these little souls were too cute!

That marks the end of the Chatuchak market tour and I decided to head for my second shopping destination – Terminal 21.

At 3pm， I took the MRT and traveled 10 stations until I reached the Sukhumvit Station, where Terminal 21 is right in front of exit 3. I was impressed by the way this shopping mall is organized!

Each level represented one city: Tokyo, London, Istanbul, San Francisco and Hollywood. This beautiful mall was designed like an airport terminal. Aw…amazing! There were so many small boutique type shops that were selling mainly clothes & shoes and desserts! I had a two-hour shopping therapy there and I couldn’t find anything useful for me. I saw a few clothes that could blend with my old ones. Their prices were a bit expensive comparing to my morning deals but the quality is better here so I bought a few things.

3 hours had passed and I decided to have a Japanese dinner at Ootoya inside Terminal 21. I had gold green vegetable with sesame sauce, charcoal grilled minced chicken & Japanese herb and an herbal tea. The quality of the food is the best I tried so far in Bangkok and everything was fresh and super-trooper yummy! The ambiance was homey and the service was fast and nice and I paid around 300 baht. It was not particularly cheap, but great and still affordable!

At 7:10pm I took a taxi cab in order to reach my next shopping point – Asiatique Riverfront Mall. I reached there in 15 minutes and paid a fare price of 150 baht.

Here started my Asiatique experience. My half-full backpack was with me, so I was ready to buy many different goods to fill it. There were lots of handicrafts, carvings and the usual clothing bags, watches and electronics items. I am crazy about handmade dresses, and I found such a lovely stall that sells only unique ones. I bought one high quality semi-dressy grey summer dress, a black bolero and one brown shirt. I bargained and received very attractive discounts.

After about 1 and a half hour of shopping, I was captivated by the Bangkok Eye Ferris Wheel inside Asiatique. It was bigger than the London eye and I was melting like a kid waiting for my turn. I ride it and have got a 7 minute ride of 6 circuits, the last round pauses at the top for a minute or so. The booth had great air conditioner and I was in a company of a three member family. For 200 baht I had an amazing experience that relaxed me after a very pleasant and busy day.

I decided that this ride was not enough and I went to chill out at the open space pub called “Why 97”. I needed to unwind myself in the cozy setup with surrounding structure such as Bangkok Eye, clock tower and trees. I had a cold pint of beer together with live music and pleasant band. It was such a nice and enjoyable way to conclude the day.

After staying for 1 hour, I left and took a taxi cab and returned to the hotel. It was a long day and I was darn tired. As soon as I reached my hotel room, I went to bed and fell asleep immediately.

I entered the Siam Center at 9:45am. Aw…it was a nice surprise to be greeted by two big wooden horses at the main entrance – I felt like a queen.

This mall houses foreign and local brands. I am crazy about fashion, colors, accessories, but my shopping motto is “try on as many clothes as possible, but buy only those you fell in love with”. I was mostly window shopping, as prices were scaring me.

The highlight of Siam Center was in the third floor as it had boutique clothing, shoes and accessories created only by the local designers. And this was exactly what I was looking for. I needed a special, “traditional”, local dress to remind me of Thailand. I was getting lost among dresses for an hour and a half and finally I found the one – a Royal-blue knee-length tulle cocktail dress with ruffle. This dress will be the best option for the summer roof top garden party with my colleagues and companions. I bought it right away for 1100 baht. I paired it with new silver necklace and earrings from Tanai for a symbolic price. For black box clutch and sandals, I decided to buy somewhere else as the price was quite expensive.

At noon time, I decided to have a lunch break at Mr. Jones’ Orphanage at the third level of Siam Center. It was very hard to order lunch, as the place was full of desserts, such as cakes, confections and intoxicating sweet aromas. Teddy bear didn’t help me to concentrate on lunch, as his face kept recommending me cakes and juices. Open concept kitchen was right in front of my table.

I ordered Oreo cake and tiny tea cup for dessert and for lunch Australian Beef Consommé and Omerice with Curry. Every spoonful was yummy and delicious – a true delight. The total cost was around 400 baht, but the incredible atmosphere, the lovely décor and the fairytale feeling were totally worth it!

Rolling with full stomach, I left Siam Center and grabbed a taxi to Platinum Fashion Mall. I want to mention that taxi prices in Bangkok a very reasonable and the fare I paid is only 60 baht.

I started my platinum session at 1:45pm. First of all, I was impressed by the indoor organization of the shops. From the ground floor to the 4th, you can find all sorts of women’s wears. For men’s wear, it occupies only a half of the 4th floor. So needless to say this place is women’s shopping paradise!

Time is money and I started to “explore the market” in order to see the design and prices. It was good news to know that it was possible to bargain, especially if you are to buy more items from the same shop. At the 2nd and 3rd floor I found a number of boutique shops and bought two skirts, two shirts, three pairs of elegant pants, two pairs of shoes and one dark green dress. Most of the items that I bought cost less than 350 baht each, and the most expensive was the dress, only 660 baht – a 20% discount from the original price. I noticed that this was the best place to shop in Bangkok for ladies, cheap, air-conditioned, easy and very pleasant.

It is still a mystery how the time managed to pass so rapidly when you need it the most. At 4pm I took a taxi to Sampeng Market for only 110 baht. Here, I was prepared to shop like a local – a very unique experience. It was crowded, hot and bustling with activities. The environment wasn’t comfortable, but the cheapest prices worth the visit!

Please note that the narrow lane was not for the claustrophobic and shops deal mainly with bulk sales and usually offer real discounts for persons buying more than 3 items. It is pretty impressive how a simple market improved my haggling skills. I saw many elegant and cozy items and I managed to buy 3 pairs of sandals in black, white and cream, a black box clutch for my royal-blue dress from the Siam Centre and 20 pairs of earrings for presents for a total sum of 350 baht. Time was ticking and at 6:30am I took a taxi to Siam Paragon for 130 baht.

I was going to have my dinner at the Le Notre restaurant in Siam Paragon. The first impression of this place was: “Aw, this is a place for those who have a huge crave for something sweet”; as it offers many different cakes and sweets.

I had a table at a lovely outdoor seating area by a pond. I ordered Norwegian smoked salmon salad and BLT Sandwich. My stomach had some more empty space so I ordered Bagatelle fruit cake for dessert. The meal, costs around 500 baht was so exquisite and delicious. After that, I went happily to the Paragon Cineplex.

I paid 500 baht for a premium ticket that began at 8:30pm. I wanted a 4D movie and the chosen one was “I, Frankenstein”. The cinema room was very modern and high quality. This is an action movie and the fighting scenes were especially “real” when the vibrating seat, the wind, splashing water and the surround sound added to the 3D visual effect.

I had watched an action show before that claimed to have 6D effect. 6D is referred to as having 3D visual effect and coupled with seat movements, rain, wind and smell. So to be precise, I was actually watching a 6D movie.

The previous 6D show that I experienced in Singapore lasted for less than 20 mins and cost S$20 (equivalent to about 500 baht). This movie that I watched at Paragon Cineplex cost about the same price and I got to enjoy the 6D effect throughout the movie that lasted 90 mins. What a big deal!