Okay, I lied. There are also bags and pouches in the photo above, but you get the gist.


When it comes to Bangkok, I get excited for mainly two things: The cheap food, and the cheap clothes. Ask me to pick one over another, and I'd commence my ritual of painful hesitation coupled with ugly frowns, hemming and hawing, before ultimately coming to a decision, which is most of the time, the clothes.

Sure, I live for food - and as cheap and delicious Bangkok eats can be as I've duly noted in another blog post, the novelty of buying clothes in Thailand just never gets old.

Here are some of my favourite shopping spots in Bangkok, in no order of preference!


PLATINUM FASHION MALL
Nearest BTS Station: Chitlom (still quite a bit of walking distance despite being the nearest)




I'm sure many of us would have heard of Platinum Fashion Mall by now. It is a 6-storey shopping mall specializing in fashion retail - home to reportedly 2,500 stores that "weekly update their products including men's and women's wears, shoes and bags, cosmetics, accessory, children's wear, gift-shop goods and miscellaneous" as understood from its official website.

While I don't travel to Bangkok much, when I do, Platinum Fashion Mall is definitely one of the must-go-to tourist attractions. Never mind that the walk there is rather strenuous under the blazing Bangkok sun - the trip is always worth it!







Platinum Fashion Mall mainly stocks clothes that are in trend (or as they call, blogshop clothes) though occasionally you can find some classic fashion must-haves like jeans or basic tees. It all depends on luck, really, because not everyone follows the same path while aimlessly wandering shopping around the mall.

The greatest thing about Platinum is that you do not need to break a sweat in finding cheap clothing. And mind you, this is coming from a cheapo whose wardrobe is basically made up of <SGD10 clothes. The problem is really whether you would like the apparel or not. Of course, this does not mean that all the cheap clothing are 'auntie' or kiddish - they are mostly just outdated fashion styles which still look good on us youngsters.

The prices range from about THB100-450 (SGD3.80-17.44), which is a vastly broad spectrum of which you can experience both extremes. For me, I preferred to stay within the THB100-200 range and did not venture past the THB200 mark, but if that really isn't enough for you...

PRATUNAM WHOLESALE AND RETAIL MARKET
Nearest BTS Station: Chitlom (still quite a bit of walking distance despite being the nearest)

Pratunam Wholesale Market is a stone throw away from Platinum (Do not confused their like-sounding names!) so if the clothes in Platinum just isn't cheap enough for you, there is always this alternative! You can't always have the best of both worlds though - Pratunam has no air-conditioning, which might be a huge bummer for you (as it was for me) as shopping in the enclosed alleys can get rather hot. Nevertheless, the clothes are in the cheaper range here (THB50-250) so all is good.

Pratunam Shopping District extends to Baiyoke Gallery, which is another fashion mall in the area

One good thing about Pratunam is that it isn't as crowded as Platinum (probably due to shoppers seeking respite in the cool environment of the latter) so you can shop freely! I'd say it is a great place to take a stroll (window shopping maybe?) if the main focus of your trip to Bangkok is not about shopping.

But there is this one place that I sincerely believe all tourists should go irrespective of whether fashion shopping is the highlight...

CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET
Nearest BTS Station: Mo Chit


Whenever I go to Bangkok, I always ensure that the trip coincides with the weekend so that I will be able to visit the amazing Chatuchak (Jatujak as in this photo) Weekend Market. What's so good about it, you ask? Well, it has anything  and everything (More on this on a separate post) but in this post let us focus on the topic proper - clothes!

Chatuchak is mindblowingly huge. Of course, as expansive as the area is, Chatuchak is still realistically conquerable if you have a map in hand. The friendly security guards are happy to offer you a map if you ask! So how do you get about?

Image courtesy of http://www.chatuchak.org/map/chattuchakmap.jpg

If you think of Chatuchak as a leaf (with reticulate and not parallel venation), then the veins are the alleys and streets that you can wander around in. Of course, the main vein running through the centre would be the main open street where most of the action is - and the netlike veins are the individual sections (termed Soi in the map).

I think the best strategy is to first identify the sections that you are interested in, and then identify the entrance that you will be taking to enter the market (very important as your plan could be thwarted if you take a different entrance as planned!). When you have all points on the map, just do what any other Singaporean student would do and connect the dots in Math class (at this point I turn to my secondary school math teacher and announce that the best fit line is not always the best fit line)

Here are some photos I took of the sights you can take in while in the market:

Sure, this post is about clothes, but this is added motivation to visit Chatuchak!

Most of the clothes in Chatuchak Market are very in trend - and cheap, too! Prices can go as low at THB80 as seen in the picture above, but the average price hovers around the THB150-250 range (which is still pretty darn cheap).

I might want to take back my words that the market has anything  and everything - because in retrospect (and while looking back at my gallery), I remember that there is one particular thing that Chatuchak severely lacks: Bins.




I guess being a Singaporean makes you accustomed to having dust bins at every corner you turn, which is why when I remembered (from my previous trip) that Chatuchak had virtually NO rubbish bins, I gave myself a facepalm and wondered why I did not remember to take along a huge plastic bag as my adhoc personal bin.

Luckily, plastic bags is something that Chatuchak does have (if you buy stuff) so I made do with a small plastic bag that I tied to the strap of my backpack so that it hangs off the side. It looks silly, but trust me - this is an oasis to your desert when you are desperately trying to find a dustbin to throw your rubbish. Just dump them all into your side bin, and enjoy your trip because you deserve to - don't let a little rubbish get you down!

~

So there you go, my top three favourite shopping spots for clothes in sunny Bangkok. Apologies if my post seems haphazardly done - it was. Pre-university life isn't treating me very well and it's a pity to leave a half-written post incomplete! If time permits, I'll be back soon with more posts on shopping in general, as well as food in Bangkok.

xoxo
Val