Great Shopping Areas

Shopping is a real adventure in Bangkok. The big markets are a visual onslaught (don't miss the Weekend Market), and there are great upmarket gift and antique dealers as well as small souvenir stalls scattered about town. Nancy Chandler's The Market Map and Much More is available at bookstores throughout the city for 160B (US$4.60/£2.45) and has detailed insets of places such as Chinatown and the sprawling Weekend Market. Below is a breakdown according to the top shopping areas.

Toward the River

Charoen Krung (New) Road is full of goodies: antiques stores, jewelry wholesalers, and funky little galleries. Lek Gallery, at 1124-1134 Charoen Krung (New) Rd. (tel. 02639-5870), has decorative items and furniture that are downright sexy. On the same road, next to Soi 42, is Four Sisters (tel. 02234-0053), selling gorgeous beadwork, handbags, Chinese furniture, and sexy Indian-inspired fashions and shoes.

The silk shops at the low-rise mall known as River City (tel. 02237-0077) have a great selection but are overpriced (avoid the tailoring shops here, as the low standards of craftsmanship do not warrant the big bucks). Equally overpriced are the extensive antique dealers here -- rumors warn of many fakes on sale. Close to The Oriental Hotel is OP Place (tel. 02266-0186), featuring a heap of high-end shopping venues, from stores selling expensive designer luggage to jet-setter jewelry stores and amazing antiques, carpets, and fine silver tableware (much of which is Tiffany-like quality). In the same soi as The Oriental Hotel are some of the city's better tailoring shops and, in The Oriental itself, look out for exquisite one-off jewelry at Lotus Arts de Vivre or pop into the branch of Jim Thompson's for great silks.

Sukhumvit Road

This area is lined with shops from one end to the other, as well as some of Bangkok's biggest shopping malls. For fine silk, stop in at Almeta (20/3 Sukhumvit Soi 23; tel. 02204-1413 or 02258-4227), a rival to Jim Thompson's. Celadon House, on 85 Ratchadaphisek (tel. 02253-9237), carries attractive celadon ceramic.

For men's tailoring, there are many shops along Sukhumvit Sois 11 and 19. Most ship your order off to have clothes made in a factory and quality is iffy, so bargain like mad. Ambassador Fashion (28-28 Sukhumvit Soi 19; tel. 02253-2993) has been in the business for years and is near the Asok BTS. Directly opposite it is The Cynosure (tel. 02255-5800) for fine ladies' fabrics.

At night, the whole road fills up with night market stalls. Down at Soi 5, you will find endless supplies of wooden toys, crafts, and suitcases. After Soi 11, the pavements get packed with clothes, weaponry, and surfwear. At Soi 15, there's the excellent Asia Books (tel. 02252-7277); it's close to Robinson's Department Store (tel. 02651-1567), which is the place to shop for quality brands. It has a fair range of midrange luggage, children's wear, ladies' fashions, T-shirts, and brand-name sunglasses, though clothing sizes will not normally extend to oversized European or American sizes.

Silom & Surawong Roads

This area is packed with shopping malls and vendors -- you'll find any number of jewelry shops, silk retailers, and plenty of touristy tailors, but few places in this area are top notch. Check out the main store of Jim Thompson's (9 Surawong Rd.; tel. 02632-8100); a factory outlet is 5 minutes away down Surawong Road, as well as at 153 Sukhumvit Rd., Soi 93. Silom Complex (tel. 02632-1199) next to Sala Daeng BTS contains Central Department Store (www.central.co.th), which sells well-known brands of casual clothing such as Giordano and Esprit. On the second floor of Central, there's a Marks & Spencer's store from the U.K., selling food and clothing -- it's a great stop if you can't find any local fashions that fit or if you need things such as thermal underwear for your return trip. Right across the road from Silom Complex is the 24-hour British pharmacy Boots (no phone), which you should visit for things like European prescription drugs and contact lens cleaner. Watson's (no phone), a similar Hong Kong-based pharmacy, is just at the entrance to Silom Complex.

The Patpong Night Market, which runs between Silom and Surawong roads, sells mostly counterfeit goods. Watch out for pickpockets there.