[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 13 April 2013. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]
26 March 2012, Monday
Morning Call: 7:30am
It’s Day 18, and I’m on my own for the first time during this trip. There is no agenda for Bangkok except for some shopping in the comfort of air-conditioned malls, so it’s quite a relaxed day for me. I started the day with a morning swim at Baiyoke Sky Hotel next door, because there is no swimming pool at Baiyoke Boutique Hotel, where I am staying at. The cluster of Baiyoke-named hotels also includes Baiyoke Suite Hotel, all located next to one another, but my Boutique Hotel is the cheapest among the three, thus it does not have its own swimming pool.
After a refreshing swim, I headed out and was fortunate to come across an A&W restaurant at Pantip Plaza, where I promptly went in and ordered my favourite ice-cream waffle, curly fries and root beer float. Oh, how I miss having A&W in Singapore! There used to be a restaurant just below my block, but it closed down more than 10 years ago, so sad. That’s why I always make it a point to have it whenever I’m in Malaysia or Thailand.
Breakfast done, it’s time for some retail therapy. The good thing about Baiyoke Boutique Hotel is its great location, in the heart of the Pratunam shopping area. All the good shopping malls are within walking distance, and they have a free shuttle service too.
First stop is Platinum Shopping Mall, Thailand’s largest wholesale and retail fashion mall, just five minutes walk from the hotel. There are over 2,500 shops spread over seven levels, including a food court on the top level. The shops here are neatly organised and it’s one of the more popular shopping malls among Singaporeans. Even though it’s a wholesale market, you can still make purchases of just one piece, though there are discounts for buying in bulk, often three pieces or more. Needless to say, most of the shops are catered towards ladies fashion, but there are still many shops for men. If you want to stock up on T-shirts with cool prints, this is the place to go.
Next up is CentralWorld mall, the third largest shopping complex in the world. It is huge and modern, with all the shops you need in one building. It’s a very comfortable place to shop and eat, with a lot of restaurants to choose from. It is positioned as a middle class shopping centre, as opposed to the upper class market Siam Paragon nearby. If you have nothing to do, you can just spend the whole day here – shop a little, have lunch, shop again, have a coffee at a nice café, dinner, then maybe catch a movie.
I also popped by Siam Paragon for a short while before heading to the ever-popular MBK, or Mahboonkrong, which touts itself as the most visited mall in Bangkok. It is a low end shopping mall catered for the masses, with large swathes of stalls selling pirated products, if that’s your kind of thing. It’s also where you can find the latest mobile phone accessories, fashion threads, electric appliances, basically everything.
It was quite a relaxed day for me, where I just spent the day traversing between the malls, soaking up the air-conditioned comfort and doing some shopping. Bearing in mind my luggage was already almost full, I didn’t dare to buy too much stuff. So compared to the past 17 days, Bangkok was really just a breeze, for me to chill out and experience “normal” city life for a bit. As I had a very early flight the following morning, I opted to go back early for a good rest. Next up, Hanoi!