My feet was already sore from all the walking we did on our first day, but I wasn’t about to miss out shopping in Bangkok for anything. I’ve heard so many stories and reviews on how fun it is to shop in Bangkok. There were so many good deals, especially if you know where to shop, and how to haggle.
Chatuchak / found a cute dog guarding the stall with his owner
So for our first shopping adventure, we went to Chatuchak. Chatuchak is huge. You’ll get lost in the sea of stores and people if you don’t have a systematic way of shopping. And if you’re not used to shopping under the sun, then be ready to. This place reminds of Divisoria, a shopper’s heaven and hell back home. Chatuchak was also a heaven and hell for me – heaven, because of all the great products at bargain prices, and hell, because of the heat and the language barrier.
Hungry Shoppers at Chatuchak
It was a shame that we only had a few hours to shop. There was no time to window shop here. Once you see something you really like, you better be ready to haggle and buy it. Yeah, you have the choice of thinking about and coming back if you’ve finally decided to buy the item. Though, chances are you won’t be able to find that store again. We got there around 9 am, and by 12 noon, we haven’t gotten around to seeing everything yet. Good thing there were also food stalls there because all the shopping and walking made us hungry.
Shopping at Chatuchak
And no, you won’t see any picture of the several plastic bags containing our Chatuchak finds. All the plastic bags became such a hassle to carry that I bought a bag to put them in. Lesson learned: when shopping in Chatuchak, bring a special big bag to place the items you bought. If you are shopping with your girl friends, don’t forget to take advantage of the wholesale deals. The price per item gets cheaper when you buy them in bulk.
At the BTS; just left Chatuchak
After shopping and walking around for nearly 5 hours, my legs and feet gave up on me. My left toe had blisters already, while my leg muscles had cramps. Though to be completely honest, it was my wallet and its lack of baht that triggered the exodus from Chatuchak. Leaving was the only sane option.
front of the King Royal Garden Inn
After freshening up and fixing shopping finds, we decided to check out Siam Paragon. Siam Paragon is one of Bangkok’s bigger malls. It’s not as huge as the malls we have in Manila, but it’s big enough. There were lots of people, probably because it’s the weekend before the Chinese New Year.
seeing red at Siam Paragon
There were lots of Chinese-themed decorations outside of the mall. When we got there, there was an exhibit and a show about something. We never really found out what it was about, only that there were many people watching.
The boyfie with Jackie Chan & an interesting restroom sign
Inside Siam Paragon, I saw several familiar brands and shops. It really could’ve been any mall the in Manila. We would’ve blended in but I don’t recall taking pictures inside the mall was a normal habit for locals.
Looking around the mall, I found several interesting shops. I resisted the urge to buy anything in the shops, but there was one pair of boots I couldn’t resist. And since I brought reinforcements with me, I was able to buy it. You may get glimpse of me wearing it when I post about the day 3 events.
at the BTS
And before I go into another shopping frenzy, we decided to head back to our hotel. Plus, we needed to sleep early because we have another long day ahead tomorrow. So check back for Day 3.
