Shop, Shop, Shop till You Drop!

Bangkok is really a shopper's paradise. I've never seen anyplace like this for shopping malls other than Singapore. I'm not really a mall shopper, but there are so many malls here & they are HUGE & spacious & modern& did I say gigantic? I was in one that had 7 levels! It was especially cool because it had a large Japanese department store in it (Isetan), where I found the most delicious Japanese Mouchi, very small ice cream (or gelato) scoop covered with a thin rice paste - I know it sounds weird, but it's great.



There must be at least 10 of these malls in the central shopping area of BKK. In addition to the malls, there are TONS of smaller shops in the same area, PLUS some small markets AND most of the sidewalks are lined with stands selling clothes, food, stuff & more food.

There is a huge (I know, I know, I must find another word) weekend market called Chatuchak that I went to last Sunday. The guide books say that it has over 6000 vendors & covers a space of more than 5 football fields. It sounds daunting to say the least, but like everything else I have found here, it is very well organized. It is all divided into numbered sections, & those sections into numbered rows & so on.

In addition, most of the products are grouped in the same area, so I could head straight for the sections concentrated on antiques, crafts & handicrafts, and so on. I was able to pick up a few things before fatigue set in. Most of the smaller rows are covered (& very congested) so it was cooler.


It must be a real feat to do this market in the humid summer months.

The main item that I hoped to find here was fabric for curtains for my condo. I adore the fabrics/silks from Jim Thompson & have bought fabric on each of my past visits to BKK. I went to the Jim Thompson Outlet & was in heaven! I did find a fabric, a gorgeous silk in sort-of deep-red-aubergine tones. I also bought the lining & asked at the Outlet for some contacts of people who could make the curtains. I contacted a young woman who spoke English, gave her my 50 meters of silk + 50 of lining & will get (hopefully) everything back by the 25th. It's amazing how heavy the fabric weighs, so I'm planning to FedEx it to Bethesda. Needless to say, the price of the fabric + sewing is so much cheaper than anything I could have had made in DC.