Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.siamparagon.co.th
;
991/1 Th Phra Ram I; 10am-10pm; Siam exits 3 & 5)
Paragon epitomises the
city's fanaticism for the new, the excessive and absurd slogans. In addition to the usual
high-end brands, there's a Lamborghini dealer on the 2nd floor should you need a ride
home, and one floor up the
True Urban Park
'lifestyle centre' featuring a cafe, internet access
and a shop selling books, music and camera equipment.
Bookworms will fancy
Kinokuniya
(3rd floor), the largest English-language bookstore in
Thailand, as well as an expansive branch of
Asia Books
(2nd floor). Even more audacious
than the retail sections are the spectacular aquarium
Siam Ocean World
, an
IMAX theatre
and
Gourmet Paradise
, a seemingly never-ending basement level-food court. Whew.
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?
The 4th floor of MBK Center resembles something of a digital produce market. A confusing maze of stalls sell all
the components to send you into the land of cellular: a new phone, a new number and a SIM card. Even if you'd
rather keep yourself out of reach, do a walk-through to observe the chaos and the mania over phone numbers.
Computer print-outs displaying all the available numbers for sale turn the phone numbers game into a commodit-
ies market. The luckier the phone number, the higher the price; upwards of thousands of dollars have been paid
for numbers composed entirely of nines, considered lucky in honour of the current king, Rama IX (King Bhu-
mibol Adulyadej; r 1946-present), and because the Thai word for 'nine' is similar to the word for 'progress'.
PRATUNAM MARKET
CLOTHING
(cnr Th Phetchaburi & Th Ratchaprarop; 10am-10pm; klorng boat to Tha Pratunam, Ratchathewi exit 4)
The emphasis here is on cheap clothes, and you could spend hours flipping through the T-
shirts at the seemingly endless
Baiyoke Garment Center
.
The greater market area occupies the neighbourhood behind the shopfronts on the
corner of Th Phetchaburi and Th Ratchaprarop, but it doesn't end here: across the street is
the five-storey
Platinum Fashion Mall
, which sports the latest in no-brand couture.
SIAM CENTER
(Th Phra Ram I; 10am-9pm; Siam exit 1)
Siam Center, Thailand's first shopping centre, was
built in 1976 but, since a recent nip and tuck, hardly shows its age. Its 3rd floor is one of
the best locations to check out established local labels such as
Flynow III
,
Senada Theory
and
Tango
.
SHOPPING CENTRE
SIAM DISCOVERY CENTER
SHOPPING CENTRE
