Best Shopping Mall in Bangkok - MBK
From Hi-End to Lo-End, MBK Offers Cheapies to Designer Specials
Families, trendies, and in-the-know tourists come here for the latest street wear and modish mainstream gear. Although chaotic, it’s actually a well organized market with air-conditioning, small stalls, great bargains and lots of fun people around.
MBK is easy to reach from almost any part of Bangkok and it is a stop on the sky-train. It isn’t advertised much though, because it’s goods are at the cheaper end of the spectrum, selling as it does a lot of locally produced goods. Quality aligned with rock-bottom prices is not something one often comes across, but virtually everything in MBK is a bargain for the tourist from the west and places like Singapore, Japan and Taiwan, yet quality has not been sacrificed. With goods from fine Chinese silks to cell ‘phones, lingerie to leather, and trainers to toys, on eight floors, MBK is a shopper’s dream.
A word of warning. Because of its size, either buy what you want when you see it, or make a very careful note of where the shop or stall is.
It is possible to spend the whole day there, just rubber-necking or shopping, with forays into various superb restaurants for replenishment. There is a very good Shanghainese restaurant serving the best Chinese food ever and at reasonable prices on an upper floor of the Mall, plus there are fast-food outlets, Thai snack bars, and ice-cream parlours.
Leather goods are well priced whether handbags or shoes, and although there are lots of fakes in the Prada, Louis Vuitton and Chanel and Dior class, there are also some excellent locally designed bags in good quality hide.
Jewellery looks like another good buy here, but it can’t be said often enough that when buying jewellery in Thailand it is a case of caveat emptor. Having said that, however, it looks good and if it looks good and the price suits your pocket, then go ahead and buy it! Forget about being ripped off.
Chinese silk lingerie is another good buy - especially branded name goods. One special place to head for is a little store in the north part of the Mall called Tokyu, where superb silk pyjamas are on sale for ridiculous prices – like 400 TBht. (£7 or $14) for international brands.
Don't overlook having clothes made here. There are little stalls hidden all around where a seamstress will run you up a swish evening dress in a day. If you have a favourite garment, bring it in and it can be copied in material of your choice, at a very reasonable price.
After shopping, SF Cinema City in the complex offers a chance to see some of the latest films, and there is Bowling to the sound of Thai Indie for the very active!
The Bangkok Sky Train is an easy way to get around a city that used to be notorious for its transport failures. The stop for MBK is the National Stadium and there is an exit that leads straight into MBK Mall. It’s not far from Siam Paragon for some upmarket therapy after the bargain hunting if necessary.
Read about other markets in Bangkok.
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