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Top 10 Business Travellers' Shopping List
What and Where to Buy
The winners
Bangkok truly is a paradise for shopaholics, home to some of the largest indoors and outdoor shopping venues in Southeast Asia. There are literally thousands of nooks and crannies around the City of Angels where you can find exotic and impressive gifts that make perfect souvenirs, whether for you or your loved ones. |
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The entirety of this large mall is dedicated to computer and technology items. A wide selection of stores sells everything computer-related such as parts, printers, digital cameras, MP3 players and much more. What's not for sale here is not worth buying. IT City on the top floor is the biggest store in the Plaza, displaying and selling the latest equipment with full details and warranties. The goods at Pantip are largely pirated with some legitimate licensed software programs available, though they are not as popular due to their higher prices. Expect lots of DVDs and VDO games discs, too.
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A four-storey IT mall where you can find the latest versions of technological items such as mobile phones (iPHONE, Blackberry, PDA phone), video games (PSP, Nintendo; DSL, and Wii), MP3 and MP4 players (iPOD, iPOD Touch), DVD players, Hi-Fi's, home stereos, and more. The Fortune Town on Ratchadapisek is more organized and less chaotic than Pantip Plaza or MBK, so vendors have more time to help customers with each item. This IT Mall is easily accessible via the underground (Phra Ram 9, MRT).
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Like what you see in those glossy fashion magazines? If you're in the market for a new suit, winter overcoat, tuxedo, or a dress of any style, Bangkok's tailors will make pretty much anything up for you at reasonable prices. Bangkok is home to any number of excellent tailors with years of experience and superb craftsmanship. The best is James Fashion International, listed in the National Geographic Magazine's Top Ten Best Tailors in the World, offering the widest selection of fabrics and textiles, ranging from Thai silk to cashmere wool, to Egyptian cotton. James guarantees the high quality of its work.
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Whether you are a beginner or a professional, if you love capturing your surroundings for posterity and seek pro-brand equipment at inexpensive prices then Bangkok is the right spot for you. There's a long list of shops offering extensive choices including the latest versions of brand cameras, lenses, flashes, memory cards, filters, tripods, batteries and grips. All items come with international warrantees: BIG Camera (4th Floor, Zone A, MBK), Foto File (1st and 3rd Floor, Zone B, MBK), AV Camera (Charoen Krung Soi 50, next to Robinsons Bangrak) are some to check out.
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Renowned for its skillful execution and attention to detail, Thai jewellry is well known around the world. The Silom Galleria offers fine selections of the most precious gemstones from around the country. While diamond and gems shops can be easily found throughout Bangkok exclusive shopping malls feature clusters of these exclusive shops such as at Peninsula Plaza, Gaysorn Plaza, and the Erawan Bangkok. Interested in gold? China Town has the highest concentration of gold shops selling rings, necklaces, bracelets, and other associated sparkling items. |
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Cigar shops have been increasing in popularity in the past few years. Siam Havana Cigar shop in the Dusit Thani Hotel is recognised as the first Cuban cigar importer to Thailand. The shop offers more than 40 premium brands from all over the world as well as other accessories like Cohiba cigar ashtrays and fine leather cigar cases. La Casa Del Habano at the Oriental Hotel carries a full selection of quality Cuban cigars and tobaccos. Both shops are fitted out with luxurious sofas and are perfect spots for customers to relax and puff away on a newly purchased cigar with Caribbean tunes in the background. |
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A massive bookstore, Kinokuniya, on the 3rd Floor at Siam Paragon, offers something for everyone, from fiction, religion, science, architecture and interior design, travel guides to comic books. Tomes are available in English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai. Similarly, B2S, a four-storey shop at Central World boats some 200,000 books with 4,000 magazine titles, and 130,000 DVDs and CDs. Out-of-print, back-issue magazines, and inexpensive illustrated books can be found at section 1 and 27 in the Chatuchak Weekend Market. |
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Maximise your available space at home or in the office with uniquely designed furniture and beautiful lighting arrangements. The 4th Floor at Siam Discovery has an extensive variety of contemporary and Asia art products. Panta mainly displays original styles from three famous Thai designers. Masterpiece focuses more on heritage items while the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by the late HRH the Princess Mother, offers trendy home decorations and unique gifts from the Doi Tung Development Project.
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The Bangkok modern art scene is thriving. If you are looking for creative and inspiring items to decorate your walls or to place on your coffee table, visit La Lanta. This charming art gallery offers art creations in different styles spanning photography, painting, fine art prints, and sculpture (Sukhumvit Soi 31, Promgpong BTS). Tang Gallery is famous for Chinese contemporary art (basement floor, Silom Galleria) or try Art at Play, a nighttime gallery with a friendly atmosphere (Silom Soi 4, open 19:00 – 24:00).
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Thai fashion is made up of more than just silk and textiles. Many young Thai executive business people love to express their identity through fashionable clothing. If you are likeminded visit the up-to-date Thai boutiques like Greyhound, and Soda on the 2nd Floor at the Emporium and Seneda Theory, Kai Boutique on the 2nd Floor at Gaysorn Plaza. Even more unique and chic designs are on display at Fly Now, 1st Floor, Siam Paragon
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