Great shopping destinations in Bangkok

I, like most women, love shopping! And I think Bangkok must be one of the best places on earth to go shopping, because there are so many wonderful shopping centers, plazas and markets.

My favourites are:

MBK Center and Siam Discovery Center, which can both easily be reached from the BTS Skytrain "National Stadium" station.

Siam Center and Siam Paragon Center, which are near the first two centers above, but which can be more easily reached from the "Siam" Skytrain station. The lovely Siam Square is also near here, which is mostly an outdoor shopping area.

Central World Center (reported to be the largest shopping complex in southeast Asia), which is about halfway between the "Siam" and "Chit Lom" Skytrain stations, with an elevated walkway that connects the two stations to the center.

All the centers above have shops catering to all tastes and budgets, selling just about everything you can imagine. MBK has perhaps the cheapest shops including a large indoor fashion market, while Siam Paragon has the most expensive shops. All the centers also have large numbers of restaurants, as well as food courts, providing cuisine from all around the world. They also all have their own multi-screen cinemas. Siam Paragon also has an IMAX cinema and a Sea Life center.

Also well worth a visit is the Chatuchak Giant Flea Market, which is near the "Mo Chit" Skytrain station - this market is very cheap and is best visited at the weekend, because this is when all the stalls are full of vendors selling everything from clothes, shoes, technology, food and even pets.

Another very interesting market is the night market in the famous Patpong District, near the "Sala Daeng" Skytrain station. The market is in the middle of the street between the many go-go bars of Patpong, so it can be a bit risque! The market mainly sells copies of designer clothes and goods.

If you somehow get bored of all of those dream shopping destinations, there are lots of other great centers such as the exclusive Gaysorn Designer Center near the "Chit Lom" Skytrain station, and the Emporium Center near the "Phrom Phong" Skytrain station.

Click here to see the current BTS Skytrain route map.