Bangkok locals and tourists alike love to shop. So, we decided to dedicate the day to this activity. We took the sky train to Mo Chit station for Chatuchak Market (the weekend market). The market fills the space of 5 football fields, and has a little bit of everything. Mostly, it sells kitschy cheap tourist goods and clothing, but there are some unique stalls as well. Even with clothing, local designers have store fronts, but of course, few have changing stalls for trying on. There were some big-ticket items, like giant stone Buddhas, conveniently located next to UPS and DHL storefronts.
It seemed like every other stall was selling Thai silk, but neither of us have an eye for fabric quality, so we couldn't identify the bargains and the scams. Of course, everything is negotiable, even the items with price tags. The bargaining is all very friendly, and no one seems too pushy or desperate. Chris was pleased to find airsoft goods, but did more chatting with the vendors than actually buying.
We punctuated our shopping with frequent breaks at the various food stands. All was delicious, but the watermelon juice wins for the most refreshingly delicious beverage of the year! Many other market-goers were taking respites in the various massage stalls.
After a full morning of sensory overload, we went back to the hotel to soak in some AC. Then, we headed out for more shopping the mall. The sky train stop Siam is home to at least 3 enormous malls all within s few blocks of one another. First we poked our heads in to the Paragon, a very upscale mall with coture stores (Versace, and Chloe storefronts, for example). Not our style (well, not our budget).
We went to MBK mall, a mall like none other we've ever seen. It's divided into several sections: the top floor is an arcade and movie theatre, another floor is all the food, another floor is all home furnishings stores, another section is all cell phones (what seems like MILES of cell phone vendors), another portion of the mall is like a standard US mall, and then another section is all touristy cheap items laid out in stalls like an outdoor market. Even in the mall, prices are negotiable (maybe not in some store fronts, but certainly at the accessory stalls). Chris picked up a knock-off watch, but once again, our "shopping" was mostly just an excuse to walk through a new place and see new things.
Then, we went for a different type of window shopping. We took the sky train to Sala Daeng and walked to Patpong (the redlight district). We had no intention of going into any of the bars, but we wanted to see what the famous district was all about. Surprisingly, we saw few women on the street, and were badgered by men only, most of whom carried a menu of available shows and hollered at us, "You want ping pong show? Okay for lady to see too. Hello! You want ping pong show?" We walked past clubs called "Super Pussy" and the like, but took no pictures of our surroundings, lest we appear interested, and get goaded into seeing the aforementioned ping pong extravaganza. The center of the street was crowded with the same knock off goods that line most streets in Bangkok (the Tiffanys fakes were awful, btw.).
A few streets over is a street of Japanese-style hostess bars, which cater primarily to the Japanese business men. We had assumed that Patpong would be more like this manner of salesmanship--ladies in cute uniforms enticing you to enter, not the pushy, sweaty men of Patpong.
Anyway, we partook in neither districts' attractions, and went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
"I don't see you guys rating the kind of maiden I'm contemplating. I'd let you watch, I would invite you, but the queens we use would not excite you." - The American Chess
"You want Thai lady massage?" was the most heard thing in Bangkok. Paragon is nice, I spent a lot of time there cause it was the only place with an English bookstore. The fact that it was close to Shruti's Gemological Institute also helped.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I admire your fortitude for going to Chatuchak.
Nihal