Whatever you buy, make sure you have honed your bargaining skills and remember to smile. A smile can take you far in the City of Angels!

You will definitely fill your suitcase when shopping in Bangkok. Read our Bangkok Shopping Guide below and we will tell you all you need to know to get the best deals and learn about the best places to shop in Bangkok. If you get hungry during your shopping spree, stop for some finger food or relax in one of the great Bangkok Restaurants along the city's shopping streets.

Bangkok Shopping Guide

Bangkok is easily the best place for shopping in all of Asia. It is heaven for bargain hunters, and haggling with street vendors is just a way of life here. In fact, the vendors enjoy it, and so should you.

One of the Bangkok's main shopping areas is Silom Road, which is crammed with specialist shops and department stores, including Robinsons, many shopping plazas, and many silk and antique shops. The street also has many tailors in case you would like to get yourself a custom-made garment. You will find two floors dedicated to antiques in the River City Shopping Complex next to the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. You will not be able to bargain here, but the stores often offer discounts. However, probably the best place to shop in is The Emporium on Sukhumvit Road where you can buy branded clothing and accessories, and there are also cinemas, supermarkets, and restaurants here.

If you are looking for a colourful bazaar-like experience where you can find low prices, try the street markets in Bangkok. On Sukhumvit Road there is a street market which is open most of the day, but peak shopping hours are at night. There are dozens of stalls selling clothes, bags, silk items, and souvenirs you can take back as gifts. Patpong is known for its exciting nightlife, but there is also a busy night market here where you can find clothes and souvenirs at great bargain prices.

If you want to see everything Thailand grows and manufactures, head to the weekend market at Chatuchak Park on Phaholyothin Road. You will find things like furniture, carpets, ceramics, watches, clothes, food, and flowers. While at the highly popular Suan Lum night bazaar at the intersection of Rama IV and Wireless Roads, thousands of stalls sell gifts items, clothes, handicrafts, and jewellery. Visit it soon before it vanishes, as there are plans afoot to redevelop the site.

In Chinatown you will find lots of shops selling gold jewellery, and the cloth market at Phahurat nearby offers a huge range of wonderful fabrics. Woeng Nakhon Kasem (popularly called the ‘Thieves' Market'), which is between Yaowarat Road and New Road, offers antique porcelain, copperware, and furniture. Bangkok's best buys include anything in silk, gems, especially the indigenous rubies and sapphires, pearls, ceramics, painted umbrellas and fans, wickerwork, wood carvings, and leather goods. Getting clothes tailored here makes sense since quality standards are high.

You will always find some store or street market open since many shops do business 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and the street markets stay open even longer.

For duty-free shopping, head to the Downtown Duty-Free Mall, King Power Complex, Rangnam Road. You can pay for your shopping here and then collect it at the airport just before departure. For VAT refunds, check out shops with signs that say -- ‘VAT refund for tourists''. These shops will offer a refund (Value Added Tax 7%) on purchases worth B 2,000 and above. You will be required to fill in an application form for the VAT refund when you make the purchase, and you'll need to show your passport. You can get cash refunds (minimum B 5,000) at the airport departure hall, and will probably have to show the purchases you've made.

Shopping hours

Most Bangkok shops stay open from about 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 or 11:00 p.m., and some even later. On Sundays you will usually find the small stores closed (even if they are in big shopping malls), but large department stores are open seven days a week. So if it is the weekend or a public holiday, call the store beforehand to check whether it is open, and when.

Plan your shopping trip - time is crucial!

Knowing when to shop and where, and using the time you have on hand effectively, is important. It is a good idea to make a list of the things you want to buy before you set out on your adventures. Once you do that, you will know where to go. For instance, if you want to go to the markets, try to visit them in the mornings or evenings when the weather is a little cooler and the pace of the city is not so frantic. If you are hot, your best bet are the cool air-conditioned malls. But whatever you do, do not just drift about hoping to find what you want. Make concrete plans. It is easier to stick to specific areas like Chinatown for outdoor morning shopping and Siam with its many malls for the afternoon. Then if you want to get to a store in that area, all you have to do is walk across and save your baht.

How to Bargain in Bangkok

Refrain from bargaining at the malls, department stores, supermarkets, and large retail shops, where prices are fixed. But elsewhere, bargaining is common and even expected. You can safely bargain for 50% off in some tourist-centric places like Patpong Night Market where the prices are heavily marked-up. And remember, the more you smile, the more polite you are, the bigger the bargains. Do not raise your voice or allow yourself to get angry. If you offer a price, make sure that you are prepared to pay it. Once you are made an offer, try to bargain for a price that is lower than what you expect to pay, and smile. Then wait and see how the shopkeeper reacts. A counter-offer will follow, and you can then agree on a price. Once you do that, you can try to get a package price if there are other items you want to buy. This way you can get the best possible bargain.