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The “Siam shopping
strip” is conveniently located on the BTS Skytrain line (Siam
and National Stadium) and features a number of shopping
complexes either attached to one another or within walking distance.
The majestic Siam Paragon,
directly across from the Siam
station, is Bangkok’s newest
addition to the “shopping
strip” having officially opened with much fanfare in December
2005. With more than 40 international and local fashion labels,
bigname watch brands and jewelers, not to mention a gigantic aquarium,
the fivestorey, 500,000 square metre complex has quickly become
the prime shopping hub in the
city.
The Mezzanine and 1st floor are devoted exclusively to Shops
featuring designer clothing labels such as Hermes, Chanel, Burberry,
Hugo Boss, Guicci and Versace. You can also find some of the world’s
finest jewellers and watchmakers on these floors such as Franck
Muller, Harry Winston, and Rolex, as well as Shops
displaying the finest in locally crafted rings, necklaces and bracelets.
 The
2nd floor is dedicated to lifestyle and leisure products, like golf
wear and an extensive array of audio-visual outlets, such as the
Samsung Plaza, Sony Style store, Bang & Olufsen and Bose. The
floor also features a number of spas, a selection of opticians and
a “gold gallery’’.
Bookworms should head for the massive Kinokuniya bookstore.
It’s on the 3rd floor and features titles in English, Thai,
Chinese, Japanese, French and German. Next door is the futuristic
TRUE Urban Park IT store with mobile phones, gadgets, an
Internet café and other digital delights. Computer buffs
will be turned on by the Mac Studio (next door to Kinokuniya) and
IT City on the 4th floor, which also houses the AIS Future World
and Jay Mart mobile phone Shops.
The 3rd floor also houses a wide selection of home decor and designer
furniture outlets. To add some distinctly local touches to your
home, check out the Thai fashion house Jaspal Home Collection.
International brands such as Martha Stewart, Barbara Barry and Yves
Delorme are also featured.
The 5th and 6th floors of Paragon are made up of a Cineplex, and
an IMAX cinema, along with a combined karaoke lounge and bowling
alley, and the 1,600 seat Siam
Opera theatre. In the basement below the sprawling food court, Internet
cafe and Gourmet Market is Siam
Ocean World.
 Next
to Paragon is the adjoining Siam
Center, which has a number of trendy boutiques and local fashion
houses. Watch out for international brands like Sisley, Swatch,
Levi’s, Benetton, and local designer Jaspal. For a coffee break
there is a Starbucks on the ground floor.
Across the street is Siam
Square proper, where you’ll find piles of leather goods,
handbags, jeans and sexy shirts in every colour of the rainbow and
then some. Most Shops cater to
Thai teenagers, so finding Western-sized clothing can be a bit of
a challenge. Shops usually open
around 11am and close at 9pm.
 The
Scala, Lido and Siam cinemas
can also be found in Siam
Square. These older movie theatres with their kitchsy charm may
not boast the latest sound systems and giant 10-storey screens,
but they are one of the few places in the city that regularly screens
award-winning international and art-house films.
Connected to Siam Center
by an enclosed walkway is Siam
Discovery Center (www.siamdiscoverycenter.co.th), which has
undergone a mild facelift and now sports a clean white look. There
are a few international brands such as North Face, MAC cosmetics,
Kipling and Asia Books to keep savvy shoppers busy. Unwind in The
Metropolitan Museum of Art shop (www.metmuseum.org/store/index.asp),
which showcases refashioned jewellery and bric-a-brac modelled on
original historic pieces housed at the original New York museum.
 The
5th floor is Kid’s World where you’ll find Tiny Tykes,
The Maternity House, and Pork Chop & Friends. The 6th and 7th
floor house cinemas, a food court, and franchise restaurants.
Across the pedestrian bridge, Mah Boon Krong or MBK
is an enormous mall that is a blessing to both shoppers on a tight
budget and those with money to burn. The seven-storey mall (crowned
with a Cineplex as has become the fashion in Thailand) boasts a
fascinating array of Thai, Western and, at the Tokyu department
store, even Japanese goods. At the hodgepodge of stalls (redolent
of a Thai street market) you can haggle away, but at the more expensive
Shops, the prices are fixed.
 Working
our way up, the ground floor stalls and Shops
are outfitted with ladies’ fashions, hair accessories, Thai
trinkets, a supermarket, pharmacy, camera shop, money changer and
bank.
On the 2nd floor you’ll find more clothing and jewellery,
beauty salons, masseuses and a post office. The 3rd floor offers
yet more clothes, dried fruit, health and beauty products, T-shirt
printing Shops and cameras. But
the 4th floor is solely dedicated to IT, mobile phones and electronics.
Up on the fifth floor you can find expensive, modern furnishings
and home decor. The 6th floor houses a food court, fashion Shops,
a money changer and Thai Crafts.
ATM machines that accept international bank cards are also located
throughout MBK.
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