Between work and personal travel I have managed to visit Thailand four times in the last two+ years. Besides owning a timeshare there, people always ask, so why Thailand? You could list a number of things that make Thailand a worthwhile country to visit. First and foremost, your money goes a long way there; you can eat and live like a royalty for less that 1/2 the price you would spend in Europe. The beaches are beautiful, the Thai people smile and are friendly, service levels are much much higher than found in the states, and Thai food is sooo good. But the real fun is the combination of your dollar value and the quality of goods in Thailand. The shopping, if you know where to go, is some of the best in the world. The bowl in the picture is made of Afzelia hardwood and the artist has a stall in the weekend market Section 10 Soi 19/4. I purchased one last year when I was there.First a few words about barganing. Yes I know most Americans don't like to bargain, but if you do not bargain you are paying way more than even the Thai's expect you to pay. In the night markets you can expect to bargain down around 70%! Yes you read that right - 70%. If somethign is 1,000 baht, offer 200, stick to your price and then let them work you to 300. If they let you walk away you may have gone too low. No worries, many of the stands in the night markets have the same goods, so simply raise your price a little at the next stop. When they tell you the price you laugh and say "what are you crazy"? Too expensive!!! I paid only x baht just yesterday!! The price is x baht and that is what I will pay. They will laugh with you and try to work you up, but stick to your guns and just walk away. You can always come back and raise your offer a little more. Most times they will not let you walk away.
Ok so where do you shop?
Patpong Road Night Market: I guess everyone should see this area at least once, but believe me that the reason to go is to watch and see all the crazieness around you. The shopping is really not that good. Most stands have the same goods over and over. Once you have passed a block or two you have really seen most of the things you will see. You can easily find fake luxury purses / watches and plenty of cds to purchase. However, Patpong is a little on the seedy side.
Suan Lum Night Barzaar: This is the official night market. Nice and clean, plenty of goods to choose from. A large food court and even live music to watch. This market is open 7 nights a week and is easy to find. If you want to shop at night this is the plance to go.
Chatuchak Weekend Market: This is my favorite place to shop. This market is only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is easy to find as you only need to take the Skytrain to the end of the Mochit line
. Just think I am going to buy Mochit haha.. The actual market boasts up to 15,000 stalls! There is no way you will see everything in a day. The heat and crowds will wear you down well before you can cover even 25% of the market. Last time I was there we set a record of 6 hours in the market. This was only done by having enough people to have a base at a restaurant stall and to take turns watching the purchases and resting. Make sure you wear light clothes, drink lots of water, wear a sun hat and be prepared for large crowds. Lastly, this market is considered a wholesale market, so you will be able to negotiate down but not nearly as much as in the night markets. This will be evident when you notice that the prices are much lower to begin with.I purchased the two oil paitings you see in the attached picture at the weekend market and framed them at home.
This link has more about the weeknd market with a map. Look for the legend on the bottom and then click the see map icon.
http://www.thailand.com/travel/recreation/recreation_markets_chatuchak.htm
Here are some links that provide more info on Bangkok shopping:
http://www.bangkok.com/shopping/index.html
http://www.bangkok.com/shopping/market.html
http://www.bangkok.com/nightlife/night-market.html
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