Click Here For Some ( serious ) humour about shopping in Bangkok
Alcohol Sales is restricted. 11.00 a.m until 2.00 p.m and then, 5.00 p.m - 12.00 a.m click here
Shopping in Bangkok and Thailand is excellent. There are a large number of large and well appointed shopping centers in Bangkok with many of them offering a shopping paradise for anyone wishing to restock their wardrobe or spoil themselves with some luxury items.
The main and largest chain of department stores is Central.
The Central Shopping stores have greatly improved the goods they stock and their flag ship store, Central Chidlom, Bangkok compares closely, in my opinion, to many larger stores you'd find in the UK and other countries.
Central Chidlom seems to have spent a lot of time researching where to buy its goods and now its food hall is very well stocked, especially the meats section which is run by an Australian who ensures the meats are of the finest quality and presented in the best manner. Whether imported or locally produced, the meats counter is as good as any I have seen. It looks clean, hygienic and the selection is plentiful if not just a little expensive.
Of course, there are alternatives to Central; noticeably The Emporium, Bangkok which also has a very good food hall on the top floor. It too offers quality foods from around the world as well as an Australian meats counter run by an Australian expatriate.
The newly opened, Siam Paragon, Bangkok is getting there. It has an excellent food center on the ground / basement floor but this is mainly made up of numerous restaurants or eateries. The supermarket itself is well stocked but I feel it doesn't have the same selections as either Central or Emporium
One thing that has struck me recently is the way they advertise their food; especially their vegetables. To read more about what I mean, visit the Siam Paragon, Bangkok, section.
There are a number of other shopping centers in Bangkok such as Discovery, Siam Center and Robinson, but they do not compare to the three previously mentioned.
Now, a word of advice / warning: Thais love to shop. The word "shop" is a loose translation of what they actually do. It might be better to state that Thais love to go to shopping centers and they all seem to go at the same time, which is generally lunchtime and then hang around for about four hours.
If I want to do any shopping in Bangkok for your groceries, then I suggest getting there at opening time and get all your shopping done before the Thais feel it's time to eat and start the day's shuffling.
If you get to the grocery stores at or before 10 am, you will easily find a parking space and the shopping aisles will be free of kids and people who leave their trolleys strewn everywhere making passing extremely difficult.
The sale of alcohol is not allowed before 11 am. This is a fairly new law introduced by Thaksin's government in an attempt to curb the drinking habits of the young and to make the citizens of Thailand more responsible members of society.
Alcohol sales in Bangkok stores is permitted as follows:
00:00 - 11:00 no alcohol may be purchased.
11:00 - 14:00 Alcohol may be purchased.
14:00 - 17:00 no alcohol may be purchased.
17:00 - 00:00 Alcohol may be purchased.
Nothing worse than filling your basket with the evening's wine and beer and on getting to the sales counter having someone say "no, sorry". Bang goes the evening's entertainment unless you are prepared to hang around for a few hours until you can buy it again.
But wait... there is a way around it. If you buy something stupid like 20 litres, you can buy your alcohol at any time, but you have to wait for the correct time to buy a small bottle of beer for your lunch or evening meal. Kind of sends the wrong message...
So, it's an issue for me. I hate all the crowds and so get the the shops early, but in doing so, I never get to buy my booze at that time. I have to make another trip later on. No, it doesn't make any sense. No, Thais were not a bunch of drunks and didn't need the assistance of a do gooder. Does everyone who is sensible suffer because of it? yes.
Moving on: The food halls in these Bangkok department stores are excellent. Central has a number of restaurants scattered around but Central Chidlom has a very good Loft food hall which serves various foods from different countries. On entering, collect a card, present the card to the food counter of your choice which will be clocked to the tune of your bill. Do the same thing at any of the counters and when you have finished, present your card(s) to the cashier and they read off the card what it is you have spent. Very simple and efficient and this method has now been adopted by The Emporium, Bangkok and Siam Paragon, Bangkok. The Emporium's version is on the top floor, with the Siam Paragon's version on the ground floor.
The BAD thing is that Thais love to eat. It's a national past-time and one they are extremely good at. It therefore should be noted that come lunchtime, the food halls, restaurants and so on, will become a seething mass of hungry Thais. They come from nowhere. One minute you are having a nice quiet shop ( let's take Siam Paragon as the example ) and the next, the food hall is jammed and all of a sudden you are side stepping crying kids, wheel chairs, trolleys left unattended, old people out with the entire family, large groups of teenage girls all on their mobile phones and so on. And here's the clincher. All walk no faster than a snail and have nooo concept of other people around them at all.
Some Rules of thumb:
1. Never, and I suggest you remember this, never get into an ATM queue with more than two Thais in the queue. I guarantee one of them will not know how to use it, or will suddenly produce X number of cards and want to check the account of each one before starting all over again to withdraw any money; and forget the number on first attempt for at least 50% of those cards.
2. Be vigilant when getting on or off escalators. A Thai will walk ( sorry, shuffle ) up to the escalator full of purpose and then stop. Maybe they want to answer the phone, or have suddenly remembered something, or maybe they just want to be sure that when they step onto that moving step, their footing is just right. Getting onto an escalator and judging what the person in front of you will do is a skill. Don't worry, you'll learn it all in good time.
3. Getting OFF the escalator. You'll never guess. Thais take one stop off the escalator and..yes....STOP. Once off the escalator, well...their journey is done. Forget the stream of people coming down after them. This is the time and place for contemplation as to where to go next. Forget the fact they do this same thing every weekend.
This is seriously something that happens during the national anthem.
When the national anthem plays ( 8 am and 6 pm ) Thais will stop and stand to attention as long as the situation permits. Cars don't stop, trains keep running etc, but all of a sudden, the music will start and everyone going down a flight of stairs will stop until the music stops, and off they go ( sorry..shufle )again.
WAIT FOR IT. Yes. escalators.....
Thais WILL stop smack bang at the bottom of the escalator when the music starts and everyone behind just crashes into the back of them. It's crazy. No one gives an ounce of thought to those behind or in front of them.
4. Lifts or elevators. Now, here's another source of fun / annoyance / area in need of improvement etc. Again, this is another example of Thais not having a clue or wish to think anyone else might exist.
A lift full of people, would, in most countries be allowed to empty before anyone tries to get on. Not here. A full lift of people can try to empty but only as people try to get on first.
You might ask, " what happens when the lift arrives empty ?". Well, in the rare event that this happens, and there is a group of people waiting to get on, the first Thai will get on and stop. Not stop at the back, or to the side. No. They will stop. Heck, after all, they are on right ? So you then need to push and shove to get on yourself.
Also, Thais will plan ahead for the eventuality of a lift being full.
Let's say, you are on the 2nd floor and you want to go down to the 1st floor. Just wait for the lift coming down right ? WRONG. Come on..wake up here. Concentrate. I'm trying to keep you alive here.
If you want to go to the 1st floor from the 2nd floor, you ride the lift all the way to the top to ensure your space to get you to the 1st floor.
These are common survival tactics when out shopping in Bangkok. Learn them well and have a good chuckle when you recall this article when it first happens to you.
There are other survival tactics that I shall mention, but this is a beginners course. Advanced training is scheduled for a little later after you've had time to practice and become familiar with the basics.
If you'd had some similar experiences, please share them by posting to the chat forum.
Happy Shopping.
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