No-one escapes Thailand without shopping. Travel writer John Borthwick has compiled the ultimate guide to shopping in Thailand, in all it’s varied and colourful formats.

Street Markets
From Chiang Rai to Hat Yai and back, Thailand’s street markets are a hoot, overflowing with inessential yet irresistible stuff. Soi Sukhumvit in Bangkok’s Nana district is a perfect example, a sidewalk crush of football-shirts, elephant-print pants, “copy” goods and endless gizmos. Prices are flexible. Haggle away but you won’t beat the house. Forget cards: cash is king.
Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the biggest, baddest, best-fun shopping experiences in the world. Thais come here to arm-wrestle hard bargains from other Thais. With 15,000 stalls selling everything from fashion to bric-a-brac to homewares, pet dogs and cats, and even kitchen sinks, Chatuchak is all-consuming.




Chiang Mai’s Night Bazaar is an institution even if most of its toy elephants, muay thai shorts, faux Vuitton and other tat can be found almost anywhere. Alternatively, try the Sunday Walking Street Market in the Old Town, stretching from Tha Phae Gate to Wat Phra Singh. It’s a crowded half-kilometre of handicrafts, artworks and clothing. Add foot massages and fried grasshoppers. There’s a Saturday afternoon market on Wualai Road near Chiang Mai Gate, and the nightly Anusarn Market, off Chiang Klan Road.
Floating Markets
Some of the most authentic ones don’t actually float. Consider Bangkok’s Bang Krachao Saturday and Sunday market. Cross the Chao Phraya River by ferry from Wat Bang Na Nok pier to Bang Krachao, an oxbow-bend “island” in the stream. Its canal-side morning market, popular with Bangkokians, is all about food, drinks and souvenirs.


(c) John Borthwick

(c) John Borthwick
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, 100km from the city swarms with coach-loads of tourists each morning. (It’s a seven a.m departure from your Bangkok hotel.) The sampan traffic jams are highly photogenic but the mass-produced souvenirs are standard market fare. Amphawa Floating Market, 50 km from town is an alternative, especially if you avoid weekends.
Malls and malls
How many malls does Bangkok need? Always one more. Most upmarket malls showcase the name-brand watches, cosmetics and accoutrements you can find world-wide, but here they’re often under one roof, with the bonus of a VAT refund. (Keep your receipts.)
The Ratchprasong district is home to quality outlets like Central World and Gaysorn. The adjacent Pratunam district has several more, including the large Platinum Fashion Mall. And, as there’s always one more mall, don’t forget mid-city Siam Paragon and the riverside mega-complex Icon Siam.





Further east on Sukhumvit Road you find malls like Central Embassy, the mammoth Terminal 21 (at Asok BTS station) and EmQuartier (Phrom Phong BTS). All these institutions display fixed prices, not the place for haggling. For a very different mall experience, with huge variety and competitive prices, hit the legendary MBK Center beside National Stadium BTS station.
Top Tip: As well as air-conditioned relief from the heat, many malls offer appetising, economical food courts while the ground floors often host pop-up clothing sales.
Chiang Mai isn’t a Mini-Me Bangkok and happily ‘lacks’ the capital’s swag of mega-malls. The most upmarket mall here is Maya in the Nimmanhaemin district (aka Nimman). With six floors of brand-names, beauty clinics and eateries, you can impulse-purchase anything from new Nikes to a Harley. Nearby, One Nimman which looks like Tuscany-in-Thailand, complete with a Siena-style clocktower, features artisan stalls and fashion wear. Massage spas, too, but no grasshoppers. Meanwhile, creativity blooms in the side-street boutiques off Nimmanhaemin Road that specialise in contemporary art, jewellery, ceramics and hill tribe textiles.
Seaside Shopping
When the tanning gets boring, the sunburnt go shopping. Thailand’s beach resort towns are happy to assist. All the bargain beachwear, sunglasses, “copy” watches and shoes you thought you’d never want spill from their arcades and bazaars.
Phuket. Patong, a busy, one-stop consumption epicentre, hosts the island’s principal malls, such as Central Phuket and family-friendly Jungceylon. Visitors don’t go short of splurging opportunities anywhere from Phuket Old Town to the over-touristed gauntlet of James Bond Island.
Pattaya. It’s a similar story. Major malls include Royal Garden Plaza and Mike Shopping Mall along Beach Road, while the large Terminal 21 stands a little inland. Plus hundreds of bazaars and market stalls. For technology, go to TukCom mall on South Pattaya Road.





Hua Hin. Eating and shopping converge at Hua Hin’s long-established Night Market, a mid-town mecca on Soi 72, along with alternative malls like Cicada. Clothing stalls spring up at dusk, as do roaring woks and live entertainment. Sated on satays and Singha, you can then plunder a cornucopia of delights and excess baggage.
Sustainable Shopping
Look for shops displaying the OTOP (“One Tambon One Product”) brand, which markets community-produced Thai handicrafts, silks and many other wares. The program, launched in 2001, is based on an earlier program developed in Oita prefecture, Japan in 1964; OVOP (One Village One Product).

It’s the real deal – no cheap imports or fakery – with the profits going to mostly rural producers. Fresh and processed food produced under the Royal Projects initiative can be bought at general stores and Doi Kham Royal Project Shops throughout Thailand. NB: single-use plastic bags are still the default packaging option, always remember to take your own reusable shopping bag.
Tax-Free Shopping
Purchases worth over 2000 baht can be eligible for a Value Added Tax refund. Conditions apply.
Cash or Card?
Cash still rules much of the Kingdom. Cards are widely, but not universally accepted. Carry cash and bring more than one card. You’ll certainly need cash in markets and in smaller bars, restaurants and shops, and in non-urban areas. Many retailers set a 300 baht (AU $15) minimum spend limit. Hint: For security, bring a dedicated card for shopping, with a low, pre-set credit limit; inform your bank of your travel plans.
Check-out
- Best buys. Clothing, footwear, silks, optical goods and luggage.
- Worst idea. Cannabis products are sold legally across Thailand but don’t even think about being an exporter.
- Gems. Buyer beware.
- Tailoring. Good bespoke cutters are plentiful but skip the “overnight” touts. A quality tailor or dressmaker will require several days.