Bangkok is the capital of shopping. From markets to knock off malls, from the stalls of Chinatown to western and luxury malls, the choice is infinite. We just love shopping in Bangkok, and the main shopping centres are all worth visiting. We even visit shops we have back home like H&M, Muji and Uniqlo as they have different merchandise often at reasonable prices. But as we like to stay in local neighbourhoods (for an in depth look at cheap local stays read our Bangkok accommodation post), we have absolutely come to love certain everyday shops that most tourists miss. These shops are affordable, cute and with items you might not have seen before if this is your first time in Asia. For us they represent the idea of kawaii that we love so much about this part of the world. If you want to shop like a local in Bangkok, you have come to the right place.
Terminal 21: More than a tourist mall
Terminal 21 is part of our independent Bangkok itinerary as it is fun, different mall with themed floors with a great super cheap food court on the top floor. It definitely falls in the category of main stream touristy mall, however on certain floors, especially the Tokyo themed one, there are many little unique stores with beautiful girl fashion clothing and accessories, shoes and bags. We definitely think they are worth checking out if you are planning to buy a unique cute dress to remind you of Thailand and not keen on getting the elephants pants everyone else is wearing.
KKV
This is a shop that originates in China. We love this shop for its colourful displays, cute little gifts especially for younger shoppers, skincare and home products and many unique games and souvenirs that we haven’t seen anywhere else. It is definitely worth checking this shop out.
Miniso
Miniso is another Chinese originated shop but with more Japanese aesthetics. It is colourful and designed to appeal more to a female clientele especially teenagers; it sells skincare, perfumes, cosmetics, homeware and lifestyle accessories, sweets and chocolate. It also has a big section on comics themed accessories which is really big in Southeast Asia. If you visit a flagship store, they usually are very colourful and bright, we visited them not only in Thailand but in Indonesia too.
Daiso
Daiso is one of our favourite shops in Thailand; it differs from the others as it is not a colourful blingy shop designed to impress you, it represents Japanese design and functionality on budget price range. It comes from the original 100-yen shop concept, so a lot of the items will be priced 60 baht, but it has also higher price range for nicer items. We bought lots of items in this shop over the years. It is worth taking a look as it contains many functional and useful items that you might never thought you needed, including very cool kitchen gadgets.
Moshi Moshi
This is a Thai shop aimed at Thai shoppers with the most unique, cutest lifestyle accessories, homeware and stationery. We absolutely love this shop and bought several items over the years. One of our favourites are the sturdy colourful clothes hangers that are currently in our wardrobe. We also bought cute cheap notebook, stickers, post it notes, pens and similar items that we use every day. This shop has also pyjamas, cushions and blankets with famous cartoon themes such as Winnie the Pooh, Garfield, Snoopy etc. I personally get overwhelmed by the cuteness of it all and I wish I could buy everything, that’s why my husband cannot leave me to shop alone in Moshi Moshi.
Mr DIY: Everyday essentials at cheap prices
This is a DIY shop at very cheap prices, that is maybe not of interest to you if you are only spending few days in Bangkok, but it is an amazing shop if you are staying longer/ setting up a flat. Things we like to buy here are cleaning and household essentials, plates and mugs, kitchen accessories, stationery and little DIY tools. You can find this chain everywhere in Thailand.
Thai Supermarkets
If you, like us. are into supermarkets, Thailand is an amazing country for it. Our favourite posh supermarkets are Tops and Gourmet 1(in Bangkok we love the one at the bottom of Siam Paragon), but also Big C and Tesco Lotus for good prices. If you ever crave something from home, your favourite chocolate or biscuit, you have a good chance to find them in one of these shops.
Local 7-11s
If you have visited a 7-11 in central Bangkok, you probably thing they are very small, very busy and full of big packs of tiger balms and other Thai gifts aimed at tourists and you are 100% right. If you visit a 7-11 in a local neighbourhood or a local city, 7-11 are great little supermarkets where you can stock up of household essentials like laundry powder single packets, toilet roll, kitchen roll, small bottles of shampoo or shower gel, little sample of make up, drinks, snacks, and some medications. Here the tiger balms are small, sold in single bottles and cheap. They also have a lovely café where you can get a latte, matcha or tea.
Where you will find these shops in Bangkok
You are less likely to find these shops in heavily touristy areas and malls; they are usually in local neighbourhoods or bigger traditional malls. These are some locations in central Bangkok:
MBK Centre – in this shopping centre you will find Moshi Moshi and some other cute Thai shops
Terminal 21 Rama 3 – KKV and casual lifestyle shops
Asok – easy access to Terminal 21 and Daiso
Big C/Ekkamai – Mr DIY for practical items locals use
If this way of shopping appeals to you, it fits perfectly with our independent Bangkok itinerary, where we explore the city beyond the tourist trail. That’s all for now folks! See you on our next adventure!
