A Bitta Bangkok Shoppin'

paddylonglegs

Hi lads,

This section has been good to me so far in terms of research for traveling next week. I know that you can get clothes quite cheap in BKK but my hiking shoes have begun to wear at the sole and would like to get a new pair, as we plan on doing alot while we're here.I'm just wondering if I'm likely to make a good saving on this specific type of footwear over there or should I get a pair before I leave. Never been to BKK or asia before so have no idea if the cheap clothes apply to quality produce or just knock-off stuff.

The same question applies for a new suitcase that I need to buy.Will I get a decent price on decent quality?

Thanks all

S.M.B.

I think you could get your hiking shoes for marginally cheaper but there might not be that big a saving. What exactly are you looking for?

Not sure about luggage but I'm sure it'd be a similar situation.

youcancallmeal

The problem with buying any kind of branded stuff in Bangkok is whether your getting a genuine item or not. Fakes are everywhere, especially in luggage. You'd need to go to the more upmarket shopping centers to find retailers selling the guaranteed real deal, problem is it may be not be cheaper than buying here or may be even be more expensive. If your passing through Hong Kong you may have a better chance of getting a good deal there.

RATM

Id say get them here. You can make a saving over there but most liekly they'll be fake and there is the possibility they could start to fall apart mid-trek. This happened a mate of mine a few years back.

You dont have to spend €100+ on hiking boots here- only places like the great Outdoors and 53 North charge those prices. I got a pair of Regatta boots for €49 a few weeks ago from one of those hiking/camping shops on Capel St, D1. They have other brands like Colombia for a few quid more but between the 3 camping shops in close proximity you'll always find a good deal or a sale on.

Regarding luggage, a lot of stuff in BKK is fake. I bought a fake North Face backpack a few years back for 600bt ( about €12). It did me for the 2 month trip I was on and another 1 month trip later so I really couldn't complain. Just know in your head that if you are buying frmo a street trader or a shop that is not in a major shopping center then most likely it is fake and haggle on price accordingly. The luggage should last you a couple of trips but by no means expect to have it on a long term basis.

S.M.B.

I got my hiking shoes in Bangkok but you're limited to a few shops in the major shopping centres.

If you see a decent deal at home you should probably get them but if not just go to the North Face shop in Bangkok and you'll get legitimate gear for a slightly cheaper price there.

There's a big luggage shop right beside the North Face shop too.

paddylonglegs

Thanks for the replies.I guess I'll find out when we get there. Something to last our time on the trip will really do for the luggage but would be a bit more cautious when it comes to hiking boots. day three of a hike I'm sure will really test good shoes.

Thanks all

breadmonkey

As you rightly point out, cheap hiking boots are a false economy so you'll just have to shell out a bit more.

Equally important is making sure the boots are worn in to some degree before you use them in anger. To that end, I think you'd be better off getting them before you leave and walking around in them for a bit.

paddylonglegs

breadmonkey wrote: »

Equally important is making sure the boots are worn in to some degree before you use them in anger.

Good point breadmonkey. decision made I reckon

Quint

TK Maxx in dublin has good deals in hiking boots if you don't want serious mountain climbing ones. BKK has great deals in fake stuff, like jeans and t-shirts that are easily as good quality as the real thing. Some fancy chopping centres advertise the real thing, but a pair of 501's are probably more expensive than in Ireland. The fakes are seriously good, I have some that are 5 years old and are still fine. But hiking boots i wouldn't take a chance of fake stuff. BTW, you want somewhere to shop, try getting a taxi to MBK shopping centre, it's huge.

breadmonkey

TK Maxx for boots? I dunno, I've bought plenty of stuff there before but don't think I'd get boots there. Could be wrong though.

Also I agree about MBK. It's class and the food court there is incredible, highly recommended! I'd say that place has the highest number of mobile phones/square metre in the world!

RATM

Yeah have to agree again with MBK and also nearby Siam Square shopping center.
Bought 2 pairs of fake Diesel jeans in MBK 2 years back for €14 each and I still have them.
I only had a minor problem with one pair- a fly button popped off after a few months. So for the craic I brought them into the Diesel shop in Suffolk St., said I bought them abroad in a Diesel shop ages ago but lost the receipt and could I have a spare fly button, which he duly supplied. The manager was staring right at my fake Diesels and didn't cop it, must show how good a fake they are :pac:

Quint

The diesel fakes are top class, easily as good as the real ones. even tha labels look and feel real. There's a shop on the ground floor of MBK and the girls will alter the jeans lenght if they're too long for nothing. Pick up a few belts in there too.:cool:
But seriously try TK maxx, I got a nice pair of hiking boots, fully waterproof, for €50. I've had them about a year, do the odd hike, nothing serious off track, but they're quality for the price. My brother couldn't believe you could get boots that good for so cheap and went in and got 2 pairs! slightly different ones mind.

RATM

I think I was in that exact same fake Diesel shop in MBK alright. I remember being totally surprised at yer one saying they could adjust the length of any pair of jeans to fit for free. All for about 700bt (€14) a pair.

What service !

breadmonkey

RATM wrote: »

I think I was in that exact same fake Diesel shop in MBK alright. I remember being totally surprised at yer one saying they could adjust the length of any pair of jeans to fit for free. All for about 700bt (€14) a pair.

What service !

They should do that here tbh. It takes so long to find a god damn pari of jeans that fit!

RATM

Yeah I know, its sometimes impossible to find a good fitting pair of jeans but when you do you'll tend to hang on to them for years.

You just gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit of the Asians. They'll do whatever it takes to make a sale. They put our customer service to shame at times.

S.M.B.

I may throw this in here as paddlonglegs is heading to Thailand very soon and seems interested in getting good value in the shops.

Over the past month all ATMs in Thailand now charge an extra 150 THB (€3) for every withdrawal you make.

If you're using a laser card that's on top of an extra €3.17 that cirrus are charging and i think it's €2.44 if you are using a credit card and have no funds in the account.

Basically keep it in mind when you're doing your shopping as you'll be spending between 3 and 6 euro every time you take out money.

Better to take out as much cash as possible each time you visit the ATM then.

Just thought i'd post that up anyway.

mickoneill30

I've gotten luggage twice in Bangkok. Don't know if it's fake or not (probably is) but one Polo case (bought in 2002) has been on piles of flights and is still going strong. A Samsonite one I bought on the last trip has had the Samsonite logo fall off but the case is still grand.

MBK centre is a handy place to shop (I think the 6th floor is the best part of it). Haggle though. I'm crap at haggling. My best method is just to say ahh that's too expensive and walk off. If you do that enough they go really cheap. It's easily accesible by BTS (train). I'd say Siam Centre don't do fakes. All the shops there are hugely expensive brand names there though so I've only ever walked through it.

RATM

S.M.B. wrote: »

Over the past month all ATMs in Thailand now charge an extra 150 THB (€3) for every withdrawal you make.

If you're using a laser card that's on top of an extra €3.17 that cirrus are charging and i think it's €2.44 if you are using a credit card and have no funds in the account.

Basically keep it in mind when you're doing your shopping as you'll be spending between 3 and 6 euro every time you take out money.

Better to take out as much cash as possible each time you visit the ATM then.

Just thought i'd post that up anyway.

Any ideas where it came from? Like is the charge going to the banks profits or to the Govt?
Is it possible for a foreigner to open Thai bank account and get an ATM card & pin number on the same day? Or do you need a permanent Thai address ?


Crap rule tbh, getting charged €6 just to have access to your own money is a bit of a scam IMO.

yellowstar

hey just thought that id ad if your buying shoes over here its quite difficult if you have big feet!! So get them at home id say, same with underwear impossible to find!! and im not even big!! If you bring a creditcard and have extra money on the card or transfer money over to credit card as you use it (dont have too much extra money on creditcard as if it gets stolen your only covered for the limit amount) then you dont get charged anything. As for opening a thai bank account, I think that you have to have a thai sponsor, I had one opened recently for me by my employeer and she had to sign loads of stuff. I think its ok if you have a work permit otherwise not.

S.M.B.

yellowstar, any foreign card used in an ATM now leads to a 150 THB charge? when's the last time you took out money? 4/5 weeks ago? :pac:

RATM, the fee goes to the banks, in a typically thai way they decided to face the global recession by charging people more

a bank account can be got over here without a work permit but you'd have to shop around at different banks, most will tell you they can't do it but you can get lucky

not the type thing you'd be willing to spend your time doing if you were only here for a few weeks though

paddylonglegs

S.M.B. wrote: »

I may throw this in here as paddlonglegs is heading to Thailand very soon and seems interested in getting good value in the shops.

Over the past month all ATMs in Thailand now charge an extra 150 THB (€3) for every withdrawal you make.

If you're using a laser card that's on top of an extra €3.17 that cirrus are charging and i think it's €2.44 if you are using a credit card and have no funds in the account.

Basically keep it in mind when you're doing your shopping as you'll be spending between 3 and 6 euro every time you take out money.

Better to take out as much cash as possible each time you visit the ATM then.

Just thought i'd post that up anyway.

Yikes! That would seriously stack up after a while, particularly because most of our budget is Oz dollars. Was planning on converting some AUD to Baht over here to get me by for the first day but now I think I'll take out a large sum to cover me for two weeks or so. Thanks for the heads up

S.M.B.

Ok, here's a little more info RE using ATMs in Thailand. I'd still recommend using the same system that has been recommended on here numerous times of transferring small amounts of money from your current account to your credit card account and then withdrawing. This avoids the €2.44 'cash advance' fee from Mastercard.

Now how to try avoid the €3 charge that was introduced mid-April.

Not all banks have started to apply the charge yet, I was using a Kasikorn ATM up until 2 weeks ago but they're after hopping on board now.

Banks who have yet to start charging (but more than likely will soon) include:

- UOB
- Ayudhya Bank (at a slightly lower exchange rate)

Apparently AEON machines will not be adding the charge as they are not part of the same consortium of banks. I'm going to go to take money out of one of these in the next while so I'll confirm if this is true. I'm not sure how available these machines would be outside Bangkok though.

Another option is to take out a 'cash advance' from within a bank. This can only be done with a credit card and some banks might not be too interested with dealing with you so you might have to shop around. These withdrawals might be subjected to a lower exchange rate too.

paddylonglegs, I'm not sure if converting the large sum of money to THB before you come over is the wisest of decisions. I know I wouldn't be too happy doing the backpacking route with a lot of money in my possession. Others may disagree though.

spongeman

Get a suitcase over there. Bring Very little.

Go to Silom Road Market in the evening. Its amazing.

Use the words "Gee Baht". (how much?)

This will get you a lower price. Usually knock about 40% off what they are looking for. Show them some cash they will take it. D'ont show anger with them, they d'ont like it and you will not get your price.

breadmonkey

spongeman wrote: »

Use the words "Gee Baht". (how much?)

This will get you a lower price. Usually knock about 40% off what they are looking for. Show them some cash they will take it. D'ont show anger with them, they d'ont like it and you will not get your price.

Come on now. I'm not having a go here but why on earth would they knock off 40% just because a tourist happens to know the words for "how much"?!

mickoneill30

breadmonkey wrote: »

Come on now. I'm not having a go here but why on earth would they knock off 40% just because a tourist happens to know the words for "how much"?!

The "Gee baht" makes no difference. They say 20% or 40% discount before you even ask the price. It's funny (the first few times) but gets a bit tiresome. If somethings marked 150 baht. As soon as you look and before you say anything at it they'll say 100 baht. If you look sad and say "ah" they'll start chasing you saying "how much". Just keep saying it's OK I don't want it and they'll chase you with calculators with ever decreasing prices. I kind of gave up on that though. Some of the stuff is so cheap I didn't care about wringing it down to the last cent.

My missus was born in Thailand but grew up in Australia. We were there last year. In one shop she asked the price on some top in English. The lady said the price (which my missus thought was good). Then a Thai girl came in and asked about the same item in Thai. She got offered less than 30% the price my missus was offered. My wife asked (in Thai) why the difference. The lady in the shop just pointed at me (I didn't look rich in my shorts and TShirt but I'm ferang). I had to make myself scarce for all future shopping and my missus only spoke Thai. Suited me grand

So the speaking Thai works great for a discount if you look Thai.

S.M.B.

Knowing or at least acting like you know what you're doing makes a huge difference in any of the tourist areas in Bangkok/Thailand. That's why just saying a few words of Thai at a market can make a difference.

Otherwise you'll be treated like a Ferang who has just got off the plane and can be easily fleeced.

Quint

The thing is, even being fleeced stuff is still cheap. Obviously you won't pay full price for anything, but sometimes you find yourself arguing over 10 baht you wonder what's the point!
Some guy was selling paintings for 1000 baht which was €20. i took a quick look and wasn't really interested and was walking away. the last price i heard him shout was 100 baht, €2!

RATM

Quint wrote: »

The thing is, even being fleeced stuff is still cheap. Obviously you won't pay full price for anything, but sometimes you find yourself arguing over 10 baht you wonder what's the point!
Some guy was selling paintings for 1000 baht which was €20. i took a quick look and wasn't really interested and was walking away. the last price i heard him shout was 100 baht, €2!

Thats always the trick in getting the price to be reduced- walk away so they think they are going to lose the sale. They'll almost certainly call you back for a better offer but be prepared to keep walking. At least in Thailand they'd generally only let you walk 10 feet, in Vietnam it would be 50 feet and you'd walk all the way back to be given an offer that was only 5% lower than the one you walked away from in the first place:o

But at the end of the day its all a bit of fun and should be treated as such with a smile and good humour. There's nothing worse than seeing some Israeli's down the Khao San Road losing their heads over 10 baht. Just makes then look like twats. Things are so cheap in Thailand that you'll never truly get ripped off in any case.

youcancallmeal

A great place in Bangkok is the weekend market in Chatuchak. Its a market of epic size which even after a whole day I still hadn't even got half of it seen.

RATM

Yeah Chatuchak is huge but I got the impression it more sells stuff for people living in BKK than a tourist market. Like lots of kitchen wares, etc. There are a lot of clothes stalls alright but if you're taller than your average Thai person you'll do well to find your size.

Theres a really good night market, I cant remember if the metro stop its at is called Lumpini or the market itself is called Lumpini but they do really good fake designer knock off t-shirts (Diesel, A Bathing Ape, Bench, etc) as well as loads of jeans, tops etc. They also had a massive food court there which has a stage upon which a cheesy version of a Thai Westlife performs most nights. it's quite a hoot :pac:

S.M.B.

That's Suan Lum Night Bazaar. A much more pleasant shopping experience then the madness of Chatuchak market imo.

RATM

Suam Lum is the market I was talking about alright, thanks SMB. Its a good spot with a nice food court and they sell plenty of gear that is of interest to tourists.
Also, the traders there seem to be under instructions not to hassle foreigners into a sale like they do at other markets. At least anytime Ive been there its always been a pleasant calm experience compared to the frenzy that is other markets in the city.

spongeman

S.M.B. wrote: »

Knowing or at least acting like you know what you're doing makes a huge difference in any of the tourist areas in Bangkok/Thailand. That's why just saying a few words of Thai at a market can make a difference.

Otherwise you'll be treated like a Ferang who has just got off the plane and can be easily fleeced.

Well done. That is the correct answer.

You my friend have hit the nail on the head. Its very obvious that if you learn a few bits and pieces of a language before you go ( left/right/yes/know/where is/how much ) the difference in how people treat you is huge. They have more respect.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

RATM wrote: »

Yeah have to agree again with MBK and also nearby Siam Square shopping center.
Bought 2 pairs of fake Diesel jeans in MBK 2 years back for €14 each and I still have them.
I only had a minor problem with one pair- a fly button popped off after a few months. So for the craic I brought them into the Diesel shop in Suffolk St., said I bought them abroad in a Diesel shop ages ago but lost the receipt and could I have a spare fly button, which he duly supplied. The manager was staring right at my fake Diesels and didn't cop it, must show how good a fake they are :pac:

Lol, the Diesel Store on Suffolk Street isn't real Diesel at all.

Diesel are an Italian company who, through an oversight, neglected to organise the Irish trademarks for their product.

The trademark was obtained by an other company in Ireland and they sell pretty poor quality clothes under the brand. They are nothing like real Diesel.