Things worth exploring and buying in Siam, Thailand Self guided Tour Guide

Besides enjoying Thailand's unique natural scenery, shopping is another way to experience Thailand's highly developed tourism industry. When it comes to shopping in Thailand, Bangkok is undoubtedly the best choice. Bangkok has hundreds of shopping malls of various sizes, especially along the BTS skytrain lines where premium shopping districts are concentrated. Here you can find numerous international luxury brands, trendy fashion brands, and many Thai local designer brands. Moreover, Bangkok has obvious price advantages compared to other major cities, making "shopping paradise" the perfect description for Bangkok.

This Thailand自由行 (independent travel) allocated two days in Bangkok, with one day dedicated to mall shopping. Since it was close to where I was staying and I planned to buy some Bangkok bags as gifts for relatives, I came to Central World - the largest lifestyle shopping complex. After walking around, my arms and legs were sore. Let me tell you about this amazing Central World that makes you shop until you drop.

Central World is said to be one of the largest shopping centers in Southeast Asia, with a retail area of 550,000 square meters. Calculated by a football field being 7,140 square meters, it's equivalent to 77 football fields! So now you know why your legs get weak - this is what happens when you shop until you can't walk anymore. To continue the introduction, Central World consists of several parts: Zen Department Store and Isetan Department Store on either side, with Central World Plaza in the middle, and King Power Duty Free on the 7th floor. Central World is larger than any shopping center in downtown Bangkok, offering various facilities and services including over 500 stores, 100 restaurants and cafes, a 15-screen cinema, children's zone and learning center (Genius Planet Zone), two large department stores, and a trendy food court. The mall focuses on affordable brands, where you can find various reasonably-priced Japanese, European, American, and Thai local brands.

Central World Plaza mostly contains specialty stores with numerous brands, gathering many clothing brand stores (such as Zara, MNG, Esprit, CK, etc.), as well as cosmetic stores like Watsons and The Body Shop. Of course, the popular Bangkok bag brand NaRaYa is located on the first floor. It mainly sells mid-to-high-end brands, with Bangkok bags on the 1st floor, underwear on the 3rd floor, souvenirs on the 5th floor, food on the 6th floor, and King Power on the 7th floor.

ZEN is more like a local department store with an open-style layout, featuring both imported and local brands at moderate prices. At first glance, it might seem a bit dated, but if you look carefully, you can find some good products like shoes, underwear, and children's clothing. The brands in ZEN are younger and more fashionable, with more affordable prices.

Isetan always follows a more high-end route, basically featuring international brands. Many of the brands inside are also available in domestic shopping malls, but there are also some local brands worth checking out if you're interested.

Central World will definitely make you shop until your legs give out. Let me briefly recommend some specialty stores.

NaRaYa is located on the first floor of Central World, basically on the outer section facing Big C. The store has all kinds of styles and patterns, very popular with tourists, and quite crowded. There are many styles of Bangkok bags, small wallets, tissue holders, etc., which really made my eyes dazzle. The prices are also quite cheap, with shoulder bags around 70-80 RMB, and storage bags and coin purses as cheap as 10-20 RMB. In the end, I bought more than ten items of various sizes, haha.

Central World's second floor has underwear counters. The prices of Wacoal, Triumph, MORGAN, and ELLE underwear will really make girls scream - they're more than half cheaper than domestic prices, and the styles are novel. Wacoal's new bras are around 200 RMB, and women's underwear is about 30-40 RMB. Besides the products on the store shelves, there are also special sale items placed outside the stores at very low prices, but the sizes are incomplete and need to be carefully selected.

On the third floor, there's LACOSTE. Most LACOSTE in Asia is basically produced in Thailand, but the price is only half of what it costs domestically.

On the fourth floor, there's Levi's. This location has the most complete styles and is much cheaper - even the newest styles won't exceed 2,000 baht.

Before going to the KING POWER DUTY FREE on the 7th floor, don't forget to get a 10% discount card from the service desk on the first floor of Central World Plaza. The products sold here are exactly the same as those at Bangkok Airport, and you can also get a 10% discount here. Note that items purchased at the duty-free shop must be collected at the airport when boarding. The duty-free shop will deliver the goods to the airport, but you need to register your return flight information first. Remember to arrive at the airport early to collect your items.

In Thailand, when you see the "VAT Refund For Tourists" sign in shopping malls, it means you can get a 7% tax refund if you spend a certain amount here. Shopping over 2,000 baht at one counter or shopping center allows you to fill out a form; when leaving Thailand, if your total shopping exceeds 5,000 baht, you can apply for a tax refund at the airport. The tax refund centers for ZEN and Isetan are both on the 6th floor. Only some stores in Central World offer tax refunds, so please look for the signs or ask the staff. You need to show your passport when filling out the form. It's recommended to put all family shopping under one person's passport, as it easily exceeds the 5,000 baht tax refund threshold, and only one person needs to handle the tax refund process, making it relatively simple.

When traveling to Thailand, it's best to choose the DTAC Happy Tourist SIM Card. For the 299 baht package, it includes 3G data and 100 baht call credit, plus 8 days of free accident insurance and luggage insurance. Happy Tourist SIM Cards can be purchased on Taobao in China for around 30 RMB, and there are also counters at major Thai airports. However, when buying in China, pay attention to whether there's a smile logo and blue clover logo in the upper right corner of the package - if not, it's fake.

You should know about several hidden benefits of the Happy Card: tourists using the Happy Tourist SIM Card can enjoy a 5% discount when spending over 1,000 baht at NaRaYa stores before September 30; get a 10 baht discount at Family Mart before June 30; and get free large fries (worth 39 baht) with every purchase of Giga French Fries (129 baht) at Potato Corner before December 31.

Each specialty store in Central World has separate payment, and not every store has UnionPay payment channels; both ZEN and Isetan have UnionPay channels. Outside of major shopping malls, UnionPay is not yet widespread, so it's necessary to carry appropriate amounts of cash.

Central World has luggage storage on the first floor, which seems to be available until around 9 PM.