{"id":1072,"date":"2026-04-09T17:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/?p=1072"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:14:21","slug":"the-malls-of-bangkok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/the-malls-of-bangkok\/","title":{"rendered":"The Malls of Bangkok"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The shopping mall. You know: that place where the lighting is a bit too bright, the escalators are broken, and there\u2019s a \u201cfood court\u201d piled high with teenagers and empty trays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangkok\u2019s malls are\u2026 not like that. If the Mall of Berlin is a medium ranking church of capitalism, then the Siam Paragon is the Dom in K\u00f6ln, centralwOrld (yes, that\u2019s how it\u2019s written) is the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, and ICONSIAM (yes, again) is the Vatican. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are places where the wealthy come to spend and the curious come to take pictures and snark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangkok is home to two of the top ten largest malls in the world \u2013 Central World at number six, Icon Siam at number four. Along the Sukhumvit BTS line where I\u2019m staying, there are six within a six-station distance, all conveniently connected to those stations so one doesn\u2019t even have to touch the ground or barely suffer the humidity outside. Three of them are so close together that they almost merge into one; you never have to step foot outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Icon Siam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Icon Siam is the newest kid on the block, opened in 2018 and toppling Central World\u2019s crown as the largest mall in Thailand. It has something like 525,000 sqm of retail space. For comparison, Manchester\u2019s Trafford Centre \u2013 third largest in the UK \u2013 is about a third of the size. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has its own BTS spur line connecting it to the rest of the metro system, called \u2013 unironically, one assumes \u2013 the Gold Line. It\u2019s not the most graceful way to approach, being a glorified airport train, a bit jumpy and lumpy and slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BTS Gold Line train at Charoen Nakhon station. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One could also approach from the river by boat, or from the road in one\u2019s Mercedes, but truly the only acceptable arrival is by helicopter to the adjacent Millennium Hilton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entering this cathedral is a mind-boggling experience. It\u2019s not just big; it\u2019s ambitiously, blatantly, conspicuously big. And while I essentially dislike the whole idea of twelve floors of luxury stores and Michelin restaurants and lifestyle retail all being thrown in my face\u2026 well, they certainly know how to make it work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that I saw: a triple-level store with a name I have never heard of, selling\u2026 well, hard to say. Two enormous sculptures of semi-naked men (by enormous I mean: 10x10x3m), and at the other end of the store, this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Dackel. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Do not touch the Dackel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No, I don\u2019t know either. Sunglasses, I think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, literally every luxury brand you can name is here, and there\u2019s a curious thing: those same brands are in every other mall<\/em> too. Luxury is not about exclusivity here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Names, sweetie, names. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So at first I was considering making this a half-hour thing, yeah yeah GucciLouisMcQueenDiorLagerfeldHermesYadaYada but\u2026 since I\u2019ve come all this way, let\u2019s have a wander about because there has to be more than that. And there is\u2026 of course all the usual suspects: Uniqlo, Muji, H&M, Zara, Nike, Adidas, Apple, even JD-fucking-Sports is here. Numerous food outlets selling fancy cakes and less fancy pastries (which I would not have been surprised if Greggs was written above the door). Also, cars: BMW, Mini, Volvo, BYD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many floors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In between: just so. much. stuff. Like, housewares, but for no house such as I\u2019ve ever been to. The kind of items you exactly expect to see being sold in a place like this, but never expect anyone to actually buy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And restaurants. At least six are Michelin-something\u2019d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the restaurant options.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are more floors: a cinema, a gym, a concert venue, a gallery space. Outside, wide vistas over the Chao Phraya river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And they really nailed that mall escalators thing: never allow a simple route up or down. Once inside, patrons must be guided past every shop possible just to ascend or descend. (Also: make the lifts slow and inaccessible).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Escalators never where you expect them to be. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Though shalt walk past every shop. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Overall, sure, I was impressed. It was a lot less awful than it could have been. And I didn\u2019t spend a single Baht, so I guess I win. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I might have to go back for this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upset Duck toy. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The shopping mall. You know: that place where the lighting is a bit too bright, the escalators are broken, and there\u2019s a \u201cfood court\u201d piled high with teenagers and empty trays. Bangkok\u2019s malls are\u2026 not like that. If the Mall of Berlin is a medium ranking church of capitalism, then the Siam Paragon is the […]<\/p>\n

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