With plans to travel outside of Thailand and explore a new country thwarted for the time being or indefinitely, our holiday calendars are nothing but a dream now. While nothing can replace being in another country, Guru's got the next best thing. There are places in Bangkok that aim to bring places abroad to you and we've got a list. Whether it's wanting to get photos for your socials or perhaps binge-buying foreign products, these places have you covered.
FOR THE AESTHETICS
THE PASEO PARK
Kanchanaphisek Road
ThePaseoPark.com
Whether you've been to Japan or not, it's most likely on your bucket list and never goes off. Since that's not happening anytime soon, the next best thing is The Paseo Park on Kanchanaphisek Road. Touting itself as a "Japanese Lifestyle Mall", The Paseo Park is a great place to buy Japanese products. In fact, it has a spacious Daiso outlet, the famous Japanese chain store with branches all around the city, where you can find every Japanese product to meet your needs or even those you didn't think you'd need (Japanese products are ingenious). Aside from that, the mall's design and architecture pays homage to the designs of classic Japanese towns complete with pink blossoms, faux-wooden buildings and a koi pond that runs through the mall. If not for the shopping, it's the IG aesthetics that will tempt you to visit it.
CHOCOLATE VILLE
Prasertmanukit Road
fb.com/ChocolateVille
Chocolate Ville has been a hotspot for bloggers, vloggers and people who just want material for the socials for quite some time. That being said, you've probably seen it on your feed with people posing at what seems to be a European countryside of sorts. The oddly-named Chocolate Ville is in a picturesque setting surrounded with a few trees, a small lake of sorts in the middle and European-like architecture. The lighthouse and windmill are two photograph attractions mainly because these two structures are rare to find in Thailand, but really the whole place is dripping with great vistas and sights, which also means great photo opportunities. Of course, aside from the aesthetic vibes, Chocolate Ville also has a variety of restaurants to give you the opportunity to dine in style. Protip: go there just when the sun is setting to get some good golden hour shots and wait for night to fall and the lights to turn on for some great night shots.
PICKADAILY BANGKOK
On Nut Road
PickadailyBKK.com
Continuing our European tour, we head to Pickadaily Bangkok, a community mall that's designed to look like a small town in the English countryside except for the fact that the food isn't bland and rain isn't constantly pouring down. There's an open courtyard where a fountain with a Cupid perched in the centre can be found. The mall is lit up with what looks like classic gaslight street lamps. Finally, there are stone-like streets, which are really just tiles but do the trick, with one street bearing the name "Grosvenor Street", which is exactly the kind of name you'd expect from someone who's not British trying to come up with a British-sounding street name. It's also a little weird to see these English countryside-esque buildings with a sign for MaxValu in front but the quirkiness is part of its charm. While Pickadaily is not too large, it does give you a lot to work with in terms of great photos.
FOR THE SHOPPING
SHOW DC
Chaturathit Road
ShowDC.co.th
The Korean craze, which should definitely be called "K-raze" (make this a thing, please), has spread all over the world and continues to amass devoted followers. K-TV shows are a remote control-click away and K-Pop has pretty much taken over everything. However, if you really want to go full K without the actual flying to Seoul -- because once again, that's not possible right now -- then Show DC is where you need to go. Show DC has a number of stores selling Korean products including the chain "Current Seoul" stores, which each have their own unique designation: fashion, lifestyle and beauty. Of course, there's also Korean food like Kimichi Bus and Gang Nam Korean Ramen. So binge on your Korean drama, turn up the volume on Blackpink and get yourself to Show DC to go as full Korean as the current situation will allow.
DON DON DONKI
There's no shortage of Japanese restos or Japanese products in the city. However, Don Don Donki is arguably the perfect place for all things Japanese. Its two outlets, one at Ekamai and the other at The Market at Ratchadamri, are a hub for all kinds of Japanese products whether it's food, beauty, costume for parties, toys, nose hair trimmer, packs of sea urchin or grilled sweet potato. To top it all off, the products are sold at a fairly low price. Their Ekamai outlet doesn't just have Japanese products but also a variety of Japanese restos, which once again proves Don Don Donki is the place to be when you're feeling like you're turning Japanese.
TREASURE FACTORY
Thrift stores aren't too common in Bangkok but Japanese second-hand store Treasure Factory seems set to change that. They've opened a few outlets around the city and are selling a wide variety of products from appliances and electronics to shoes, clothes and guitars. While they don't necessarily sell Japanese products, the service and product quality is top-notch, which is what you would expect from a Japanese store. You could even say that they technically offer a Japanese service. The products they buy and sell are of good quality and well-maintained despite being that's second-hand. I myself have purchased a guitar from one of their stores and it was a pretty great buy. Be sure to drop in and check their items every now and then. You'll never know when you'll buy something at such a low price that it's a pretty much a steal.
Photo: Summer Hill
