Wish to make the most out of my slips of time in & out of Bangkok with my SE Asia travel. I am interested in handbags & shoes although even though I wear a 6 have been advised may be difficult to find. If you had little time, where would you shop? And what is the best way to get there? Taxi? Any tips for solo woman securing taxi? Thx again.

Hello,
there are so many places for shopping in BKK, its very difficult to give an advice without knowing what you are exactly looking for.
Shoes size 6 for ladies shouldnt be any problem. This is starting with 7 and higher.
If you like it original, nice and expensive try Gaysorn Plaza or Emporium.
For more choice and much cheaper prices there are MBK (Mah Boon Krung) or Pratunam Shopping Centers with many 100s of shops. And both are close to eachother.
If you have time in the evening, ask the people at your hotel for the evening markets. There they have plenty of stalls with almost everything regarding clothing etc.
And thats where the Thai people can be seen.
Riding a cab as solo woman in Bangkok is no problem at all. And I would use it for shopping. Tuk-tuks are normally more expensive, not so safe and you are sitting open-air. Thus being not the healthiest thing in smog-plagued Bangkok.
In case your hotel is close to a MRT station, the big shopping centers on Sukhumvit, Ploenchit and around Siam Square can easily be reached by train.

another decent place not far from pratunum is a mall called fashion outlet---lots to choose from

I'm a handbag person...For handbags there are the wonderful Teena Paige handbags. There's a boutique inside of the Oriental Place Shopping Arcade which is on the street directly in back of the Oriental Hotel. There are other handbag stores in there,too. If you go to OP shopping Arcade, then also check out the January jewelry store upstairs....great merchandise...bargain it down. I've been buying a lot from them over nearly a decade. Friends give me money to pick up items. This OP Shopping Arcade is VERY small and very manageable and only 2 floors tall. I really think you should put it as #1 on your list. The quality is quite high. This is a high end place though. But, there are bargains to be found if you bargain.

To get there, go to Saphan Taksin skytrain stop and then get on the river boat, up river, and get off at Tha Oriental...very close by. After getting off of the boat,walk straight...the only way you can walk, and when you get to the first street, turn left...the only way you can turn. The OP Shopping arcade is right there on your right. Enter through the back door and then go right. It's a very nice arcade with Thai/S.E.Asia items.
When you leave, you can go out of the FRONT door and tell the door man that you need a taxi. He'll flag one for you, then you can just zip off to your next stop. Or you can take the river taxi, down river, back to Saphan Taksin and get on the skytrain.
There's also a Teena Page store inside of Paragon Shopping Mall. It's in the Exotic Thai Bazaar which is in the same wing with the Jim Thompson store, just a few floors up. There are other handbags in that bazaar,too.

As for shoes, I have never been impressed with shoes in Bangkok and wouldn't waste my time looking for them. Many of the brands are the same as we can get here at home, but cost more. Have fun. Happy Travels!

One other idea for handbags... Jim Thompson makes some lovely handbags. I have one in a heavy tapestry fabric with monkeys on it that I get compliments on all the time. And I always buy lovely little silk evening bags for one of my sisters who collects them.

You need to try to get a hotel near a SKYTRAIN station...You'll be on a skytrain a lot more than an MRT....as someone above mentioned. I've never used the MRT-subway and I'm there twice a year and for as long as 3-week periods, but I use the skytrain all of the time. Happy Travels!

Kathie...so you've got the monkey bag,too? Is it the black- background one with the monkeys on it? I love mine. I can't remember when I bought it...maybe 2 or 3 trips back. Happy Travels!

Guen, that's so funny. I bought mine several years ago. Strangers come up and ask me where I bought it!

Guenmai,
just to mention it, MRT for me is skytrain and subway and in that case I meant the skytrain!