Shopping
 

We will be Bangkok and Chiang Mai and I have some shopping questions. First, I am a plus sized woman. Will I be able to find a t-shirt or two that will fit me? Second, my daughter is hoping that I can find her a Nintendo DS over there. Will I be able to find one and do you think it would cost less than in the US? Or is it not worth the effort to look for it? We have a 1/2 day set aside for shopping in Bangkok and we plan to visit the night market in Chiang Mai. Please give me some advice. Thanks!

In Bangkok, head for the MBK Centre mall. It's right next to the National Stadium stop on the monorail. It's vast and has a combination of Thai clothes and Western fashions, many over-runs and knock-offs, but very good ones. However, they see plenty of Western visitors and have clothes to fit. I'm quite a big bloke and did okay, as did my wife who is not - how shall I say? - Thai size. One floor specialises in computer games etc so, by all means, have a look. A Nintendo may well be cheaper there but you do run the risk of it not working back home, with no comeback. Nearby MBK are several other malls, mostly linked by walkways, well worth a look too.

Electronics are typically cheaper in the US. Buying something like that in Bangkok risks that it will not work on your current at home, and it is unlikely to have an international warranty.

The advice about MBK is good. Look on the 2nd (or 3rd) floor for a shop called Warehouse. They're like a small outlet store, selling overstock and imperfect (usually wrong size label) US brands (for women).

In addition to the above notes about electronics, you should also be aware that most game consoles are also regionally encoded (like DVDs) so that they'll only work with games encoded for the same region. If you buy a console in Thailand, you may find it won't work with the games you buy in the US.

You might find your size depending on what plus-size you are. Thai clothes have different proportions. Many times the blouses are too short at the waist or the sleeves are too short although it's possible to button them which is why many of us of all sizes have our clothes custom-made in Bangkok.But if you're only looking for T-shirts then maybe you will be lucky. You can try Pratumwan Market shopping area which is right up the street from Central World Plaza Shopping Mall. It starts on the street right out the front door of the Indra Hotel and all of the streets around it. There are tons of shirts, t-shirts, etc...I don't know about plus-size though, but there's lots of clothing there. Happy Travels!

try in places that cater to westerners or in the men's area....

sleeves will always be too short, so T's are good as they are short sleeved...

i doubt you will find much ready made that you will like...

never believe the size label...try everything on....

I'm not a plus size, but I've found that when I buy clothing from street markets, the vendor wants to sell me the XL size. Sometimes they are OK and sometimes they are not. They can be either too big or too small!!! Bob is right... try things on!!! But that isn't possible at street markets.

Take a look in department stores such as Central Chitlom (connected to the Chitlom skytrain station). They have a wide variety, and many things will fit the western size.

Have fun shopping. You really need more than 1/2 a day... IMO... Bangkok shopping is fantastic! Amazing!

Thanks for all the great advice. I did not realize that a Nintendo DS that I bought over there might not work with the games we buy here. I guess that there is not much reason to look for one then. I will definitely look around at the clothes though! Hopefully I can bring back a few cute things for me and my daughters.

On electronics the encoding is definetly different than US unless it is an irregular or "hot". Clothing problem is proportion to US but if you can try on with a 3 way mirror and someone elase can see it also you are o.k. on fit but do not be surprised if material is not as marked i.e. silk being silk blend(10-15% ) silk.