Where to buy 'real' antiques in Bangkok
 

Hi, This one is a gem and I thought I'd share it with you all as Bangkok can be a shocker for 'fake' antiques.

L'Arcadia is excellent, they ship home and you won't be ripped off.

http://www.mcdougalladventures.com/t...cadia-antiques

you have to be very careful about buying real antiques....two good places to start: river city shopping center---top floors
located next to sheraton orchid hotel on the river

OP Place....located directly behind the oriental hotel

River City is prob'ly a good bet, but I would be extremely careful of the shop featured in <i>Bangkok 8</i>.

An excellent source for high-end antiques is the top floor of the Gaysorn Plaza shopping center (Chit Lom BTS).

lots of antiques are fakes...beware

I looked at Gaysorn when I was in Bangkok last month. They have only a vey few things - not a large selection at all. Certainly River City has a much broader selection. But even at River City one needs to be cautious.

I wrote about a newer place out by the airport, Amantee, that has SE Asia and Tibetan antiques in my trip report. I highly recommend it. It's also listed in the Luxe guide.

Buying antiques is much like buying gems: you need to know your merchandise and you need to buy from a reputable dealer.

how does one know it is a reputable dealer?

Do your research. Ask people you know for references, check the recommendations of reputable guidebooks.

To that point, L'Arcadia is listed in the Lonely Planet guide as well.