There are so many places to shop in Bangkok, where do you begin? Walk into any of Bangkok's shopping malls or markets, such as Central World Plaza on Ratcha-damri Road or Chatuchak Weekend Market, and you will find stores overflowing with local craft and silk items; from fabrics to neckties, cushion covers and decorative timber boxes.
Test your bargaining skills at Bangkok's newest market, the Suan Lum Night Bazaar (opposite Lumpini Park on Wireless Road). It is open seven nights a week and has about 3,700 stalls selling everything from colourful straw handbags to elephant carvings. The Thieves Market, or Woeng Nakhon Kasem (between Yaowarat Road and New Road, near Phahurat), sells Thai and Chinese antiques, porcelain, brassware and furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Prices are highly negotiable and will depend on your haggling skills.
Head to Sanam Luang (the park in front of Bangkok's Grand Palace), where in the early evenings you will find antiques, stamp collections and venerable old books. Another spot popular with locals is Maboonkrong at Siam Square, which has a rabbit warren of stores selling a large selection of inexpensive local craft items, such as wooden incense burners and candle-holder sets for 5 baht ($1) upwards.
If it's real Thai silk you're after, make sure you buy from an established silk merchant. The largest con-centration of silk merchants in Bangkok is along Surawong Road.