I'm not a big fan of shopping malls as a general rule. In fact, I can't really stand them and generally only visit them when it's absolutely necessary. Bangkok is a city that seems to be becoming overrun by shopping malls, most of which have pretty much the same shops selling pretty much the same stuff, as well as restaurants churning out the same bland, generic food. I can understand why on weekends many people like to hang out in cool, air-con controlled malls to escape the oppressive heat, humidity and pollution outside, but I always start to feel tired, anxious and bored after a few minutes in that kind of sterilised shopping environment.
There is, however, one exception to my aversion to Bangkok malls. Near the corner of Ratchadapisek Road and Rama 9 is an old mall called Fortune Town, and it’s a place that I'm always happy to visit and spend a couple of hours wandering around. The air-con works fine at Fortune, but in comparison with all the new shiny luxury malls popping up all over the city, it's a pretty old-fashioned and slightly run-down place. In other words, it has a bit of atmosphere.
Fortune is mostly known as an IT mall, and it's certainly a good place to shop for computers, phones and other IT gadgets. What I particularly like about it though is that it's also a great place to shop for vinyl records, DVDs, and a wide range of musical instruments and equipment, both new and second hand. You can find many shops in Fortune that you won't find anywhere else — stand-alone stores selling unusual and quirky stuff that you might not find anywhere else in the city. For musicians and record collectors, it's definitely a fun place to spend a couple of hours (and possibly a couple of thousand baht!).
Fortune is also great for finding cameras and photography equipment, bicycle accessories and many other things. And in the basement there are restaurants that go beyond the run-of-the-mill mall fare. So if you're somebody like me who can't stand most modern malls, I can recommend Fortune as a fun place to spend a couple of hours browsing an interesting variety of things in air-conditioned comfort.
Ben Edwards
Editor
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