Most photographed place after the Grand Palace

Bangkok is an amazing city.  There is something for most everyone.  Even after our long 3 day flight ordeal we were so excited to be here that after a shower we were ready to go.  Since we were staying in Siam Square, we crossed the street and headed off to the MBK mall.

 Easily one of Bangkok's most famous or at least most mentioned malls it was a logical choice.  It is heralded as one of the best places to shop in Bangkok, but to be honest it is one of our least favorite.  First off it is cramped, crowded and run down.  The vast majority of patrons seem to be foreigners, and you definitively need to haggle here.  At least for me, it gives me the feeling of a place where they are there to just take your money. Yes, that should be the point of any business, but at least act like you appreciate my money and at least tolerate me. Inflated prices coupled with poor service.  They even charge you to use the bathroom.  If you only want to go to one mall, I guess this is your best option, but if you have the time, there are definitively better choices, and for eye candy and free designer bathrooms, just cross the walkway.

One good thing about MBK is its food court.  It is cheap and a wide variety of food.  Although there is a sterileness in eating in a food court, as far as food courts go, this is a good place.  So after trying some local food, we headed across the walkway and headed into the vast complex of Bangkok shopping.  Several major malls are all inter connected and a blast to explore.  We really loved doing this, I couldn't care much about the stores, but what an amazing place to people watch.  People from all over, but mainly a mix of hip Thai, and a lot of Japanese and middle eastern.  I think a lot of the shops were catered to them as I certainly wasn't in the market for a Ferrari.
At least from what I could gather original Coach, Fendi, and Gucci handbags must have been a real bargain the way that the middle eastern women were loading up on them.  We were definitely out of our shopping league in some of these malls but what an amazing, fun experience.  Even for the kids.  Toys r us, Mcdonalds, and ice skating didn't hurt either.  There were also always activities going on.  Art exhibits, fashion shows, tv filming, etc.... constantly changing on an almost daily basis to keep things fresh.

MTV setting up for a live filming.

Many live figures run through the malls to interact with the kids and some wax ones too!

The most unique mall in our opinion.

So in summary we had a very fun first day.  Even the kids had a great first day doing shopping of all things.  Maybe its just us thirdworlders being overwhelmed with 1st world splendor, or just the excitement of things so foreign to us, but if our first day is any indication of whats to come, we are in for a real treat.