Bangkok is the best city to buy cheap designer clothes from hats to shoes and find clean budget hotels. As a first time visitor to Bangkok or someone short on time, you might wonder where to go. Tourists in the know head for Bangkok's lively Pratunam Market district to find them.
Pratunam district is located in central Bangkok, next to pricier shopping malls found in Siam and Chidlom. Though Pratunam's Market and Malls is where local Thais prefer to shop for designer clothing and accessories at cheaper prices. The area is always busy from morning to evening 7 days a week. The weekends at Pratunam Market is often packed with locals and may seem like 70% of Bangkok's population decided to shop in Pratunam.
Pratunam Market is a wholesale clothing sales and distribution center. It's where local Thai clothing retailers come to buy shirts, jeans, t-shirts and everything else in between to stock their stores. Even football jerseys from all teams around the world can be purchased at Pratunam Market for resale or for personal use. This is the sole reason Pratunam Market is the best place to find cheaper prices for clothing throughout Bangkok.
Not all shoppers in Pratunam's Market are local Thais. There are many international businesses who come to Bangkok to buy bulk clothes and accessories to send back home. Even leisure vacationers are welcome to purchase a single football jersey with their favorite team and players name as a souvenir at a reasonable price. And there is always room to haggle for a lower price.
With so many visitors in Pratunam there are many hotels of all budget ranges, from cheap 2 star hotels to all out 4 star luxury accommodations. Though Pratunam is most well-known for very cheap budget hotels with clean rooms and friendly service.
2 star hotels in Pratunam district typically cost around Baht 1000 for a clean room at a well run hotel. The hotels location won't exactly be at the doorsteps of the market though it is still just a 5 to 10 minutes walk at most. No surprise that the closer you are to the market the more it will cost. But not by much. A 3 star hotel right in the center of all the shopping activity cost a few hundred Baht more with better quality rooms. Not to say that a 2 star hotel in Pratunam district are all undesirable.
Bangkok is a big city with lots to do from sightseeing to nightlife partying. But if your intention is to shop to your heart's content while staying at a cheap budget hotel than Pratunam is exactly the right place for you.