When I mentioned ‘shopping’ to friends in Bangkok, they inevitably said MBK. I had no idea what this meant until I visited the MBK Center, an enormous 8-storey marble mall opened in 1985, and one of the biggest shopping malls in Asia.

The center provides over 2,000 stores and services, over 150 eating establishments and a large cinema city. Shopping here, you'll find a variety of negotiable products including clothes, cosmetics, leathered items, jewelry, electronics, information technology products, furniture, restaurants, supermarket, theaters, karaoke, and a 4-storey Tokyu department store.

Bustling MBK is apparently the heart of Bangkok’s better discount shopping. You can buy small or buy wholesale. Some of the nicest items are to be found in the home decoration area – cushion covers, backrests, tablecloths, and sumptuous bedspreads. I suggest you could grab a signature fold-up Thai mattress that stacks up as a pyramid-shaped cushion for the living room floor.

Due to its size, MBK Center has become one of the most recognizable buildings in Bangkok. Since the mall is situated on one of the busiest corners and is the first of the major shopping centers laid along Rama 1/ Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 's main shopping street, this is often the first point of a shoppers' journey.

Nowadays, MBK Center daily supports over 105,000 customers including 30,000 tourists from all around the world. It's considered to be the most visited mall in Thailand and I can readily believe that. While shopping in MBK, if you don't like the price, then you can bargain with the seller. Sometimes this works, but its better when you speak Thai.

MBK Center has 8 floors. The floors are loosely divided as follows:
1st – 3rd Floor: Clothes, Cosmetics, Shoes, Jewelries, Leather items, Accessories, Paintings, Photo studios, Hair Salons, etc.
4th Floor: Mobile phones and accessories, Communication equipments, Walkman, CD and MP3 players, Electronics
5th Floor: International Food Court, Restaurants, Furniture
6th Floor: Souvenir shops, Food center
7th – 8th Floor: Entertainment complex, containing 8 movie theatres, 28 bowling lanes, Karaoke options, and food and drinks.

The Tokyu Department Store, is located at the north end of the MBK building, which has a linkage with the Skyrail. Tokyu is a modern 4-storey Japanese department store providing household accessories and brand name products.

MBK has a Tourist Discount card that is well worth having. To get one you need to present your passport and fill in a form at the tourist information counters on the ground floor. Once you have the card you can get up to 30% discount at a range of stores in the center. 25 food and beverage outlets offer between 5% and 15% discount while the best 30% discount is at Beautiful Optical on the 7th floor. You can visit www.mbk-center.co.th for further information.

Looking a bit like an Arndale Centre circa the mid-80s, MBK (Mah Boon Krong) is basically a huge covered market spread over five floors, also incorporating a cinema and food court.

Need a new watch? Choose from a fake Rolex, D&G, Guess, and any number of other names. Always wanted a Thai Team football shirt? You’ll find one here. Run out of credit of your mobile phone? Just buy another one. Aching to see "Batman Begins"? You’ll find numerous copies on offer. In fact, MBK can kit you out from top to toe with clothes accessories and entertainment devices. If you want plenty, and I mean plenty, of choice in you fake goods/souvenir/gift shopping, this is the place.

Be prepared to haggle, be prepared to spend, and be prepared to buy yourself that Louis Vuittan handbag you always knew you really wanted!

MBK is known to have several bargain stores. It has parking spaces on almost every floor. Nevertheless, despite the parking provisions, we still had a hard time finding a slot in MBK. It was an indication that a lot of shoppers go to MBK. Floors of stalls selling clothes and various items are found at MBK. It is convenient to shop here because it is air-conditioned and spacious. We had a wonderful time buying our stuff in this shopping haven. We bought shirts and blouses for only B100, or less than $2. Bags and shoes are also everywhere. And, take note, the more items you buy, the less you pay, because you can ask for a bigger discount. As we got tired of shopping, we went to one of the restaurants inside the mall to have a rest and a decent meal. There are also some fast-food joints where you can spend a few minutes recharging your energy for another shopping splurge.

Every tourist that visits Bangkok will be suggested a visit at the Chatuchak nmarket, which, with the exotic animal trade, the bizarre cacophony of sounds, and the mix of smells and heat, matches the impression of a vast third-world bazaar.

MBK, on the other hand, in the heart of central Bangkok (very near SIAM skytrain station) is very first-world, with everything a Western shopper would dream of (BUT IN THAI PRICES). MBK has eight air-conditioned levels, each expanding in a pretty vast space, with hundreds of shops at each level.

You can find numerous banks and money-changing outlets, restaurants to cater to every palate and budget, from the usual Western culprits (McDonalds, etc.) to the truly exotic, and there are mobile phone and accessories shops (100s), videos, TVs, cameras, and other electronic equipment, clothing at bargain prices, souvenir and gift shops, countless cafeterias (including the usual Western Starbucks, etc.), and even massage centers to help you relax from shopping fatigue.

Mah Boon Krong was one of my favourite places to shop. It is huge!!

I think that I spent most of my time in Bangkok inside this shopping centre. With eight floors and thousand’s of shops it was really well designed with each level carrying a particular item or line.

For example the first three levels had all the "normal" Thai shops selling clothing, shoes, belts and all types of clothing. Although you need to be fairly small to fit Asian sizes.

On another floor the whole level covers mobile phones, new and second hand with all the accessories. My poor old mobile had been so badly knocked about, I had it rebuilt there with a whole new cover and new LCD screen for less than the cost for someone to even look at it at home.

Level three was great if you don’t want to carry your souvenirs with you when traveling as it had a huge range of carvings, paintings and fake "brand" name clothing aimed at the tourist market. I think it was more expensive than you would find elsewhere.

The centre also contains a huge department store called Tokyu with the most incredible shoes (sorry, my fetish), amongst other items that I have ever seen.

To get here, take the Skytrain to Station W1, on the Silom Line. The Station W1 is connected by a footbridge to Tokyo Department Store, and from there, you can access to MBK Center.