Bangkok Stationery and Lifestyle Shop Guide

Well not exactly a guide but this should give you some starting points.  My last info about these locations was April 2008 so please validate before you go.

Bangkok Visit

• Read this post from last year
• Geo is my number 1 recommendation
• Interesting H1 Complex in Thonglor, nice book shop and lifestyle stores
• Q Concept Stores, beautiful mix of merchandise including fashion, gadgets, antique, etc.
• Thailand Creative & Design Centre
• Manga by Playground! (mind you Playground! in Thonglor no longer exists last time I went) in Central World Plaza is a super hip store filled with designer toys, graphic design books, fashion, furniture, etc.  I wonder if this store still exist.
• TRUE cafe in Paragon
• Propaganda, the company which created Mr. P, nice shop but not limited to their own products
• B2S, just so you can see how a very basic stationery category store looks like, in addition to stationery they have books and music as a store concept

There are more interesting shops and department store counters in shopping malls like Paragon, Central World Plaza, etc.

In case you need free metro maps, you can download before you go.

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Treasures from Bangkok – BIG+BIH Show

Bangkok Visit

I spent the last few days in Bangkok in the BIG+BIH Gift and Housewares fair.  Visited the show 1.5 days and did some market research by visiting stores I love.  (flickr this photo to see some notes about items inside)

Bangkok Stationery Treasure

I collected notes and name cards from my last year's visit and planned to see some very nice stores.  Maps and info were pasted to my recent Moleskine pocket notebook.  The best treasures I found were a store I love so dearly called Geo, a leather pen case made by Tactus I knew from last year and a cassette tape looking notebook by Wednesday Garden. (flickr this photo to see details)

Geo Store

From what I remember, Geo's 3 owners each has their own profession and love of objects – a fashion designer, a gardener, a photographer.  Together they made dozens of great products from bookmark, notebooks, calligraphy sets, clothing and great greeting cards and wrapping papers.  The store is located in a hip area called Thong Lo.

Tactus Products from Bangkok

Tactus imported leather from Europe and create their products right in Thailand.  According to their director Ms. Sunaree, the cows in Thailand are so skinny and their skin have a lot of imperfection, that's why they need to import quality leather from elsewhere.  She was also very keen to show me their design concepts and innovations.  I absolutely love their products which are very thoughtful and useful.  If you are in Bangkok, don't forget to visit their store/showroom in Lumpini Night Bazza (operates from 8pm to 11pm) at soi 6 zone Lobpuri.

The ending of this trip was not so pleasant however.  It looks like I must experience one hiccup every year to fulfill a cycle, missed flight, full flight, hotel infested with bugs, raining like dogs and cats, emergency landing because someone had a heart attack, etc.  This year in 2008, my flight back to Hong Kong from Bangkok was diverted to Manila because of a typhoon striking Hong Kong (the earliest typhoon in recorded history), so my plane was circling near Hong Kong 3 rounds and finally got a landing permit to Manila instead of Taiwan.  It took me nearly 10 hours to fly from Bangkok to Hong Kong!  Not to mention a final diarrhea on the plane 😛

Rewarding? Always.

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Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Suvarnabhumi International Airport

My first time to visit Thailand through this new airport which opened since Sep 2006. This installation was seen from the departure hall right after custom.

Suvarnabhumi means "Golden Land" and the airport is named by the King.

Shot with SX-70, with filter and 600 film

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Makruk at Thailand Bus Driver’s Station (Thong Lo)

Makruk at Thailand Bus Driver’s Station (Thong Lo)

I was walking around the Thong Lo area to see some design stores and galleries. Our last stop was at H1 and across the road from it sat a queue of buses waiting to be dispatched, drivers were sitting in the buses sleeping. On the road side I saw a wooden board game lying around. It is called Makruk I found out.

Makruk info:
Unlike Korean and Burmese Chess, Makruk or Thai Chess is presently thriving well in its home country where proponents outnumber those who play European Chess by a huge proportion and the game is a nationally televised attraction. It is played in Cambodia as well as Thailand, although this country sports yet another historical variant – Cambodian Chess. The game is related to both the Japanese and Burmese versions of Chess and many people believe that Makruk predates both these other games.

The attractive pieces are shaped like the Stupas or Thai temples that are found throughout Siam, as Thailand used to be called. In the past, pawns were often represented by cowrie shells, mouth down until promotion when they were turned upwards.
Also visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makruk

Shot by SX-70 with filter and 600 film in Thailand

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