The Big C Plaza & 2nd Street Shopping

Bangkok, Day 13

Today we decided to walk to the Big C Plaza and visit the 2nd Street Store. We identified a route that would also take in the K Village shopping mall too and as we quite like circles and squares we thought it was so close to Custard Nakamara (the Japanese bakery), that it would be a travesty not to pop in and do our bit to help support a local business....(never mind who ate all the pies - it's who ate all the custard buns with us!)

2nd Dec 2024

As we are walking, we just love to take in all the different styles of housing, the streets and the street art. Bangkok has so much variety that you are never bored. From the modern and huge, new residential tower blocks to the small side streets with their old, authentic charm all right beside one another, it's an ever-changing and evolving city. What is lovely is that there is very little graffiti or litter about. Yes, of course, there are some areas that you come across that have a little rubbish, but on the whole it's really very clean and tidy, and you see lots of people out cleaning the streets and parks all the time.

Big C plaza

The Big C Plaza is just another big superstore with lots of smaller stores and shops inside. There is nothing particularly special about it, and the main reason we popped in was a) to cool off in the air conditioning, b) see if there was anything special we liked, and c) to tick it off our list.

2nd Street Clothes

The real reason that we came down to this area (which is actually not that far from the Khlong Toei Market!) was that we had seen a YouTube video about 2nd Street and we wanted to see the place for ourselves. 2nd Street is a 2nd hand clothes and accessories shop that buys and sells 2nd hand goods. Of course, we are not talking 'Paddy's Market' style but more high-end fashion and big brand names. Now R and I are not into either fashion or brands, but we wanted to see what it was like. It was like a big warehouse inside a shopping mall area, well laid out and lots of clothes, shoes, bags, etc. I'm sure for some people it would be a fantastic find, especially if you were looking for a specific model of trainer or just wanted a nice Louis Vuitton or Chanel bag at a fraction of the price of the real thing. Also, there were loads of ladies' clothes, but mostly in small (Thai and Japanese sizes?). Despite feeling like a fat Cinderella, it was sadly a case of nae luck, Lizzie!

This video from Rob of Project Bangkok gives a good insight into what the place is like but it is well worth the visit, especially if you are into designer brands or collectables.

Lunch

After 2nd Street, it was time for lunch, and we found a great little canteen-type place in the same mall area to have something to eat. I got a prawn rice dish and R got a pork rice one. The light stock soup was also really tasty, but as R doesn't like coriander (he seems to be a super taster - so it tastes like soap to him!), he passed on that.

Bambina Villa

After lunch we ambled back towards our favourite bakery and popped into a few more mall type places on our way. Bambina Villa is a family friendly mall which has a bit of a community feel about it. They seem to run lots of events for families and it was really quite sweet - I'm sure the kids (& their parents) love it.

K Village

We also pooped into the K Village which again was a very nice and up market kind of mall. There are so, so many malls and places to eat in Bangkok, I can't help but wonder how they all survive. Maybe they are a lot busier in the evenings (when we are generally at home as we are knackered from our day out!), but during the day, they seem very quiet. The restaurants are all more expensive than the food courts and food street vendors, so maybe that accounts for it, too. I did read somewhere recently that prices have gone up all over, so again, maybe that is reflected in people eating out in restaurants less than before??

Before heading to Custard Nakamara, we popped into Ikea as we had suffered a fatality in the apartment. We have no idea how, but one of the plants left in our care has sadly passed. We followed the watering instructions to the letter, but it suffices to say, it did survive (I think this plant might have already been on the way out as it didn't look that great, and all the other plants are doing just fine). We thus purchased a new replacement plant (of the same type), and hopefully it will still be alive when it's our time to leave the apartment (albeit, it is much smaller than the one left by our hosts).

So with plant and custard buns secured we headed home for SSRR - shower, swim, rest and recuperation as the temperature here is not something we are very used to!

Bangkok, Thailand