Travellers in search of luxury goods and the shopping comfort available in a mall or department store will find a host of exciting retail venues on the Bangkok Riverside.

Luxury Retail Hubs

The River City is one such example and the four-storey mega mall not only offers captivating views of the River of Kings but also a host of branded goods and Thai speciality items. Perhaps the most popular shopping centre on the riverside is » Asiatique The Riverfront, a sprawling retail hub which is a purpose-built shopping Mecca with thematic sections dedicated to various products.

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Prachanart Viriyaraks, Asiatique The Riverfront Bangkok, CC BY 2.0

What to Buy

Visitors will find everything from Thai silks to designer wear in this spacious mall where entertainment items and live performances are also part of the landscape come night time. Those on the lookout for handbags, accessories, homewares and antiques will find no finer locale than the Chao Phraya Tower Shopping Arcade which specializes in Thai products including teakwood furnishings and artwork.

Floating Markets

No shopping spree along the Bangkok riverside would be complete without uncovering one of the area’s retail anomalies. Occupying the klongs or channels of the Chao Praya River, these floating thoroughfares retail everything from plates of Pad Thai to fresh fruits via vendors who carry their wares on boats. This unusual sight is one that onlookers on board a Chao Phraya cruise available through tour operators the likes of Anantara Cruises and countless others marvel at every single day.

Flower Market

The Bangkok Flower Market, the largest retail location for fresh flowers in all of Bangkok is also located along the banks of the Chao Praya River. Even if one does not plan to purchase any blooms, the sheer sight of the aromatic floral displays is well worth the trip to this lively marketplace.

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Ninara from Helsinki, Finland, 4Y1A0267 Bangkok, Flower Market (32852717971), CC BY 2.0

Roland Lefevre is a travel writer who specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+