Bangkok Redux

Still thinking about buying a new tablet I decided the place to go was MBK.  MBK is not a mall, it is like a megamall-flea-market-bazaar.  The first time I walked in I fell in love.  I mean, I like walking in a store like a Macy's or a Dillard's and picking up a nice Polo or something along those lines, but I have to admit that I love the idea of being able to select from even more stylish premium knock offs at half the price.  There is just something in that, and then the selections are often better than Ralph Lauren or whoever would have though of himself.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Bangkok is a shoppers paradise.  Not only do you have all the premium stores you could think of lined up down one street in malls such as Siam Square, Siam Paragon and Central World, but you have malls such as MBK and stalls lined up and down in nooks and crannies selling even more stuff.  MBK is eight levels of shopping for anything you can think of.  I was looking for electronics.  A tablet, and among the rows and rows of cellular merchants I knew I would find what I was looking for.

MBK is about a twenty minute cab ride from where we are living now.  So we flagged a cab down, most people say you should avoid the parked cabs, because they are waiting to exploit tourists.  The cabbie I flagged down sized me up and started the meter.  I let out a sigh of relief.  I have gotten in cabs where the driver refused to start the meter or refused my destination.  Cabbies here often go after the quick tourist dollars at the expense of an honest fare.

We passed through the center of Bangkok, over the river and past the train station, soon we were at MBK.  The meter read 75 baht, I gave the driver a 100, about three dollars and thanked him. The hulking mass greets with hustle and bustle and the first thing I noted walking up.  A school girl walked in right before me giggling.  I notice another, and allow her to pass.  Two others pass giggling, cutting me off, I can't help but laugh.  The uniforms and the giggling are way too much for me.

We pass security who inspect my bag and we proceed up the escalators.  They take you up and up and up.  Floor five, we approach electronic chaos.  There are row after row of merchants selling Apple stuff, and behind them row after row of merchants selling Samsung stuff.  The guy I approach doesn't want to bargain that much, just enough.  He is way too shrew, perhaps I should have purchased elsewhere.  However, he has just the model I want, as well as used models of others I can compare it to for value and quality.  I decide to buy the Samsung Tab 7.7.  The Samsung Tab 7 would have been too slow, and the 10.1 too big.  As I buy I wonder if I should have waited until Apple introduces their 7 inch tablet in a few weeks.

After we buy the tablet we head down the street to the Siam Paragon.  We window shop as the beautiful people shop for Rolexes and such.  We marvel at the manmade river inside the mall.  We decide against eating in the food court and soon head home.