Thailand: Siam Square Walking Street, a good place to find K-pop stores in Bangkok

Date: January 18, 2023

After a lot of walking yesterday, I had some good rest and woke up ‘on time’ as I had to check out of Lemon Siam Hostel.

Breadtalk pastry breakfast Bangkok — I had bought some pastries the night before, to have as breakfast

I only stayed this side of town only because I had to visit DJI’s service center (see previous post). I moved to a hotel in an area that I had not stayed in before. I took the BTS to Phrom Phong, in Watthana district, which is not too far from the core Sukhumvit stretch.

Retro39 hotel Phrom Phong Bangkok — I had booked at Retro39 which is a very shot walk from the Phrom Phong BTS station. That’s a Mercure Bangkok Sukhumvit 24 across the road, if you want something more luxurious.

Retro39 road Phrom Phong Bangkok — There’s a Lawson convenience store right next to Retro39, and it’s open 24/7

Retro39 is a simple hotel. No breakfast buffet on offer and little in terms of amenities. Just a small hotel that isn’t too old, with clean and well-kept rooms, just a few steps away from Phrom Phong BTS station — which is just one stop after the Asok/Sukhumvit interchange stations. So a very good location as far as I am concerned.

Retro39 hotel bed toilet Bangkok — My Superior Double Room cost ฿3,381 (₹7,792/$93/€86) for 4 nights, which was a pretty good price given the location

The only thing I did not like was the bed. Not that it lacked comfort. The mattress was very nice to sleep on and the sheets were clean — but the bed was on wheels. So as I sat on my bed to work, with my back to the cushioned wall, the bed would move forward slowly. It was annoying for someone who often sits on the bed to work!

Im Chan restaurants Phrom Phong Bangkok — There are two eateries serving the ‘essentials’ of Thai food at affordable prices right near the BTS station

Seafood fried rice Bangkok Thailand — This seafood fried rice was quite yum. Cost ฿90 (₹207/$2.4/€2.2)

EmQuartier Watthana mall Bangkok — Just a stone’s throw away from Phrom Phong BTS station is EmQuartier, a new mall housing ZARA, Uniqlo, H&M, Sephora, and other major brands

I’m stunned to see how many malls still keep coming up in Bangkok! The Sukhumvit Road stretch must have some 10 malls by now.

Benchasiri park Bangkok Thailand — And across the road is Benchasiri Park, a nice green space to go jogging or just sit on grass for a while

I decided to explore the area a bit more as this was my first time in this part of Bangkok.

Marque Sukhumvit Bangkok Thailand — Marque Sukhumvit, a luxury condominium project

S Metro building Watthana Bangkok Thailand — S Metro is a commercial office building

For those wondering why I take photos of buildings, I’m someone who appreciates good architecture.

I found this lane just off Soi 26, full of izikayas (Japanese bars) and small eateries

Turns out the area I was in is dubbed Bangkok’s “Japan Town”. All around were businesses and restaurants catering to a largely Japanese clientele. I did see offices for companies like Panasonic nearby so maybe a lot of Japanese work and live in this part of Bangkok.

Afterwards, I looked up Google Maps to see if there were any good stores for K-pop albums nearby and the results showed a concentration of shops near Siam BTS station. So that’s where I went.

Siam Square walking street Bangkok — This is Siam Square’s Walking Street

Siam Square is a shopping zone across the road from Siam Center mall. It’s choc full of shops and events spaces. I entered a shopping center called Lido Connect, which had many small stores and cafes.

Basket kpop store Siam Square Bangkok — The first K-pop store I came across was Basket

Basket kpop albums Bangkok — They stocked all the popular & trending groups

Basket kpop shop merchandise Bangkok — Basket appears to be a popular store and they were quite well-stocked with all sorts of K-pop merchandise

But Basket were out of stock on the album I was looking for.

Y Global music kpop store Hanteo Bangkok — Y Global Music is another K-pop store I found — and they claim their sales count to the Hanteo charts

Gift Channel for Fans Kpop store Bangkok — But it was Gift Channel for Fans where I found what I was looking for!

Kpop albums store Bangkok — They had Girls Generation’s 2022 comeback album, and as a longtime fan, I had to pick up my copy!

Many of these stores also sell official lightsticks of your favourite groups, although some of them need to be pre-ordered. Check their respective social media pages for updates.

Lido Connect clothing stores Bangkok — Lido Connect also have trendy clothing stores

Manga store Bangkok Thailand — Lido Connect’s upper floor also had gaming and manga/manhwa stores

Lido Connect event Bangkok Thailand — Lido Connect is also a popular event space. This was a gathering of fans for some Thai celebrity.

I left Lido Connect and the Siam Square area.

Harry Styles Bangkok concert ad — An ad for the then Harry Styles concert

One thing I love about Bangkok, and one of the reasons why I’d love to live here, is the concert scene. Bands I like — The 1975 and Coldplay — both performed in Bangkok recently, and of course lots & lots of K-pop. Alas, I can’t fly to Bangkok each time I want to try and watch a gig.

Tesla Siam Paragon Bangkok — As I walked through Siam Paragon, I saw Tesla had a display of Model 3 and Model Ys

Tesla Model 3 frunk Bangkok — Being electric, Teslas have no engine and instead offer a ‘frunk’ — a front trunk

Tesla Model 3 interiors Bangkok — And since Tesla isn’t available in India (yet), I decided to sit in one

Inside Tesla Model 3 steering wheel — I didn’t realize how bare the insides of the Model 3 are

As technologically impressive as Teslas are, I hate the trend of EVs coming with just a giant tablet to houses all the controls. No matter what the car company says, it’s in reality, a cost-cutting measure. I don’t care even if that tablet can play YouTube videos and games like Teslas can.

One thing that took me by surprise when I first visited Bangkok and walked through Siam Paragon mall was seeing car dealerships inside the mall. On the ground floor, sure, other cities have that. But Siam Paragon has several luxury car dealerships on the second floor!

Aston Martin Rolls Royce Siam Paragon Bangkok — Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Maserati, Jaguar, and other luxury car brands are all on display on the second floor of the mall

How they get the cars into the showrooms on the second floor is still puzzling to me.

Justin Bieber Madam Tussauds Bangkok — As I was leaving Siam Paragon, I walked past a wax figure of Justin Bieber

I’m guessing they wanted to give Bieber a smouldering look but ended up making him look sad. Just found it funny:

Erawan Bangkok night shrine Thailand — That white building is Erawan Bangkok, a shopping center with a few boutique stores

Big C supermarket Sukhumvit Bangkok — I walked to Big C supermarket to buy the things I wanted to take back to India

Blackpink Oreo flavours Bangkok Thailand — K-pop girl group Blackpink is so popular in Thailand (member Lisa is Thai) that Oreo introduced a range of Blackpink Oreos

I bought the pink one… and having tasted it once back in India… it was nothing special! 😂

Big C supermarket free box Bangkok — Big C has carton boxes near the billing counter; I picked one up to pack my things

Prada store CNY design Bangkok — I walked past Central Embassy mall which was decorated for Chinese New Year

Here’s a brief video:

As I walked back to my room, what alarmed me was seeing just how many marijuana and cannabis shops had opened up all along Sukhumvit.

Elephant wonder cannabis shops Bangkok — There were shops EVERYWHERE, big and small

There’s no way every single one of these shops is going to bring in so much business that they’re all going to do well. No wonder the Thailand government is having second thoughts about their own cannabis policy.