Find out why MBK Center [Ma Boon Khrong Center] is one of the most popular shopping malls in Bangkok

Video #3 | September 13, 2017

In this video you’ll find out why MBK Center / เอ็มบีเค เซ็นเตอร์ [Ma Boon Khrong Center] is one of the most popular shopping malls in Bangkok.

The video is broken into the following sections.

– A short background, and history, of MBK Center.
– How to get to MBK Center on the BTS.
– What you can buy in MBK Center.
– The awesome ‘Southern Star’ store!
– Why MBK Center is a must-visit shopping center in Bangkok!
– What MBK Center looks like. [Via a ‘walk-through’ video].

IMPORTANT NOTE: The opening hours for MBK Center are 10:00 – 21:00 [every day].

Click on the following link to check out more Bangkok Shopping Malls.

#VIDEO TRANSCRIPT#

Alrighty then! Welcome to the third video of Bangkok Unmasked!

In this video I’m going to introduce you to one of Bangkok’s more interesting shopping destinations; MBK Center [also known as Mahboonkrong]. You can check out the Thai script for MBK Center on the top left of the screen.

MBK used to be the largest shopping mall in Asia when it was opened in 1985, and it’s been built on land leased from the adjacent Chulalongkorn University. [Which is one of Thailand’s top universities]. If you’re wondering what MBK means, it’s short-hand for the parents of the developer Sirichai Bulakul, Mah & Boonkrong. [Their statues can be found outside the shopping center on the ground floor].

There’re 8 floors in total, and the center contains around 2,000 shops, restaurants and service outlets, including the 4-story Tokyu department store. Here’s a rough breakdown of what you can expect floor-by-floor:

Floors 1-3: Clothing and shoes, leather goods, cosmetics and hair-styling, toys, gold and jewelry
Floor 4: Electronics and mobile phones
Floor 5: International food hall, restaurants, furniture, photography, computing
Floor 6: Food court, souvenir shops
Floor 7: Cinema, bowling, karaoke
Floor 8: Cinema

While MBK Center is extremely popular with tourists, the majority of shoppers are Bangkok residents. The MBK Center management reports daily visitor numbers of more than 100,000, half of whom are young Thai people, and a third foreign visitors.

One reason why MBK Center attracts so many people is that it’s very easy to get to! MBK is connected to the Siam Discovery and Siam Paragon shopping mall by elevated walkways, and it’s also within [a very short] walking distance from the “National Stadium” BTS Station. We’re talking 2 minutes walk via a connected walkway with the BTS station.

If possible, I’d strongly suggest that you visit MBK on a weekday, as it’s crazy-busy at weekends.

What follows is a short video which shows you how to get from the BTS station to MBK.

MBK is a must-visit store for a number of reasons:

Reason #1. This is probably the single best place to buy t-shirts — and reasonably priced clothing — in Bangkok. [There’re a lot of ‘designer’ goods that aren’t exactly ‘authentic’ if you catch my meaning!] As an aside, I buy most of my t-shirts from MBK, and there’s an excellent store to buy jeans [owned by a lady named ‘Jiab’] called “Southern Star”. You can find this shop on the first floor; its shop number is: 1C-24.

What follows is some footage I took from my last visit to Southern Star.

Do purchase a pair of jeans from Jeab if you want your butt to pop!

Reason #2. If you want to buy a new camera, or literally any camera accessory, MBK will have it. AND at a great price! If you’re a pro, or semi pro photographer, you need to head to “Photo File” on the first floor. Also, “Big Pro Camera” and “Sunny Camera” on the third floor are solid camera shops which sell Digital SLR cameras, lenses, camera bags, tripods and all manner of camera accessories. Finally, there’s a Canon dealership on the 5th floor for all things Canon.

Reason #3. MBK is THE place to buy a new cell-phone, or any phone accessory. Literally all cell-phone brands are available. Also, if you need something fixed — like a screen for example — this will be the cheapest place in Bangkok to get it done.

Reason #4. All traveler to Bangkok want to bring back some cheap souvenirs for their friends and family. For the lazy — I’m one of them — you can buy all your souvenirs in one go. Just go to the 6th floor. I’d be VERY surprised if you can’t find some excellent gifts!

Reason #5. It’s not my thing, but if you’re looking for a fake watch head to the second floor. Some of the low quality fake watches are on display, but you have to choose from a catalog, and THEN you’ll be shown the watch of your liking if they have it. Watches are graded by categories such as A, A+ and A++, with the latter being top quality, and MUCH more expensive.

What follows is some footage of my last trip to MBK in a “walk-through” format so you have an idea of what to expect. I haven’t shot all the floors inside MBK, but you should be able to get a feeling of the ‘atmosphere’ from the 7 minutes of tape…

Anyway…That’s it for this video. Expect a new video shortly. [It should be posted in about a week, or so].

For all you techies out there, this video was shot on a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and edited using HitFilm Express.

Finally, please don’t forget to subscribe to this channel through the button below!