Shopping in Pattaya

Whether you want to pick up the newest digital camera, select some souvenirs to take home or check out hand-woven baskets, Pattaya has the lot.

Shopping may not be the reason you came to Pattaya but we guarantee you’ll spend considerable time in the stores – if only because of their welcome icy-cold air-con units.

Pattaya boasts Southeast Asia’s largest beachfront mall in the shape of Central Festival, dozens of tailors’ shops offer quality suits and dresses for $100 and several places focus on traditional Thai handicrafts.

Our pattaya24seven shopping guide to Pattaya tells you where you need to go to find something special.

OTOP shop

038 489 115; 98/68-69 North Pattaya Road, 10am-8pm

OTOP (One Tambon, One Product) is a government scheme that allows villagers from various sub-districts (or Tambons) to earn a living by making handicrafts. This centre, opened in 2007, covers 1,500sq m and has everything from scented soap to stylishly-lacquered cabinets. It’s a good place to pick up some last-minute gifts, and also give something back to the community.

The Avenue

038 723 900, Second Road, 11am-11pm

Chic shops and an entertainment complex are all part of Pattaya’s hippest new mall.

Every evening the open-air, central courtyard is transformed into a beer garden with live music, while three levels of shops are linked by open-air walkways. Fashion and beauty shops dominate, but it’s the bowling alley, multiplex cinema and cafes that ensure it’s the place for trendy Thai teens to hang out.

Floating Market

Covering 62 rai, ten years ago the area that is now Pattaya Floating Market was farm land and home to many aquatic animals and much flora, making it the largest swamp on the Eastern seaboard.

In 2005 the Lake View Restaurant was opened and proved popular. The owner later fancied changing things but wanted to keep the important water features, and so the idea for a floating market was born. The market enabled the owners to preserve the water features of the area and also create a new tourist attraction.

The aim was to build a place that reflected a traditional way of Thai life, far removed from the bustle of contemporary Pattaya. The market features arts, crafts and food from all four regions of Thailand: north-east, north, southern and central.

Teak buildings are interconnected by walkways, so there's none of the bumping boats that make up most floating markets. Water vendors do ply their trade offering sweets and noodles, which can be eaten in a number of shaded pavilions.

The range of products is impressive, from wood carving, herbs, to silk and cloths. The market is neatly divided into different areas, representing goods from the various regions of the Kingdom: north, north-east, central and southern. And while it's a tourist attraction, plenty of locals come to shop here too, a sign that prices are reasonable.

Large pavilions are used as picnic areas, where you can munch down on the selection of fried chicken, som tam and sticky rice available. Every so often the diners are turfed out and traditional dance performances, or martial arts displays, are staged.

Central Festival

The largest seafront shopping centre in all of Southeast Asia, this brings a little bit of Bangkok to the beach. Stretching for 111 metres along the seafront and then all the way back from Beach Road to Second Road, it is breathtakingly big.

Inside there are more than 200 shops, ten cinemas (including the first ever outdoor one in Thailand), fantastic restaurants (that open until 2am) and at some point next year there'll be a five-star Hilton Hotel next door. Expect to pay top dollar for a stay in one of the 300 luxury rooms.

A visit here won't just mean being taken from one shoe shop to the next. Everything has been designed, with various zones for various activities. There's an amusement arcade where teenagers can blast away at zombies, or there's a younger zone for toddlers. In the basement there's an excellent selection of handicrafts and jewellery.

When it comes to food, Pattaya doesn't do badly, but here the selection is vast. Japanese, Korean, Italian, English, it's all there. Options include Mos Burger, the Outback Bar, Zico and a sushi train. Several restaurants have alfresco dining, with spectacular views of Pattaya bay.

The Central Food Hall is a good place to try traditional Thai snacks (look out for the southern-style coffee that's poured cocktail-style into a cup.) Aside from that there are more than 20,000 imported food and drink items.

On the top levels there is the SFX Cinema with nine normal screens, one First Class option and a seaview cinema, that’s partly open-air. Going First Class means you get to sit in a fancy lounge overlooking the minions below for up to an hour before the show starts. Once the movie begins you get your own sofa seat and waiter service (a drink and snack are included in the 600 baht per person ticket).

There's also an SF Strike bowling alley with 16 lanes and a party zone.

But if you come here it's really shopping you're after. Among the brand names doing business here are Zara, Topshop, FCUK, Guess, Jim Thompson, Swarovski, Ed Hardy and Miss Sixty.

Central simply dominates Beach Road now and is a sign of an ever-changing Pattaya. What with free Wi-Fi by the beach, a dozen fancy restaurants and a reasonably attractive promenade, the city seems keen to be catering for its changing demographics. Russians, Koreans and Chinese now dominate the market that was once largely for Brits and Germans.

Pattaya may still be known more for its go-gos than its shops, but it's definitely no longer just the bar capital of Thailand - it's also got the country's best mall.

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