Opened in 2011, Terminal 21 is already Thailand's biggest and most spectacular shopping destination. It caters mostly to local Bangkokians which is good as there are no tourist traps but most boutiques allow for bargaining if they are privately owned. So don't ask for discounts at Zara or Top Shop.
There are 9 levels of shopping bliss, with San Francisco taking up 2 floors due to Golden Gate Bridge!
Each floor is designed, deployed and decorated in honour of a world famous city of which Kuala Lumpur is not included but luckily Singapore also.
As you enter, Lower Ground is Caribbean which is not a city per se but a region. You know it is the Caribbean as there is a lighthouse surrounded by sand and plenty of coconut trees.
Ground floor is Rome and mezzanine floor is Paris. First floor is Tokyo, second floor is London, third is Istanbul and 4th floor and 5th floors are San Francisco. Highest floor is 6th and that is Hollywood!
As expected, each floor is lavishly decorated with structures and artefacts unique to each city so there is a red double decker bus in London plus a train, filigree ironwork in Paris, inlaid Iznik tiles and colourful lamps in Istanbul, heaps of sculpture in Rome and a bronze group of cameramen in action on Hollywood floor!
But the stuff on sale are not reminiscent or unique to the honoured city. So on Tokyo floor, there are no kimono shops nor are there French books on Paris floor. When it comes to shopping, the store owners sell whatever customers will buy!
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