Fifteen malls, led by the big Bangkok malls, from Siam Paragon and CentralWorld to MBK and ICONSIAM, then the biggest malls in Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai.
The luxury flagship at BTS Siam, open from 10:00 to 22:00, with car showrooms upstairs, SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World in the basement and a food hall that's better value than the designer floors.
A Ratchaprasong landmark and one of the biggest retail complexes in Thailand, open from 10:00 to 22:00, with an Apple flagship and walkways to the malls around it.
Eight floors and about 2,000 small shops of phones, souvenirs and clothes at BTS National Stadium, closer to an indoor market than a mall, open from 10:00 to 22:00. Haggling is normal here, unlike in the malls around it.
Each floor is themed on a city, from Rome to Tokyo, and the Pier 21 food court on the fifth floor is the cheapest sit-down meal in the district. A skywalk links it to BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit; open from 10:00 to 22:00.
The riverside mega-mall on the Thonburi bank, open from 10:00 to 22:00, where SookSiam, an indoor floating market of regional food and crafts, is the reason to cross the river. Take the shuttle boat from Sathorn Pier.
Floor after floor of small fashion shops in Pratunam, many of them wholesale, so prices drop when you buy three or more pieces. It keeps market hours, 09:00 to 20:00.
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The mall for Thai designers, next to Siam Paragon and wired into BTS Siam at Exit 2, with local and boutique labels rather than the big designer houses and the Food Factory on the 2nd floor. Open daily 10:00 to 22:00.
Several blocks joined by sky bridges and terraces at BTS Phrom Phong, open from 10:00 to 22:00, where the dining floors are the main draw.
Concept-store floors in the same complex as Siam Center, each called a Lab, from Her Lab and His Lab at the bottom to the Digital, Creative and Play Labs above. Come for design, gadgets and gifts rather than big fashion names. Open daily 10:00 to 22:00 at BTS Siam.
The beachfront giant on Pattaya's Beach Road, with more than 350 stores by the mall's own count, a supermarket and a big food court.
Phuket's biggest mall, formerly Central Festival Phuket, and the place to go on a rainy day.
An airport-themed mall where every floor is styled as a different world city, and the Pier 21 food court runs on a prepaid card you top up at the counter.
The big mall in the middle of Patong, a short walk from the beach, open from 11:00.
Chiang Mai's biggest mall, formerly Central Festival, on the Superhighway east of the Old City, with a department store, cinema and a large food hall.
The mall at the top of Nimman, with fashion, a cinema, cheap food courts and a rooftop with views of Doi Suthep.
Siam Paragon at BTS Siam in Bangkok is my first pick, with CentralWorld a short skywalk away at Ratchaprasong, and ICONSIAM on the Chao Phraya River is worth the boat ride for SookSiam, its indoor floating market.
The giants are all in Bangkok. CentralWorld, ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon are among the largest malls in the country, and Central Westgate, out at the end of the MRT Purple Line with IKEA next door, is in the same league.
Central Phuket is the island's biggest and the place to go on a rainy day, and Jungceylon is the mall in Patong. Pattaya has Central Pattaya on Beach Road and Terminal 21 with a floor for each world city, and Chiang Mai has Central Chiangmai and MAYA at the top of Nimman.
Most big malls open from 10:00 to 22:00 every day, and a few, such as Central Chiangmai and Jungceylon, open at 11:00. Platinum Fashion Mall in Bangkok keeps market hours, 09:00 to 20:00.
