Visit to Bangkok One, a new huge commercial facility in Bangkok

I traveled to Bangkok from December 28th to 31st, 2024.

It was my second visit there since April 2022.

I learned that Bangkok is cool in the mornings and evenings at this time of year (it's hot in KL).

I went to see One Bangkok, a large commercial facility that opened in October.

  

One Bangkok

It wasn't as huge as I expected.

It is a facility similar to the one Mori Building is building in Tokyo as XX Hills, which brings together a luxury hotel, offices, residences, two shopping malls, and an international conference center in one place.

In the case of One Bangkok, even if you combine the two shopping malls (Parade and Stories), it is not that big.

You can see everything there is to see in one go.

There are many Japanese stores and restaurants, including MISUKOSHI DEPACHIKA, which sells Japanese food and ingredients (the only famous chains are Sushiro and Ootoya).

I was a little surprised to hear the Japanese announcement, "Customers with small children..."（小さなお子様連れのお客様は・・・）

  

MITSUKOSHI at Parade mall

Personally, I think the existing huge malls (Central World and Siam Paragon) have a wider variety of stores and are more enjoyable.

The biggest benefit of this trip was getting used to riding the trains.

You can ride the Red Line from Don Mueang Airport Station to Bang Sue Station and the MRT Blue Line from Bang Sue Station with a VISA or MasterCard without buying a ticket (token).

One Bangkok is directly connected to the MRT's Lumpini Station.

  

From MRT Lumpini station

To get to Central World or nearby areas, you need to transfer to the BTS line at MRT Sukhumvit Station.

You have to buy a ticket (card) to ride the BTS line, but if you select QR payment > Alipay at the ticket machine, you can read the QR with the Malaysian TNG app, so you can go cashless.

By the way, there are a lot of Japanese people in Bangkok.

At Don Mueang Airport, I saw about three groups of about 10 Japanese people (this may be because I passed through the airport every day from a hotel near the airport to the train station).

At One Bangkok and other malls, I saw groups of two or three people speaking Japanese (usually groups of women).

Even on the train, I noticed a family (group of four) speaking Japanese.

Finally, some strange rules in Bangkok (or Thailand).

・At 7-Eleven, you couldn't pay with a card unless it was over 200 baht (about 920 yen) (Lawson allows small amounts). Three 330ml cans of Singha beer and one pack of cigarettes (Marlboro) weren't enough, so I was forced to buy a disposable lighter to make the numbers match.

・At KUL ➔ DMK, I was able to bring the plastic bottle of water I brought from home onto the plane, but at Don Muang Airport, from DMK ➔ KUL, it was confiscated at the X-ray inspection. Incidentally, out of the three disposable lighters I had, two were confiscated (the one I was forced to buy above ended up in the trash bin unused).

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