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Chakri Day at Siam Paragon

Posted by Stuart at 10:00 PM on April 06, 2006

Today was a the Chakri Memorial holiday in Thailand. Schools, banks, and government offices were closed to celebrate the founding of the Chakri Dynasty in 1782. (The current King of Thailand is the ninth ruler in this dynasty.)

So what did many Thai people do with their day off? Go shopping of course! I just happened to go to Siam Paragon and was amazed at the number of people who were there. But then I realized that hardly anyone was actually shopping, at least on the first floor with all the high-class shops.

There were two customers in Hermes. There were two more in Salvatore Ferragamo. There were none in Versace. And Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana? Exactly zero and zero.

And how many were on the ground floor at the food court? I'd guess somewhere in the neighborhood of four million. Ok, so maybe there weren't that many, but there were definitley thousands of people there. MK and McDonald's were both packed, and there wasn't a table to be had in the 40 baht noodles and stir-fry area.

The owners of Paragon were smart to include eateries for us "normal" folk, because it sure seems like the ground floor food court is the only thing that is going to keep that mall in business.