The BigChilli
  • Home
  • ONLINE MAGAZINE
  • News
  • Promotions
  • Features
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • What's on
  • Social Events
  • The BigChilli TV
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Social Media
    • Pricavy Policy
  • Contact us

Fake or genuine, Rong Kluea market is Thailand’s real bargain basement

10/11/2014

Comments

 
Frontier town stacked with goods carrying famous brand labels, but at a fraction of the price
Picture
FORGET busy Bangkok markets like JJ, Bo Bae, and Phahurat. If you’re looking for bargain-priced clothes – head instead to the Thai-Cambodian border and the sprawling market of Rong Klua in Sa Kaeo province.

This bustling frontier town, some 200 kms east of the Thai capital, is packed with vendors surrounded by mountains of eye-wateringly cheap clothing, much of which carries the labels of famous fashion brands more normally associated with the swish boutiques of European and American capital cities.

But instead of foreign prices that would cause serious dents in your monthly budget, Rong Kluea’s clothes, shoes and other accessories are so ridiculously inexpensive, you really can shop till you drop.

While it’s not always entirely clear whether these goods are fakes or genuine, there’s no doubting the quality and amazingly low cost of many items. On a recent expedition to Rong Kluea, the BigChilli team bought clothes bearing popular brand names like H&M, Zara, Armani and Dockers.

In one rough-and-ready stall, we also purchased a man’s “thermal brushed cotton” shirt apparently from Marks & Spencer’s Blue Harbour range, complete with what appeared to be a genuine ticket showing a UK price of £35 and “Made in Cambodia” label. The vendor asked for only B150, or £3. M&S is one of the many famous foreign companies with manufacturing facilities in Cambodia.

Another vendor specialising in shoes sold us a pair of what can only be described as excellent quality brogues bearing the “Dr Martens” trademark for only B1,300 – a huge saving on high street prices, if the product is indeed authentic. The same shop also stocked a wide range of sport shoes stamped with the logos of famous brands.
Picture
Fire recently ripped through Rong Kluea market, causing damage estimated at 10 million baht. Local sources suggest this is a fraction of the area’s daily turnover. The cost of land in this booming border town is increasing rapidly as investors and speculators get ready for the opening next year of the East Asian Community (EAC).

Apart from clothes, Rong Kluea market sells watches, bicycles, foodstuff, garden equipment and a huge assortment of machinery.

Many visitors to the town are actually not shoppers; they bypass the market and head straight to the casinos on the Cambodian side of the border.

It’s a long drive from Bangkok, and this hot and frequently dusty town can become very congested with trucks heading to and from Cambodia, but the bargains to be had here can make it worthwhile.
Comments
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Calendar of events



    Picture
Picture
About  |   Emag  |  Subscribe (print)  |  Newsletter |  Contact Us  | Advertise 

FOLLOW US

CURRENT ISSUE

2019 - 2021 so Far

The BigChilli July 2020
Jan 2021
FEB 2021
March 2021
April 2021
May 2021
June 2021
August
October
November 2021
December 2021
March- April 2022
Copyright © 2018 The BigChilli Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
No. 8/2 FMA Group Bldg., 4th Floor, Room 401
Convent Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500

Tel: 02 635 5085 Fax: 02 635 5086  email: thebigchillimagazine@gmail.com

  • Home
  • ONLINE MAGAZINE
  • News
  • Promotions
  • Features
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • What's on
  • Social Events
  • The BigChilli TV
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Social Media
    • Pricavy Policy
  • Contact us