As Sukhumvit is one of Bangkok's main thoroughfares, the long road is lined with shops, boutiques and modern shopping plazas ranging from Soi 3 (Soi Nana Nuea) up to Soi 63 (Soi Ekkamai). Most shops and restaurants are concentrated between Soi 3 and Soi 21 (Asoke Rd) and along shortcuts between Asoke and Ekkamai.

Markets

Shopping in Sukhumvit starts on the street. The pavement is cramped with endless roadside stalls that offer many of the same items as the Patpong Night Market, such as souvenirs, accessories, knock-off clothes, pornographic DVDs, pirated movies and other junk. Prices are somewhat better than in Patpong though. The stalls are open most of the day, and only seem to close late in the evening. The stores are at the main thoroughfare from Soi 1 till Soi 20. The part between Nana and Asok stations is particularly a hard walk, as many pedestrians queue up at the stalls to take a look. Haggling is generally expected, but it'll only save you a few more baht.

• Khlong Toey Market, Rama IV Rd (south of MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Center at the corner of Rama IV Rd and Ratchadaphisek Rd). Open 24 hours. A huge and surprisingly centrally located market, this one is definitely off the tourist trail. The stalls sell goods for Thais, at Thai prices. It is basically a food market with meat, seafood, and farm products on sale, accompanied by the usual second hand clothes stalls. Open 24 hours, but best experienced in the early hours of the evening.

Malls and Department Stores

• If you're looking for more upscale shopping, there are plenty of malls and department stores throughout Sukhumvit Road. The best one for fashion is Emporium, but for the rest you're better off taking the Skytrain to Siam Square. At Thong Lo, all things are cool, be it clothes, gadgets or interior design. It could be called the "Siam Square of Sukhumvit" with its hip fashion boutiques, trendy designer stores and overall swanky appearance.

• Emporium, 622 Sukhumvit Rd (BTS Phrom Phong), ☎ +66-2-269-1000. 10AM-10PM daily. This upmarket mall, with selections of everything in design, including watches, cosmetics and clothes, is the top competitor to Ratchaprasong's Gaysorn Plaza. The lower floors are dedicated to brands like Louis Vuitton and Rolex, but (unlike Gaysorn) it has more affordably priced goods on the upper levels. Emporium also has a popular food court and a good selection of restaurants on the fifth floor. Kinokunyia book store has a large selection of English language books, including travel-related ones. The top floor is home to a cinema and the Thailand Creative and Design Center.

• K-Village, 93-95 Sukhumvit Soi 26 (BTS Phrom Phong, then about a 30-minutes walk down Soi 26, so you might want to take a taxi), ☎ +66-2-258-9919(-21). 10AM-10PM daily. The so-called "lifestyle malls" are the new hype in Bangkok, and the newest one is K-Village, which has been in town since 2009. Touted as a "neighborhood lifestyle mall", apparently this should be a small village where you can meet and know people. In practice, it's just another upscale mall with supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, spas and (of course) a lot of fashion stores.

• Ploenchit Center, 2 Sukhumvit Rd (BTS Phloen Chit, then a short walk through the expressway tunnel), ☎ +66-2-656-8600(-4). This is a small, but decent, shopping center along the west side of Sukhumvit Road. Although the name suggests otherwise, it is not on Ploenchit Road! The ground floor has the typical chain stores (Starbucks, McDonald's, Boots), as well as lower-prices clothes outlets, jewelry shops and a supermarket. There's a food court at the sixth floor. Tourists don't make it out this far, so most of the visitors are local office workers from the surrounding buildings.

• Robinson, 259 Sukhumvit Rd (BTS Asok or MRT Sukhumvit, at the Sukhumvit Rd and Soi 19 (Soi Watthana) intersection), ☎ +66-2-651-1533‎. 10AM-10PM daily.

• Thonglor Midtown (formerly Playground!), Thong Lo Soi 18 (BTS Thong Lo, then a 15-20 minutes walk, or hop on the songthaew for 6 baht), ☎ +66-2-715-9408. 11AM-9PM daily. Formerly the quirky uberhip Playground! department store, now a hip mini-mall with IT, modern design and home accessory stores, plus Vanilla Restaurant, Shiki Japanese cuisine and a Starbucks.

Stores

Sukhumvit also offers the best in bespoke tailoring. There are custom tailor shops that can get your suits and shirts ready in less than 24 hours, although fittings are advisable if you have time.

• Crown Tailor, 13 Sukhumvit Soi 8 (BTS Nana, just inside Soi 8), ☎ +66-2-253-5541. M-Sa 10AM-8PM. Highly regarded as one of the best places to get a suit among Sukhumvit Road. It is definitely worth the visit for quality material at an affordable price.

• Sombat Permpoon Gallery, 12 Sukhumvit Soi 1 (BTS Phloen Chit, then take the expressway tunnel and take a left into Soi 1), ☎ +66-2-254-6040. 9AM-8PM daily. This gallery at Soi 1 sells both paintings and sculptures by established artists and those of the new generation. There are more than 10,000 art works by Thai artists on sale.