The Emporium

[RDN]

Yes, there must be a whistle tycoon somewhere in Thailand residing in a plush mansion with several wives and servants at his beck and call.

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Let's think of the next universal item. We missed the whistles ... pity that

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How about tuk-tuk "megaphone" exhaust pipes?

[Judge]

Kinokuniya - the best book store in Asia so far.  And the one in the Emporium is incredible - it's like being in a great bookstore in the West.  And it's cool with seats, and the books are not wrapped in cellophane - I love it there.

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I assume you're joking, right? Kino is absolutely nothing like 'a great bookstore in the West.' Jeez, it's not even like being in an average bookstore in Singapore.

Kino's main store in Singapore is, I'd guess, twenty times the size of Kino in the Emporium with twenty times the stock, and then they have three more branches there that are far, far larger than their store in Bangkok. Borders in Singapore is equally large and well stocked, as are at least another dozen bookstores there. Even Hong Kong has finally begun to develope real bookstores.

'The best bookstore in Asia'? Man, you realy don't get out much, do you?

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I prefer Kinokuniya in Bangkok to most of the gigantic-super-bookstores in Singapore. IMO they are TOO big, with lots of useless junk stock just to fill the shelves. It is unpleasant wading through all the crap to find the good stuff.

At Kinokuniya, someone has already done that for you.

[DJ Pat]

I was there yesterday looking at an iron that was priced 220 Baht higher than Tescos. Nuff said.

[mbkudu]

What I dislike about Emporium: mandatory frustration when trying to park the car.

Maybe the car is the problem.

[sprq]

>I assume you're joking, right? Kino is absolutely nothing like 'a great bookstore in the West.' Jeez, it's not even like being in an average bookstore in Singapore.

Kino's main store in Singapore is, I'd guess, twenty times the size of Kino in the Emporium with twenty times the stock, and then they have three more branches there that are far, far larger than their store in Bangkok. Borders in Singapore is equally large and well stocked, as are at least another dozen bookstores there. Even Hong Kong has finally begun to develope real bookstores.

'The best bookstore in Asia'? Man, you realy don't get out much, do you?

FYI, Kino at the Times square in Tokyo is probably 2 times entire Emporium retail space.

What I dislike about Emporium: mandatory frustration when trying to park the car.

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I find it a bit difficult to pop off to Singapore or Tokyo when I want a good book, so Kinokinuya Emporium does me fine, considering what existed before it arrived. Namely, the book boutique, Asia Books, the place with the brain-dead elevator musak where they can't even keep the books upright, or keep them in their proper categories, let alone sort them sensibly under History, Biography, Politics, Geography, Science, etc. All that stuff is just Non-fiction, as far as they are concerned. They should rename it: Brainy Stuff That We Can't Understand So We Put It All Together. The staff are personally very pleasant, though, even if more suited to selling Gucci than books. In short, if you're serious about books, the only place in all Thailand to go is Kinokinuya, The Emporium. It is the sole serious English language bookshop in the land.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Yes, there must be a whistle tycoon somewhere in Thailand residing in a plush mansion with several wives and servants at his beck and call.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let's think of the next universal item. We missed the whistles ... pity that

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about tuk-tuk "megaphone" exhaust pipes?

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Head Banging Batons ?

[DJ Pat]

Getting followed round department stores by pushy salespeople assuming that because I may be rich I will ONLY buy the most xpensive models is damned annoying.

[thedude]

Getting followed round department stores by pushy salespeople assuming that because I may be rich I will ONLY buy the most xpensive models is damned annoying.

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dont worry mr DJ i dont think you were their target, everybody knows the biggest spenders at emporium are the thai upper class, and you really have very little spending power compared to them. just take a peek at the carpark and look at the number and sheer proportion of vehicles priced above 5 million baht, and you start to get the idea. the store attendents were probably keeping a close eye on you since you look like someone who will slip in and out of stores unnoticed.

this raises a point - emporium is really targeted at affluent thais, tourists with cash to spend (eg japanese and increasingly mainland chinese tourists), and serious shoppers who appreciate things like the kino bookstore. mostly, its the affluent thais who are keeping the place afloat and successful, not the expat community, as you suggest.

it really baffles me why you get annoyed with such insignificant things, dont you have anything else better to do? i think you are too self-conscious about "THAT" look you receive from other expats, do you think people really care? and even if they do, why should you? i am starting to be very concerned about you, young man. from what i know of you from your various posts, you spend an unhealthy amount of time loitering about the city, you seem to be fixated over petty things like how popular Tata Young is, and you seem to have self-esteem issues with the way you go on about your 5 very faithful girlfriends. of course, all this when you are not spitting out endless posts on this forum.

i hope this is just a phase and you will soon "get a life", as they say.

[udon]

That piri piri place is very tasty indeed, apart from ther Greek salad.

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I went there every day for a coffee for 2 years and perve on 2 of the waitresses until they banned smoking and the same day, I found out the best looking girl stole her workmate's credit cards and shot thru to Buriram after working there for 2 years.

Thai steal from Thai... not nice

[DJ Pat]

I'm trying to get a life but I can't stop being petty. what's a man supposed to do?

I work a 9-5 mon-fri and DJ on fridays and saturdays. Loitering about the city is possibly the wrong term.