ICONSIAM

ICONSIAM is absurd in the best possible way. A $1.65 billion riverside megamall that opened in 2018, it's not just a shopping centre — it's Thailand's attempt to build a monument to itself. The ground floor, called SookSiam, recreates an entire Thai floating market indoors, complete with wooden boats, regional food stalls from all 77 provinces, and handcraft sellers — all inside an air-conditioned building that cost more than many countries' GDP.

The architecture from the river is genuinely striking — a curved glass façade that's meant to evoke the folds of a Thai silk fabric, lit up at night like a spacecraft that landed on the Chao Phraya. The multimedia water fountain show on the river terrace runs every evening and is free to watch — dancing jets synchronised to music, projected onto screens of mist, the whole thing reflected in the river. It's completely over the top and completely worth seeing.

SookSiam is the reason to come even if you hate malls. Each section represents a different region of Thailand, and the food vendors are the real deal — not mall-food versions of street food. Northern Thailand's khao soi, southern curries, isaan grilled chicken, Bangkok-style noodles — you could eat your way through the country without leaving the building. Take the free shuttle boat from Saphan Taksin BTS and you'll arrive feeling like you're approaching something significant, which, architecturally at least, you are.