Buying Monster Furniture in Bangkok

Take a Peek at the Alien Furnishings for sale in Bangkok, Thailand 
During our travels, we often see unique items we'd never find back home. I wasn't shopping for some really unique furniture, but I found it in Bangkok at Mabukrung Center, also known locally as MBK. There I found exactly what any home needs: Godzilla, alien and monster furniture.

(photo to right, above: my mom with Godzilla)

Made of wire, wicker, and brass, these creatures stand from 2 to 8 feet in height. I even found a Godzilla statue over 11 feet tall (for just the right high-ceiling living room). The monsters are from movies, such as "Alien," "Predator" and the "Gamera/Godzilla" series. The creatures are hand-made with create detail, and no two items are alike. They are formed into chairs, candle stands, end tables and lamps. A few taller pieces serve only as statues - or giant action figures. You can really brag about your action figure collection if one of them stands above you in the living room!

Factoring in the exchange rate, the prices range from $25 (800 baht) for a small figure, to $500 for an alien coffee table (about 3 feet across), and a little bit more than $770 for the 11-foot statues. Most of these items can be shipped back to the US or Europe, but some need to be separated into sections and reassembled back home. The EMS shipping cost with tracking and insurance will add from $40 to 100 to the cost, but it only take about 5 days to arrive by this method. They can schedule the shipment to go out on the day you leave to go home, so your prizes will arrive about 3 days after you've settled back at home and unpacked.

Find this unique furniture store on the 5th and 6th floors of MBK plaza. Name? There isn't a name or a website; it's just a couple of guys making great souvenirs and furnishings. You can find the shop at the east end of the plaza, where all the furniture stores are located. The three guys who own and make the creatures rent a space in the large mega store at that end of MBK, but I couldn't quite get a store name from them. These guys don't have a website, they just sell locally, but you can link to the MBK site here. You'll have to travel to Bangkok to get one of these pieces. If you're there on vacation, stop in and at least see the unusual décor. If you can't afford a mammoth table, then at least get a small statuette. Your friends back home with be green with envy.

They also sell smaller furnishings, more as a decoration, from 8 to 12 inches. The small Alien figures made of wire are very unique. These run from $7 to $25, and are not just sold in the store; they are also sold in the street markets in Silom. There are other people making similar wire Predators and Aliens along Silom Road and in the Chatuchak weekend market. Sets of 3 or 5 can also be bought as a posed scene. Just remember to pack them in checked luggage or have them shipped home. The metal will set off the security scanners at the airport, so even the small ones "won't fly" so to speak.

Alternatively, just take a peek at the big Aliens at MBK and consider it a free visit to a movie museum of sorts.