Pantip Plaza is Bill Gates worst nightmare. It s an enormous indoor complex containing more than 200 shops, most of which sell pirated software, hardware and video CDs. This is no dark alley where shady characters proffer hot items. Pantip resembles an American mall, complete with upscale coffee shops and fashionably attired teenage staff. Most of the software is first-generation copies flown in from Taiwan, Hong Kong or Malaysia.
Prices are ridiculously low.
For travelers willing to risk bringing pirated goods back home, Pantip is the place to stock up on computer items. It s against the law to possess pirated computer goods in the United States, although it seems that no one really checks. As the largest pirated computer goods retail center in East Asia, Pantip Plaza draws both criticism and applause. Not surprisingly, foreign computer companies despise Pantip and urge the Thai government to close the complex. The Thai police do occasionally confiscate a few items from stores.