By Graham K. Rogers

I returned home not so long ago having come through the Siam Discovery Center on my way from Paragon to the BTS station at the National Sports Center. Unless you have pressing business in Siam Discovery, don't bother.

The mall which is in the last throes of closing down for another refurbishment is busy with folks looking for bargains at all the stores offering Closing Down bargains. From memory, Siam Discovery had its last tidy up only 2 or 3 years ago and all the shops were refitted. That is not cheap. Now, the management are doing it again with the expectation from some owners I talked to that when the grand reopening occurs, there will also be some grand rent increases.

As far as I could see in my abbreviated journey through Siam Discovery, only two stores were empty: Maccenter, who are normally packed lunchtime Saturdays; and Italia Design, where all the staff were having lunch. If you have business at either of these places (both closed on Sundays) enter via the ground floor and use the lifts: walkways to and from the mall are clogged.

Maccenter are unsure if they will return to Siam Discovery when I spoke to one of the management, but for now are expanding operations at Fortune Town, and may also open up the Rama 3 office again. Italia Design will be moving to within the Siam area, but I do not have details right now.

I had been tempted to look in to the iStudio in Siam Discovery when I heard that the sales were to start on Thursday (23 April), but a comment from a member of staff concerning any interest I might have in a cheap MacPro dashed all my expectations. I ordered a Mac mini online instead.

More on that in the Bangkok Post later in the week. . . .

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand where he is also Assistant Dean. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. He is now continuing that in the Bangkok Post supplement, Life.