Finding Home 8,000 miles Away

Bangkok's Terminal 21 (Andrew Chamings/SFGATE)

San Francisco's busiest and arguably most beautiful mall is in Thailand.[bold added]

8,000 miles away in Thailand, malls are thriving, and one in particular has devoted tens of thousands of square feet of gleaming floor space to a rosier view of San Francisco.

On a recent family trip to Bangkok, alongside tuk-tuk food tours and a night at the legendary Muay Thai boxing stadium, the city’s preponderance of malls were high on the list. There’s the ginormous Iconsiam complex on the river, which can be accessed by boat and features 7,000 shops over 10 stories and an IMAX theater. There’s the maze-like MBK mall where bartering is encouraged and vendors hawk dubious high-end designer gear for pennies. And, of course, there are the vibrant and chaotic outdoor night markets dotted across the city, replete with some of the best street food in the world. But at Terminal 21, a huge airport-themed luxury megamall on the busy Sukhumvit Road thoroughfare, Bangkok pays homage to San Francisco.

...A giant Golden Gate Bridge replica, hanging over the entire mall below, even features little cars driving across the bay. While I was there, a group of schoolgirls took selfies in front of the towering International Orange structure. Other nice details on the floor include the Haight-Ashbury intersection, two Tony Bennett-inspired heart sculptures, a nearly full-size California Street cable car replica on a turnaround and a giant crab directing shoppers to the restrooms.

Its real-world griminess has not yet displaced the idealized version of San Francisco in the world's popular imagination. There's still time to turn it around, but don't wait too long, San Francisco.