If you’re planning a trip to Perlis, Padang Besar is one place I’d recommend adding to your itinerary, especially if you enjoy shopping, local food and a little bit of border-town atmosphere.
I recently visited Padang Besar during my trip to Perlis. I had already spent part of the day exploring Santuari Ikan Air Tawar Timah Tasoh, so Padang Besar felt like a complete change of scenery.
One moment I was surrounded by green hills and a quiet lake. The next, I was walking through busy rows of shops filled with Malaysian and Thai products.
It was my first visit to Padang Besar, and I quickly understood why it is such a popular stop in Perlis.
Located in the northernmost part of Peninsular Malaysia, Padang Besar sits directly on the Malaysia-Thailand border, next to Thailand’s Songkhla Province. The town is known for its shopping, border trade and strong Malaysian-Thai influence.
So, if you’re wondering what to do in Padang Besar, here’s how you can spend a few hours exploring the area.
✅ What Is Padang Besar Known For?
Padang Besar is best known as a border town and shopping destination.
Its location next to Thailand has shaped much of the town, from the products sold in its shops to the food you’ll find around the area. The town is particularly popular for affordable clothing, accessories, snacks, household items, souvenirs and Thai products. Tourism Malaysia also highlights Padang Besar as one of Perlis’ major shopping destinations.
The interesting part is that you don’t necessarily need to cross into Thailand to get a taste of Thai influence.
You can stay on the Malaysian side and spend hours browsing through shops selling imported Thai snacks, dried food, clothing and all sorts of random things you probably didn’t plan to buy.
Which, honestly, is exactly what I did.
✅ Things to Do in Padang Besar
- Go Shopping at Arked Niaga Padang Besar
If you’re visiting Padang Besar for the first time, Arked Niaga Padang Besar is one of the places I’d recommend checking out.
It is one of the main shopping areas in town, with rows of stalls and shops selling everything from clothing and textiles to bags, luggage, household goods, souvenirs and snacks. Tourism Malaysia describes it as a large bazaar-style shopping destination with a wide variety of affordable goods.
What you can look for:
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- Clothing and textiles
- Bags and luggage
- Household items
- Kitchenware
- Sportswear and accessories
- Handicrafts
- Souvenirs
- Snacks and imported food
- Thai products
- Hunt for Thai Snacks and Local Products
One of my favourite things about border towns is seeing all the products you don’t normally find in regular supermarkets. Padang Besar is a fun place to browse if you’re a snack person, especially if you enjoy bringing food home from your travels.
You’ll find plenty of imported Thai snacks, biscuits, sweets, dried food and other packaged products around the shopping areas.
- Explore the Other Shopping Areas
Don’t feel like you have to stay inside one shopping complex. Padang Besar is made up of several shopping areas around the town, so part of the fun is simply walking around and seeing what you find.
Padang Waremart, located opposite Arked Niaga, is another shopping spot known for snacks, treats and specialty products.
You can also explore Jalan Besar and the surrounding market areas, where you’ll find more shops, food stalls and small vendors.
If you have the time, don’t rush from one shop to another. Walk around. See what the locals are buying.
- Try Some Thai-Influenced Food
The border-town atmosphere also means you’ll find plenty of Thai snacks and Thai-influenced food around Padang Besar. Depending on where you stop, you may come across things such as:
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- Thai iced tea
- Mango sticky rice
- Tom yum
- Thai snacks and desserts
- Dried seafood and other Thai food products
I didn’t have enough time to properly explore the food scene during this particular visit because my colleagues already had a few restaurants planned for me.
- See the Malaysia-Thailand Border
Padang Besar is more than a shopping town. It is also one of the main land and rail gateways between Malaysia and Thailand.
The Malaysian town sits next to its Thai counterpart, which is also called Padang Besar. Malaysians commonly refer to the Thai side as Pekan Siam.
If you’re simply visiting Padang Besar for shopping, you do not need to cross the border. You can enjoy the Malaysian side without going through immigration.
If you do plan to cross into Thailand, however, you’ll need to go through the proper immigration procedures and carry the required travel documents. So don’t confuse visiting Padang Besar with actually entering Thailand. You can get the border-town experience without crossing the border.
✅ How to Get to Padang Besar
Padang Besar is easy to reach by train, car or bus.
- By train
Padang Besar Railway Station is an important railway hub and the northern terminus for KTM services in Malaysia. ETS trains connect Padang Besar with cities including Kuala Lumpur, Alor Setar and Penang, while rail services also connect with Hat Yai in Thailand.
If you’re coming by train, keep in mind that the main shopping areas aren’t right outside the station. You’ll need a taxi or e-hailing service to reach places such as Arked Niaga Padang Besar. Tourism Malaysia also recommends this option.
- By bus
Padang Besar is also accessible by bus, although you may need to connect through Kangar depending on where you’re travelling from.
If you’re heading specifically to the shopping area, Tourism Malaysia recommends taking a bus to Terminal Bukit Lagi in Kangar, then transferring to MyBus Perlis T11, which goes directly to Padang Besar.
There are also local bus services connecting Kangar and Padang Besar, making it possible to travel between the two towns without a car.
- By car
Driving is another convenient option, particularly if you’re planning to shop.
I’d actually recommend driving if you know you’re going to buy a lot because carrying bags of snacks, clothes and random souvenirs onto public transport isn’t exactly my idea of fun.
💡 Getting around: If you’re arriving by train or bus, you’ll probably want a taxi or e-hailing service to move between the station/terminal and the main shopping areas. If you’re driving, having your own car makes it easier to explore several shopping areas in one visit.
✅ A Few Things to Know Before You Go
- Bring cash
This is probably one of the most useful tips I can give you. Bring Malaysian Ringgit with you. While some businesses may accept cards or other payment methods, smaller vendors and market-style stalls may still prefer cash. Having cash also makes small purchases much easier.
- Bargaining is common
You can bargain at some independent market stalls, particularly when buying several items. Have a little fun with it, but keep it reasonable. Not every shop operates on a bargaining system, so don’t assume you can negotiate everywhere.
- Go earlier if you want to shop
If shopping is the main reason you’re visiting, I’d recommend arriving earlier rather than leaving it until late afternoon.
Opening hours vary between shopping areas and individual shops, while weekends and public holidays can be considerably busier. Tourism Malaysia lists Arked Niaga’s operating hours as Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, but I would still check the specific shops you want to visit before making a special trip.
- Expect crowds on weekends
Padang Besar is particularly popular with visitors from Malaysia and southern Thailand, and the shopping areas can become busy during weekends and public holidays. If you prefer a more relaxed shopping experience, a weekday visit may be better.
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes
This sounds obvious, but you’ll probably walk more than you expect. Padang Besar is the kind of place where you stop at one shop, then another, then realise you’ve been wandering around for two hours. The area can also feel hot, so comfortable clothing, comfortable shoes and a bottle of water are a good idea.
✅ How Long Do You Need in Padang Besar?
For a quick Padang Besar day trip, I would set aside at least half a day if shopping is your main purpose.
That gives you enough time to:
Morning
- Arrive in Padang Besar
- Explore Arked Niaga
- Browse the surrounding shops
- Pick up snacks and souvenirs
Afternoon
- Explore more shopping areas
- Stop for Thai-influenced food
- Have a drink and take a break
- Continue shopping if you still have room in your bags
If you want to cross into Thailand as well, you’ll need to allow additional time for immigration and your onward plans. For a trip focused only on the Malaysian side, though, half a day is a comfortable starting point.
✅ My Little Padang Besar Experience
I wasn’t really there with a shopping list in mind. Instead, I wandered around, browsing whatever caught my attention and seeing what the market had to offer.
I came home with just a few souvenirs and some fresh local fruits I picked up from one of the stalls. Nothing extravagant, but enough to make the visit worthwhile.
What I enjoyed most, though, was taking in the contrast. After spending time surrounded by the greenery and quiet scenery of Timah Tasoh, Padang Besar felt lively, colourful and completely different.
Here, there were shops, people, Thai snacks, Malaysian goods and the constant energy of a border town.
✅ Is Padang Besar Worth Visiting?
I’d say yes, especially if you enjoy shopping, food and exploring places with a strong local character.
Padang Besar isn’t the kind of destination where you need a long list of attractions to keep yourself busy. Its appeal is in the experience itself.
Browse the shops, look for Thai snacks, try some local food and pick up a few souvenirs. Most importantly, take your time wandering around.
You can easily combine Padang Besar with other places around northern Perlis too, especially if you’re planning a road trip. For me, it was a fun little addition to a work trip that I initially thought would be nothing more than meetings and deadlines.
I came without a shopping list and left with a few souvenirs, a bag of things I probably didn’t need and a better appreciation of this little corner of Perlis.
A little taste of Thailand without actually leaving Malaysia.
Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
More From My Perlis Trip Here:
- A Quick Day Trip in Perlis: Santuari Ikan Air Tawar Timah Tasoh
- Where to Eat in Perlis: 3 Famous Local Restaurants I Tried
Until my next adventure.
Auri Duham 🌻
