Aisa’s rating of destinations - Shopping

Bali, Indonesia
Goa, India| Phuket, Thailand
Maldives | Pattaya, Thailand | Sanya, China
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Shopping is an exhilarating experience for many, like Aisa. A trip is not completed without taking home a souvenir. Even if shopping is not on your priority list, just going around or window shopping can be a fascinating culture experience - every local market is a mirror of the local ethnic culture in Asia. Besides, it’s hard to escape from the peddlers in touristy places!

Price is generally cheaper in Asia comparing to the west, and more so if you are prepared to bargain! Bargain is a norm, tradition and habit across Asia. Prices can be inflated to almost twice the real price to allow room for bargaining (excluding goods in department stores with fixed price tags). Some honed bargaining techniques and a sense of humor are essential survival skills for shopping trips in Asia. You can expect to pay from 10-40% less than the asking price, depending on your bargaining skills.

Aisa has seen a man negotiating for a trinket in Phuket. He did well and bargained the price from 250 to 100 baht, but paid up with a 1,000 Baht note. He walked away happily believing that he had a good deal. But isn’t it the most important part of it - bargain to the content of your heart and be happy with your purchase!

Beware of fake antiques and touting ( take tourist to shopping and receive a commission from the shops); When hassled by peddlers, don’t make eye contact if you don’t want to buy anything; Buy faked name brand goods and pirated DVD/CD at your own discretion - there is no quality guarantee; Money-back guarantee is a very vague concept so think twice before you buy anything expensive.

Bali, Indonesia | Aisa’s rating

Bali is a treasure house of artwork, antique, stone and wooden carving, Javanese puppets, hand woven and dyed fabrics, antiques, furniture, ceramics, masks, jewellery, textile, etc.

Ubud, the culture center, is known for its world class fine arts. The big galleries include Hans Snel and Antonio Blanco. Tegalalang is the home of woodcarvers. Batubulan is known for its stone sculpture from paras, a soft volcanic rock, and the sculptures were used to adorn temples and palaces. The craftsman can make anything you request. Aisa watched a craftsman carved a piece in front of the vistor’s eyes!  Sukawati has the best buy for art and craft market. Hand made Batik painting factory can be found in Batik Populer and Karitika Candra.

Galeria Nusa Dua is a huge open air shopping arcade for quality items, offering a wide range of Balinese goods free from the hassle of street vendors!

Aisa recommend a Balinese Gamelan music CD - to remind you of Bali and your holiday!

Goa, India | Aisa’s rating

The list of Goa souvenirs include handcrafts like brassware, terracotta, shell work, crochet, carved furniture, bamboo work, papier-mache (paper pulp crafts), trinkets, etc. a pack of cashew nuts is popular snack in Goa, and it comes in plain, salted or masala flavors. Feni, another Goan specialty, is a vintage wine made from cashew nut.

The Friday market at Mapusa sells everything - from antique coins to dried fish and spices; the Wednesday flea market at Anjuna is more for foreign tourists with a variety of items, e.g., Tibetan, Kashmiri and Gujarati handicrafts, Goan music albums, etc.

Phuket, Thailand | Aisa’s rating

Old Phuket, the historical downtown area, has the most interesting shops for traditional Thai crafts and textiles, antiques, clothing, ceramics and antiques, and other souvenirs. Walking along Montri, Phang Nga, Rassada and Yaowarat road is also a sightseeing experience of the sino-portugese architecture in the form of shophouses. (Shophouses are a combination of shops and home for the owner. The shop is one street level and the owner lives in the room at the back or above the shop. Shophouses can also be seen in Singapore). Patong beach is another shopping area.

Chatuchak Phuket is a weekend market names and modeled after the Bangkok bazaar along Phang Nga road. On Bypass road there are a few department stores, e.g., Central Festival Phuket.

It is prohibited to export Buddha image, deities and some antique artifacts in Thailand. Without the approval of Fine Arts Department in Bangkok.

Maldives | Aisa’s rating

Wood carving, hand woven mat with local fibers, teas, canned fish and are popular souvenir in Maldives.

All shops open until 11PM except for the Muslim praying time, when they are closed for 15 minutes.The Majeedhee Magu and Chaandanee Magu are two prime shopping zones. Chaandanee Magu mostly sells good imported from Singapore and are called “Singapore Bazaar”.

Export of turtle & pearl oyster shell, black & red coral are prohibited in order to protect the coral reefs and marine life.

Pattaya, Thailand | Aisa’s rating

Shopping in Pattaya is not as good as Phuket. However you can still find a good a mixture of traditional craftwear, clothes shops between Beach road and Second Road. The big department stores are Mike shopping mall, Royal Garden Plaza and Gems Gallery.

Clothing, electronic goods and computer accessory are good buy in Pattaya. Shops for tailor-made suits can be found in Walking street.

Sanya, China | Aisa’s rating

The popular buy in Sanya are pearl, crystal and seashell products. Some trinkets include coconut carving. Sanya is known for rare seawater pearls. Jingru pearl factory is the largest shop for pearl, crystal and shell products. Like Maldives, Coral and shell are prohibited to sell. Jiefang road is the commercial area in Sanya with department stores like Tiancheng, Tianhong and Yifang.