Phuket Shopping

items you have forgotten to pack. These items, usually clothing, health and beauty products are very cheap in Thailand, means a great Phuket shopping item. Actually it is wise to purchase such things anyway before you travel back home since all this items are much cheaper in Thailand than anywhere in Europe and there is usually no difference in quality.

Don’t go Phuket shopping at hotels and resorts, there they usually charge you three or four times the price you pay in a convenient store maybe just 5 minutes away. On certain parts of Phuket are Seven Eleven stores at every 200 meter distance. An alternative could be Phuket beach shopping.

- While vacationing in Phuket

you may want to dine out or get some food from a local market. Dining out in Phuket is much cheaper than anywhere in Europe or US and if you still want to cook something on your own do some Phuket shopping in one of the big shopping malls. There are several huge Phuket shopping malls on the island and they pack the food into very handy units easy to be prepared with some hot water, in the microwave or just eaten without heating it up.

There are also huge food courts in almost every mall with one or dozen of food stalls lined aside each other. Phuket shopping offers are very diverse and usually ok.

Phuket has a large number of unique shops and shopping centers. In addition to unique Phuket shops and fruit markets you will see many familiar stores, such as Seven-Eleven, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, just to name a few. While you may enjoy shopping or dining at somehow familiar places around the Phuket hotels and resorts venture into new and exciting territory with specialty shops such as in the new Jung Ceylon shopping mall at Patong Beach with dozens of restaurants and great shops plus Thai massage and some water shows at the open

plaza at the center, it’s a great Phuket shopping experience.

When shopping in Phuket watch out on items you could get problems when you go back home, e.g. Italy and France are totally hysteric on copied designer goods. E.g. if you buy a green crocodile shirt they might give you a nightmare when you come back, blaming you for all kind of nonsense’s, it might be wise to remove the green croc or an other thing, store is separately and fix it again when you arrive your house. Actually its not your shopping problem when this designer ware in Europe has astronomical prices since the producer pour a substantial part of their income into advertising and want to pull money from you to finally pay their ad agency.

During Phuket shopping also stay way from all kind of exotic animals and goods that are made from exotic animals and of course, by all means stay away from drugs! Buying and using drugs in Thailand can get you into real trouble.

Phuket shopping for some art, preferably at a gallery at Phuket Town will give you probably some positive surprises.

Another thing which makes Phuket shopping very easy is, there are plenty of ATM around on the island, the local banks charge about Baht 200,- per transaction, this is about $ 6,-, means calculate first. Phuket banks change almost any money including Chinese, Korean, Middle East money etc. If you change some money, always do it at a bank, not in the hotel or elsewhere, at almost all major Phuket shopping areas are ATM. At almost any Phuket night market area are money change booth or ATM from of the major banks, they are open usually until 10 pm, some even longer and the bank offices at the shopping malls are open until 6 – 8 pm 7 days a week.

Shopping in Phuket is real exciting, the huge shopping malls on bypass road and the Jung Ceylon at Patong offer all kind of clothing, gemstones, jewelries, arts and crafts, copy stuff, cheap plastic from China are on display and there is always a good restaurant in the vicinity. A very popular shopping items at Phuket's night markets are belts, in particular Bling Bling Belts. Phuket shopping malls, roadside shopping, other shops and night markets carry a wide range of goods including ethnic and regional crafts, the best quality of the last mentioned are at the OTOP shops.

- The OTOP shops

are usually more expensive than night markets and single shops such as at Phuket Town but the quality is usually good. OTOP stands for One Tambon One Product which is a government sponsored shop idea where at a Tambon (some kind of precinct) certain items are manufactured, usually by hand, it’s a effective cottage industry to bring local goods of various cities in Thailand to market.

Shopping in Phuket and Thailand in general is very affordable. Some shops are quite sophisticated in terms of the goods presentation and the items they carry. In general, goods Made in Thailand are quite cheap and imported

vigilant when buying any jewelry or gemstones, in particular ruby gemstones and imperial jade, the fake or manipulated items are overwhelming, this even includes gold which is very often mixed with cheap materials to make more profit, it’s a jungle out there when people try to make dirty business by any means, but in general Phuket shopping is quite ok if you are a little bit careful.

You will have a positive surprise by very consumer friendly prices. Thai handicraft, Thai shoes, belts, in particular bling bling belts, wallets, handbags,  purses and luggage are of good quality and very attractive priced, keep in mind never pay the price asked, bargaining it down to about half of the initial price offered, that's the same when you do food shopping at the market or roadside. At roadsides you will also find plenty of flower shops inviting orchid shopping, it is also advisable if you are in Phuket visit a orchid nursery, one of the best is just south of the Chalong Circle its called Orchid Farm. You will experience a sea of great exotic colors at this orchid garden, buy some orchids its a pleasure to see them every day in the hotel room, they usually last for more than a week.

Most gemstones from Myanmar or Burma and Cambodia end up in Bangkok and Chantaburi to be sold as loose stone or worked into Thai jewelry which again comes back to the shops in Phuket to be sold to the tourists, ruby jewelry, pearl jewelry and jade jewelry is also very popular among other. If you are searching for rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethysts, aquamarines, diamonds and other stones check Bangkok and Chantaburi.

There are plenty of ethnic arts and crafts at various

souvenir stores and nigh markets throughout the country this are in particular Thailand silver jewelry made by the so called hill tribes in the north of Thailand. Other shopping items with a ethnic touch are beautiful ceramics and celadon which is manly produced around Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, this are real beautiful items a eye catcher in any home.

- Very attractive is Thai silk,

coming as different products and with different styling such as shirts, bedding and all kind of great women wear but its quite expensive since 2 large companies have a monopole on Thai one of this company is Thompson and they use this monopole position by any means.

The best shopping deals for clothes, shoes, handbags, fake items, souvenirs and other items are available at the night markets at Phuket, mainly at Patong.

After you have enough of shopping in Phuket do a little sightseeing tour. There are still some patches of forest left on Phuket Island, some streams and waterfalls, coconut palm trees, and shimmering white-yellow sand. Coral reefs are only a short trip away. If you like exceptional tropical holidays on a island with lush tropical vegetation, a relaxed atmosphere, vibrant nightlife Patong shopping and bars, great Thai food, some adventure trips, scuba diving or snorkeling, some luxury hotels and beach resorts, lots of other accommodation and all not expensive pick Phuket island as your next vacation destination, you wont regret.

Phuket is ok for singles, couples and families, the natural beauty is still to find and if not just do a day trip or longer into the Phang Nga Bay, Similan Archipelago, Khao Sok National Park or maybe take the ferry to Phi Phi Phi Islands. You will find the stuff you like, the untouched splendors are maybe a little further off but all reachable within a daytrip out of Phuket. At all this places there are markets and small shops with plenty of local goods to buy, ideal for tropical shopping.

There is a zoo in Phuket and great nature trips are offered, you also could do a dinner cruise with a Chinese Junk in the Phang Nga Bay just off Phuket Island. There is great opportunity for photography and video giants. Beach lovers and beach comber’s can have a pleasant time particularly between November and April and shop at the various stores at the beachside. There are great shopping opportunities since almost everything which is not imported has a low price tag.

There are great indoor and outdoor markets for shopping and all this items for shopping are real cheap in terms of prices, also the quality of the items is quite good.


 

Patong Shopping

Night market at Phuket City

Phuket Shopping