Other shopping in Asia
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A
Maneerat
Maneerat is one of the well-stocked souvenir shops here. It features an extensive array of Shan and Burmese clothing, as well as Burmese lacquerware boxes. It can be found near the southern end of Th Khunlum Praphat
reviewed
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Chatuchak
Imagine all the city’s markets fused together in one great big market-style concentration camp. Now add a little artistic flair, a sauna-like climate and bargaining crowds and you’ve got a rough sketch of Chatuchak.
reviewed
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B
Niraamaya
Popular throughout Kerala, Niraamaya sells ‘ayurvedic’ clothing and fabrics – all made of organic cotton, coloured with natural herb dyes, or infused with ayurvedic oils. The clothing is very simple, but makes for an original gift.
reviewed
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Crossroads Asia
A great concentration of stores can be found in Ban Wan on Th Thakhilek, the first left turn after Talat Hang Dong. Crossroads Asia is the Pier One of Thailand, selling ethnic art and antiques from across Asia.
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Sony Shop
In Thimphu the Sony Shop below the NT Hotel and Jimmy Bros Stationery sell blank video cartridges. Grab a copy of Lonely Planet’s Travel Photography for tips and advice.
reviewed
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C
Celebration of Arts
Pick your way through a staggering display of subcontinental knick-knacks at Celebration of Arts –everything from statues and carved wooden screens to cashmere scarves, saris, bedspreads and lampshades.
reviewed
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Sri Vijayalakshmi Fine Kalamkari Arts
You can see the artists at work in the Agraharam neighbourhood, 2.5km from the bus stand. Sri Vijayalakshmi Fine Kalamkari Arts is an old family business with 40 artists. Studio visits by appointment.
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D
Pan Flute
For tribal ethnic-minority garb and handicrafts head to P To Tich or P Hang Bac where there are a dozen or so places, including Pan Flute which has an excellent selection including some old textiles.
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E
Ranee K
Young local designer Ranee K is a rising star for her combinations of dramatic prints and textures, as well as for her deft adoption of cuts and styles from both East and West in her evening and ready-to-wear lines.
reviewed
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Ansal Plaza
A modern shopping mall geared towards well-to-do locals, with shops selling the usual designer-clothes suspects, and some costume jewellery and upper-end saris. It contains Geoffreys, an appealing English-style pub.
reviewed
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Iew Duh
This vast market is one of the most animated in the north-east. Thousands of Khasi tribes-people flock in from their villages, selling everything from tribal baskets to fish traps and edible frogs.
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F
Talat Bobae
The most enjoyable souvenir-shopping is looking for the handful of people selling traditional baskets and wooden items, hidden away within the fresh food and household-goods stalls in Talat Bobae.
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G
Water World
Two of the best diving shops are next door to each other: Dive Shop and Water World. Both supply a full range of equipment and are authorised dealers for big-name brands.
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H
Dive Shop
Two of the best diving shops are next door to each other: Dive Shop and Water World. Both supply a full range of equipment and are authorised dealers for big-name brands.
reviewed
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Sarv Handicraft Emporium
This small store has a great range of crafts and clothes with striking designs at reasonable prices. Money raised here benefits women working in Himalayan villages who have few employment opportunities.
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Jirakarn Antique
A great concentration of stores can be found in Ban Wan on Th Thakhilek, the first left turn after Talat Hang Dong. Jirakarn Antique is an old-fashioned junk shop selling salvaged teak.
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Village Vocational Training Center
This school is 7km south of town (take Hwy 2 and follow the sign east). It’s a great place to see the mát·mèe process from start to finish, and it also has a pottery workshop and mushroom farm.
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Fully Booked
Manila’s most comprehensive bookstore, with a great travel section and an outstanding selection of fiction and non-fiction. Other branches are in Bonifacio High Street in the Fort and in Mall of Asia.
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OTOP Center
Sakon’s OTOP Center sells interesting hand-woven silk and cotton fabrics and clothes dyed with indigo and other natural colorants. You can also pick up maoberry and black-ginger wines.
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FX Mall
An upmarket mall in the Senayan district, the main attraction here is the 72m transparent cylindrical slide that shoots you down six stories in about 12 seconds – spend 100,000Rp and the ride is free.
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Thanh Bao Café
Stock up on coffee here – the price is lower and the quality higher than in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. You can buy whole beans or ground coffee at around 60,000d per 500g; better varieties cost more.
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Street Market
A Saturday street market sprawls along the street with village women offering fruit, vegetables, maybe a dead pig, fish and live hens in individualised wickerwork carry-away baskets.
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I
Geethanjali
The sort of place where Indiana Jones gets the sweats, this antique and curio shop sells statues, sculptures, paintings and furniture culled from Puducherry’s colonial, and even pre-colonial history.
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Udhyog Bharti Khadi Gramodyog
This is a large khadi shop where hundreds of women work spinning cotton upstairs, while downstairs embroidered salwar kamees (traditional tunic and trousers) and saris are on sale.
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J
Kamantian Native Handicrafts
Kamantian Native Handicrafts has a quite a large and high quality selection of, mainly generic ersatz native masks and statues of the type found everywhere from Nairobi to Bangkok.
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