Shopping in SE Asia

[cruzcation]

I'm looking for ideas/thoughts on items to buy in following places:

Shanghai, Okinawa, Taipei, Vietnam, Singapore and Bangkok.

[Spikesgirl]

so I'll try to help a little. We didn't hit all the ports you mentioned, but in Bangkok, the thing to shop for is sapphires. you can get some very good deals on loose stone(you don't have to pay duty on loose gems).

 

Singapore - our tour took us to the China town museum which is located in a huge market place. We found fabulous deals on pasmire shawls and lace work.

 

Shanghai (and Xi'an)was where we ended up buying much of our jade, as well as some lovely needlework and some very reasonable silk.

 

Vietnam - this is where we got much of our batik and lacquerware. The latter was actually cheaper in Beijing if you have the opportunity to go there.

 

That was the good stuff we got - we also got a host of funky gifts for family and friends, like wooden puzzles, paper cut outs. What exactly are you looking for. Perhaps I could help.

 

Charlie

[cruzcation]

I don't have anything in particular in mind. You actually have been very helpful. Do you recall where you shopped in Shanghai?

[Spikesgirl]

Actually it was a good excursion, but it was nine hours long and that really made it tough. Even my shop-oholic husband maxed out about halfway through - it was the Best of Shanghai excursion arranged through the ship(Pacific Princess). Our first stop was at the Children's Museum, which was actually a fine arts school. They had a little store attached that sold goods produced by the students - not top of the line items, but it did help support both the kids and the school (I teach, so I'm sensitive about budgets and helping students achieve). Then we went to the Jade Buddha temple, which also had a gift shop attached. This one had an older gentleman cutting items out of paper. We found a lovely cat print there. Just watching him was an education in itself. There was also a very clean toilet there (remember to always bring your own paper though). We then had lunch and proceeded to the Yu Garden. This is attached to the Old Town market, which will offer you about ever shopping opportunity that you could want. Our guide advised us to not take up anyone's offer to see what they had in their 'workshops' as women could be taken advantage of - she didn't explain what she meant by that - there were a couple of large department stores, along with a plethoria of small shops. After that, we went to the Shanghai museum, which was beautiful and also had small shopping opportunities on each floor, along with a larger shop on the ground level. They offered all the usual museum things, tee shirts, books, jewelry, etc. Finally we went to a silk factory and the prices were very reasonable, especially if you are in to haggling. It was a good excursion, but just really long. Most of that was from traffic and the fact that I'd run out of pain pills (I'm recovering from back surgery). All of these places are easy enough to get to on your own with the exception of the school, so you might just want to get a taxi (make sure you have someone write down your ship's name and dock (as well as your destination) in the proper dialect so that you can show it to your cab driver. Always agree on the price before you leave - the cabs are dirty cheap, but you can always get a less-than-honest driver. If you strike up a friendship with someone local on the ship (we had two table mates from China), that helps a lot as well.

 

If there's anything lese, please ask away. This was the best cruise and we loved the countries and the peoples we saw. Youa re so going to have a blast!

 

Charlie

[lois1112]

Hi Charlie,

I am so glad you had a wonderful trip. As you may remmember, I am taking the same trip in November on the Sapphire. Any excursions you just loved...any I should pass on?

Did Princess serve anything other than normal princess food. (chinesse /Japaness?)

[Spikesgirl]

We did have a fabulous time. The only thing I would suggest is to think about the excursions in Shanghai - they were all really long, mostly due to traffic. You should figure that into your choice there. If you don't like crowds, you might want to pass on the Yu Garden. It was really packed.

 

We enjoyed Nagasaki, but you might want to steer clear of any tour that takes in the museum as it was very disturbing to many of our fellow travelers as the history was definietly not pro-American. We loved the Peace Memorial, but can't say too much about anything else as we only had four hours in the port due to a typhoon.

 

As long as you go into Kuantan with reasonable expectations, you will have a good time. It is rural and it's not fancy, but we had fun on our little cruise to the mangroves.

 

Singapore and Hong Kong were our favorites (we docked in Hong Kong at a four story mall!), but I've got to say we really liked all the places we visited. It was a great cruise!

 

As for food on the ship, the greatest variety you can find will be at the buffet. They had a Mexican, Italian, Thai, Chinese/Japanese and French themed lunches. The only ethnic dinners we had were Italian, Thai and French, the rest were pretty standard fare. If you like fowl, you'll be in luck because all of the entrees that they offered were really good. We had one tablemate who found the sorbets very disappointing. There was a champagne one that she said tasted the way a moldy dish towel smells. ice creams were really good, pizza was good and the coffee about the same as always. Otherwise, on the excursions you always had Chinese food and it will be awhile before we will be having Chinese again. It was good, some of it was spectacular, but it got to tasting the same towards the end - good, but the same.

 

Anyhow, if you'd like more details, I'll be happy to help. Email me if you'd like.

 

Charlie

[edinburgher]

If your ship has laundromats or you want to use the laundry servise, pack as little as you can.

 

The shopping in SEA Asia is FANTASTIC and the prices MUCH lower than N. America and Europe. You want to leave lots of space to transport it home. Vietnam and Cambodia were especially cheap for silks, made to measure clothing and ready to wear, sandals,and as for handbags.........I bought several.

 

Much of the designer clothing and accessories on sale around the world are made in these countries. Buy here and save....a lot.

[Spikesgirl]

We took two empty suitcases (well, they had bublewrap in them) and came home with both stuffed full of things. We weren't on the look out for any one item, so that sort of gave us carte blanche to shop like crazy people. They do sell rolling suitcases very cheaply, just in case you do over buy. Word of warning on the Pacific Princess, if that's your ship, there is only one laundry room and many times you need to sign up for a time. The laundry service offered by the ship is good, but expensive unless you have a upgrade. We made due with seven days worth and just bit the laundry fee bullet. It was worth it!

 

Charlie

[Hergie]

Hi I am on the Sapphire cruise in November. would you have an opinion about gold chains, in Asia .I have 3 teenage grandchildren who are into gold chains. or would it be the same as in either USA or Canada

appreciate the help

Jean

[Spikesgirl]

Just like Lois, you are going to be doing this cruise for the first time - wish we could do it for the first time all over again. It was such a wonderful and eye opening experience. Okay, you asked about gold chain. To be honest, the best deal you are going to find on gold chain will be on the ship. They sell it by the inch and you can pay as little as $1.99 for a very nice chain on upwards for the REALLY nice chain. I had gotten some pendants w/o chains and found exactly what I wanted on the ship. You can buy them on land, but gold was really expensive in all the ports we stopped in. Also, when you are in Singapore, they will take you to a jade factory. If you go through the main show room into the back sale room (where the bathrooms are), the jewerly, including charms and pearls, are much cheaper. There was one father who was buying for two daughters and he about died when he saw the $7 charms - this was after he'd paid over $200 for some. Look around and don't let the sales staff pressure you. They are very *ahem* attentive.

 

Cheers!

 

Charlie

[jrkfrk]

Most of the chain sold on the ships is GOLD FILLED (gold coated) not "solid gold" - please be aware of the difference both on and off the ship - also if it is 16, 18, 24 or some other degree of "solid gold" - vast differences in price!

Fran

[Spikesgirl]

It is gold filled and I should have mentioned that, although they do make it pretty clear on the ship (unlike in many of the shops). If it's cheap, excuse me, inexpensive, there's always a reason. Just like in the jade shop, the stuff in the back room isn't the same quality as the stuff in the showcases (you judge jade by its translucency - the more opaque, the less value it has i.e. the darker the green, the cheaper it is.)

 

The other nice thing on the ship is that no one was watching your every move. You can finger the chain, holding it against your skin, and no one is writing up the sale receipt for it.

 

Charlie

[Hergie]

Thankyou all for the info on Gold Purchases.

my problem is being able to recognize which is gold and which is gold plated.any one know how to differentiate?

Thanks again

Jean

[Spikesgirl]

So I tend to shop in reputable shops. Pretty much expect that if you pick up something 'gold' from a street vendor, it isn't. As stated before, Princess was straightforward and the shop in which we purchased jewelry was also upfront about the gold that was in each piece, by it 14 or 18 k. That was the highest we saw, but we weren't really looking for gold either. It's easiest to get a better price at home for gold plated or solid gold necklaces. Go for the gems (remember that you don't have to pay duty on unmounted stones) and get the chains either on the ship or at your favorite store at home. Better that than having your finger or neck turn green by your genuine imitation gold necklace.

 

Charlie

[babsjoy]

Would you take the 9 hour cruise to Shanghai again or would you do it on your own? Thanks. Babs

Which other port excursions did you like/not like?

[Spikesgirl]

Um, I probably wouldn't do the same excursion, but all the tours offered by the ship were really long and it's because of the traffic. We only moved in a ten to 12 block radius the entire tour and the stops took about four of the nine hours we were gone.

 

At the same time, I don't know that you could do this city on your own unless you knew ahead of time where you wanted to go. The Museum was beautiful and I would have enjoyed more time there, less time at the Yu Garden and more time at the market. Just my preferences really.

 

Charlie

[Verystormy]

Hi Guys - So jealous you are off to my fav part of the world.

A few tips: Gold isnt mined in this part of the world to any real extent, as a result it isnt that cheap. Gems can be very good value, but care is needed to ensure you buy the real thing.

BKK is excellent for all sorts of shopping and our favourite mall is MBK - any taxi driver will know it. Also make sure you have lunch on the top floor of MBK - its a real experience!!!

Do also try the street food which is very safe and often some of the best food in asia - just look for stalls with lots of people buying from it.

Another good shopping experience my wife loved was to get a cab to China Town in BKK and get lost in the maze of allyways. Not only will you see a lot of the real life, but the area is the best shopping for jewellry in asia.