Thailand: Shopping by the Rules
Shopping by the Rules
When you shop in Thailand, set aside your traditional approach to shopping. Our guidelines below will help you seek out treasures in the most pleasurable way, with the least amount of wear and tear on you.
1. The most important shopping areas are concentrated in the central business districts and a few outlying suburban areas. We recommend staying at a hotel in close proximity to the main shopping streets in the center of town.
2. Concentrate your shopping on a few shopping areas within close proximity of each other each day.
3. Prepare to walk a great deal within each shopping area, but use transportation to go from one shopping area to another.
4. Use the Skytrain, taxis, or hotel cars when traveling within or between shopping areas.
Our rule of thumb: If we must walk more than one kilometer, we take the Skytrain, taxi, or boat, or we rent a hotel car and driver by the hour, half-day, or day.
5. Take your rain and sun gear with you whenever you go out. Thailand's hot, humid weather can be unpredictable!
6. Expect to shop in two very different shopping cultures which require different shopping skills. The world of fixed prices is familiar to visitors from the West, but the second shopping culture consists of shophouses, markets, and hawkers, tending to be disorganized and require bargaining.
7. The day and night markets can be colorful and fun to shop in, but only if you are open to sights, sounds, and smells not normally found in other shopping sites.
8. Most department stores and some shopping centers primarily cater to the shopping preferences of local residents rather than to foreign tourists. You won't find a lot of quality products in these places, although there are a few exceptional shopping centers in Bangkok that target foreign visitors and Thailand's upper class.
9. The best quality products are invariably found in the major hotel shopping arcades and a few shopping centers with a reputation for quality.
10. Expect to get the best prices on locally produced items that use inexpensive labor.
11. Don't expect to get something for nothing.
12. Ask for assistance whenever you feel you need it.
13. Don't be surprised if some shopkeepers take a lot of your time in developing a personal and long-term relationship with you. Business in Thailand is still a set of personal relations.
When you shop in Thailand, set aside your traditional approach to shopping. Our guidelines below will help you seek out treasures in the most pleasurable way, with the least amount of wear and tear on you.
1. The most important shopping areas are concentrated in the central business districts and a few outlying suburban areas. We recommend staying at a hotel in close proximity to the main shopping streets in the center of town.
2. Concentrate your shopping on a few shopping areas within close proximity of each other each day.
3. Prepare to walk a great deal within each shopping area, but use transportation to go from one shopping area to another.
4. Use the Skytrain, taxis, or hotel cars when traveling within or between shopping areas.
Our rule of thumb: If we must walk more than one kilometer, we take the Skytrain, taxi, or boat, or we rent a hotel car and driver by the hour, half-day, or day.
5. Take your rain and sun gear with you whenever you go out. Thailand's hot, humid weather can be unpredictable!
6. Expect to shop in two very different shopping cultures which require different shopping skills. The world of fixed prices is familiar to visitors from the West, but the second shopping culture consists of shophouses, markets, and hawkers, tending to be disorganized and require bargaining.
7. The day and night markets can be colorful and fun to shop in, but only if you are open to sights, sounds, and smells not normally found in other shopping sites.
8. Most department stores and some shopping centers primarily cater to the shopping preferences of local residents rather than to foreign tourists. You won't find a lot of quality products in these places, although there are a few exceptional shopping centers in Bangkok that target foreign visitors and Thailand's upper class.
9. The best quality products are invariably found in the major hotel shopping arcades and a few shopping centers with a reputation for quality.
10. Expect to get the best prices on locally produced items that use inexpensive labor.
11. Don't expect to get something for nothing.
12. Ask for assistance whenever you feel you need it.
13. Don't be surprised if some shopkeepers take a lot of your time in developing a personal and long-term relationship with you. Business in Thailand is still a set of personal relations.
posted by AK at 2:48 AM
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