Little India, Singapore

Perfect Pix camera and video Pte Ltd is near Mustafa shopping centre and is best avoided if you want a bargain. The salesmen there use tricks to sell cheap, poor quality products over good ones and I fell for it even though I had done some research beforehand. Since making this mistake I have read of other people having exactly the same experience at the same shop so it must be something they do regularly.

What to buy: Do not buy anything from Perfect Pix Camera and video. I joined this website just to warn people of my experience.

What to pay: If you buy from them expect to pay too much.

Nalli is very popular in India, and even to Indians residing outside of India. I didn't buy any saris during my last trip, but my friend bought one a few months ago from Nalli, at the suggestion of her Indian classmate. She brought the sari back to be sewed into a ready-to-wear sari---so that she can wear it without the inconvenience of wrapping herself with it (she needs the help of her friend to wear it). The job cost her SGD35.

You can also buy trinkets from this shop. I bought a pair of earrings with a matching pendant for only SGD9.

Mustafa at Little India is shoppers paradise. I haven't seen a stores with such a huge variety of products. The variety and the range of products is mind boggling. It seems to be endless. By the time you are out of the shop, I am sure you need a foot massage. Best part is, it open 24hrs.

What to buy: From chocolates to consumer durables, from stationary to grocery, from apparels to bicycles, from cosmetics to jewelry, from toys to electronic gadgets, from sports/exercise equipments to perfumes, from hardware to souvenir, from watches to digital cameras you get everything possible under the sun in this one huge store. If you want to shop in Singapore……this is the place…..everything under on roof.

What to pay: Payment is in SGD. I think they also except forex but I am not sure. Hence confirm it before going. Check the website below for more info
Before buying anything make sure that the same product is either not available or not cheaper in your country.......as unlike Bangkok, Singapore as a country is not know for shopping except for electronics.

a 24 hour supermarket where you can get all kinda electronic items to music,clothes,food,toys,stationery and almost everyting..need a week to explore the shop fully.

What to buy: electronic items -camera
mobiles, ipods, clothes , beer

What to pay: there are lot of freebies with camera and mobiles..u will get 1 gb cards and other accesories free....so look out for those

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Mustafa is an enormous multi level department store which has quite a good reputation with the locals for selling a huge variety of goods at very reasonable prices.

Prices are fixed and displayed and you can browse all day without getting hassled by sales assistants.

Pick your day for shopping there as it gets very busy on weekends with local shoppers. But Mustafa is open 24/7 so there is ample opportunity to spend a little cash.

What to buy: The Mustafa Shopping Centre caters to all your shopping needs with goods ranging from food, clothing, shoes, sports equipment/ & Ccothing, electronic gadgets & appliances, jewellery and Just about anything else you can think of!

This shop sells electronic goods like Cameras at a discount as proclaimed in the banner generally displayed in front of the shop. I am generally a smart shopper and try to get value for money for all I buy. But ths shop has taught me many lessons in one evening. Maybe it will be useful to other shoppers.
1. Avoid doing the shopping alone. Have a companion with you.
2. If you are not sure of the price, ask for the amount of GST included and whether it will be refunded to tourists.
3. The GST is 5% of the price of the item and so you can multiply the GST amount 20 times to know the realistic price of the item.
4. I went to this shop to buy a Nikon L10 camera for $199 , a few dollars less than in Sim Lim and Mustafa. The smart shop keeper took out the L10 camera and then said apolegetically that the Nikon camera's picture quality is not very good and showed me the pictures taken then and there on the TV. He then took out a cemera called Jenoptik ( a name which I had till then not come across) and demonstrated better quality of photos taken by it. Against all the little warnings from somewhere inside me , I buoght the camera for %288. He took the payment and gave me the bill with the GST Refund certificate folded and stapled. I did not open it to see the amount of GST which would be later refunded to me at the airport. It turned out to be $8 which means the camera was worth $160 and I was over charged to the extent of $120 by the smart shopkeeper.

The shop is full of all kinfs of snacks. Trying Indian snacks is like taking adventures. You never know what you will taste. The common feature of them is "sweet". They are so sweet and tha seems all are composed completely of sugar.

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I really did not enjoy my foray into Little India, despite really looking forward to it. The shopkeepers were just so pushy and you couldn't show the slightest bit of interest in anything without being pounced on. As a result, I didn't buy anything.