Phuket Shopping

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This is a very curious site for Phuket actually but it is getting more and more common.
These women are from the hill tribes in the far north of the country but they come to Phuket to sell their wares and to chase the tourist dollar.
They make all their own unique style of cloths ,hats, necklaces and bracelets and even speak their own language although they mostly also speak Thai and limited English too.
I watched them for a while from a local street side bar while I was having a beer and they were doing very well ,selling lots of beads and a couple of hats.
There is plenty of night shopping that you can do here in Patong on any night and there are many interesting people around like these ladies.
Two of the photo's behind are from the market stalls at Wat Chalong where you can buy lot of souvenirs, trinkets and jewelery and the other two photo's are of the beach road and it's shops in Patong.
In every case you need to bargain the price down.

What to buy: I always like to barter for family or friends gifts from the sidewalk market stalls, but I usually buy my cloths in Patong at one of the the "Ocean Plaza's" department stores.
There is one on the beach road and there is one on Bangla road.
I have found that with cloths the quality is better there than on the street and they have a better range at a fixed price.
They will even adjust the lengths of your jeans or trousers in store for free.
If you spend more than 5000 Baht you can get in store a VAT tax refund form then get some money back in the airport.

What to pay: A lot cheaper than back home in Australia by at least 50 %.
On the street when I barter I usually end up buying for between 40% and 60% of what they ask for.

Located off the main street along Patong Beach

What to buy: Don't get a suit from here. The craftsmanship isn't quite a nice as some of the other tailors for the price. We also picked up a woman's suit, and the quality we were shown and the quality we ended up with were definitely not the same--buyer beware when it comes to suits!

All of the market stalls are small and very crowded. You will basically see the same items in each store but the quality may vary. The shopkeepers are happy to bargain with you and will always give you a sad story, my bull, mother, grandmother, child is sick. We kept a little guide in my purse handy with a few money conversions in it so if we were picking the death out of 50baht we could remind ourselves it's only Aus $1.71! Everyone was really friendly, although the tailors can be very pushy, don't shake their hand or they won't let go! The tuk tuk drivers were probably the politest when you said no.

What to pay: This is what we paid for things, and we kept a list of what we bought, how much and where we got it, we found it much easier to bargain then because they know you can just go back to the other store. T-shirts and singlets (mens, womens & childrens all the same, billabong etc) 150b, shorts and boardies cheap shiny fabric 200-250b, shorts, boardies and skirts nice thicker cotton type 300-350b, handbags gucci, billabong etc 750b, sunnies 200b, dresses 200-300b, watches 230-280b, long sleeve billabong, diesal shirts 200b.

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I brought two of my dress and a blouse from SINO Phuket.

As Jungceylon is newly opened, the business here is slow. So you could get real bargains here if you know the “market price” outside. There are lots of shoes, clothings, sun glasses on sale here at the open air stalls.

What to pay: dress THB200

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Carrefour is the anchor tentant of Jungceylon. We came here everyday without fail. Our shopping ranges from food, drinks, tibits, clothings, cosmetics, fruits.

We would buy some food and take it with us to watch the Junceylon Water Fountain Show at 7pm.

What to buy: food, drinks, tibits, clothings, cosmetics, fruits

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Central Festival, Phuket is a one stop Tourist Center for booking tours, making airline & hotel reservations, arranging car rentals, money exchange and even a shuttle bus service.

Head for the Customer Service Counter with your passport and you can collect your 5% Tourist Privilege Discount Card.

There is a 7% Tourist VAT Refund with a minimum of THB2,000 purchase.

The anchor tenant is the popular Central Departmental Store. There are alots of restaurants offering tasty Thai cuisine and yummy Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and Western fare.

Other megastores like Supersports, Power Buy, B2S, TOPS supermarket and SFX Coliseum cineplex are housed in Central Festival.

Opens: 10.00 am - 10.00 pm everyday

What to buy: Boutiques
Restaurants

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Near to Central Festival are Big C and Tesco Lotus. Big C was opened on 29 November 2001.

It has a basement level with a food court. We had pad thai and western food here. They were very delicious and good value for money.

We did most of our shopping in Big C. From clothings to shoes, most are at a discounted price and cheaper than Patong fakes. Ladies top can be selling from THB79.

The top floor in Big C sells some Thai souvenirs and handmade furniture for sale. Big C also have stalls selling Thai souvenirs, wood carvings and games. You may find the souvenirs to be cheaper than those at Patong.

Open Daily from 9am to 11 pm.

What to buy: clothings
shoes
cosmetics
souvenirs

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Tesco Lotus is located near to Central Festival are Big C. You can find groceries and discounted item in this huge supermarket.

Lotus have stalls selling Thai souvenirs, wood carvings, games and a food court.
You may find the souvenirs to be cheaper than those at Patong.

The food court is located at Level 2. You must purchase a refundable cash card to purchase your food and drinks.

What to buy: clothings
cosmetics
groceries