Where to Shop for Those Phuket Bargains
Though it may not appeal to everyone, some of the best places to go shopping for most goods are the malls. Central Festival in Phuket Town is one of the biggest. It has a wide range of clothing stores, including Zara, and there are shops selling sportswear, footwear and more.There are also print shops and a large retail outlet with designer labels, perfumes and so on. For electrical goods, thereò€™s Power Buy and a few other shops. There are also places to buy music and DVDs. Fans of videogames, however, will find cheaper products in Patong.
Restaurants in Central Festival range from Fuji and KFC to Pizza Hut and Oishi, as well as Sizzler.
The other major mall in Phuket is Jungceylon, which is a huge, sprawling mass of shops and stalls. The selection is much the same as at Central Festival, albeit with a few more electrical stores. There is also a better selection of restaurants at Jungceylon and in the base there are some market stalls selling local knick knacks that would make great gifts for people back home.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the Phuket weekend market comes to life offering cheap T-shirts, shoes, DVDs, CDs and pets. The market is huge and is usually packed to the rafters, but there are some great bargains to be had if youò€™re prepared to do a little exploring. The market is located off Chao Fa West Road.
Take a walk through Patong and youò€™ll find yourself hounded by vendors selling everything from watches to suits. Bear in mind that the sellers in Patong are catering to a mass market and, as such, the quality is often low and the prices high. Patong is, however, the best place to pick up fake DVDs, CDs, computer software and videogames.
Buy fakes at your own peril as you may have trouble taking them through customs on your way home. If you feel the urge to buy a suit, youò€™re probably better off making the short trip up to Bangkok, where the quality of the tailors is considerably higher.
Phuket isnò€™t exactly a shopperò€™s paradise in the same way Bangkok is, but it has enough going for it to keep most people happy.