Garuda Magazine December 2010, Main Feature, 7 Great Shopping Destinations World

?

TO BUY

DON’T DECIDE ON ANYTHING BEFORE YOU VISIT THESE 7 GREAT SHOPPING DESTINATIONS: HONG KONG, JAKARTA, AMSTERDAM, TAIPEI CITY, SYDNEY, JEDDAH, MANILA

BY ARVADA HARADIRAN

OR NOT TO BUY

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 GARUDA MAGAZINE

121

main feature

1

TAIPEI CITY It can safely be said that shopping in Taipei has been elevated to the level of a cultural experience. If anything, it ranks right up there with singing Karaoke and going to the movies and is definitely the top leisure pursuit of Taiwanese women. You will find the shopping plentiful here and there are plenty of choices to check out. Even smaller towns usually feature a few mega stores where you can find all kinds of international goods.

Major Shopping Venues • Asiaworld Department Store • Dayeh Takashimaya • Pacific Sogo Department Store • Everrich Duty Free Taipei Downtown Shop • Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store • Taipei 101 • CP City Living Mall

Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world and major shopping venues in Taipei.

122

Tonghua Street night markets in northern Taipei, and the Feng Chia and Liuhr night markets in central and southern Taiwan.

Night Markets — Perhaps the greatest activity in Taipei is to visit one of the island’s bustling, fairground-like open-air night markets after dark and head out on the prowl for some great

Arts & Crafts — Taipei has a diverse range of traditional handicrafts to check out, all of which make for excellent souvenirs. For traditional handicrafts in the city, simply visit Zhongshan Road in Lugang. Head to the Sanyi area for wood carvings (where you can make a personalised ‘name chop’ seal), the town of Yingge (or Yingko) for pottery (where you can find all kinds of porcelain and decorative ceramic products from earthenware tea sets to delicate, hand-painted replicas of Ming and Ching dynasty vases) or Jiufen, a renowned mountain

tasting, inexpensive local morsels such as live (and then grilled) fresh blue crabs (you fish them out of a bucket yourself), pearl milk tea, oolong tea and taro balls. The latest trendy clothes, hats, shoes and electronics are also on hand and you can even try a game of skill or two. Night markets can be found all over the island, but the most popular ones are the Shilin, Keelung and

village and a major tourist draw where you can buy various retro-style knick knacks. For Jade jewellery, an immensely popular souvenir, visit the Holiday Jade Market, open every Saturday and Sunday afternoons and filled with rows of vendors offering bargain trinkets and treasures made of jade, as well as other curios.

GARUDA MAGAZINE D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

2

HONG KONG

There can be few better places to shop than Hong Kong, the island city in which shopping convenience abounds and is pretty much taken for granted. Mind spinningly diverse selections of products are piled right on top of each other (and Tsim Sha Tsui alone offers shoppers more than 600 stores). Basic items do not carry any duties or tax (only specific import goods like alcohol, tobacco, perfumes do), getting around the city is easy, and English, along with Cantonese, is the official language of the territory and is widely spoken.

FROM LEFT: Hollywood

Road is filled with shops selling antiques; Vintage Chinese posters at the Cat Street Market in Sheung Wan district.

Antiques — Upper Lascar Row (also known as Cat Street) and

to buy computer parts and components. The Golden Shopping

Hollywood Road are two alleys running parallel to each other on the territory’s MTR Island Line and both are filled with shops offering every imaginable curio, from Chinese furniture to porcelain ware, from Buddhist sculptures to Tibetan rugs, from Japanese netsuke to Coromandel screens to Ming dynastyceramics and kitsch Maoist memorabilia. Moreover, many shops will happily deliver overseas.

Centre is a prominent IT shopping centre, offering complete computer systems, various peripherals and also video games.

Electronics — Wan Chai and Sham Shui Po are all great places to shop for electronics and computers and savings of up to 20 percent on retail prices can be found. The Wan Chai Computer Centre, next to Wan Chai MTR, is a good outlet for hunting down laptops, digital cameras and software. Sham Shui Po used to be a pirated software paradise, but today it is considered one of the cheapest places in Hong Kong in which

Fashion (and everything else) — Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui offers a superb shopping experiences and close to 700 stores in the area’s four sprawling, interconnected complexes offering everything from trendy fashion labels to electronics to kids’ wear and toys to sportswear and cosmetics—if you can’t find it here, it probably doesn’t exist! Harbour City is packed to bursting, which can be part of the fun. Conversely, Times Square in Causeway Bay offers a more pleasurable experience than Tsim Sha Tsui, as you won’t become tourist prey. In Causeway Bay you will find fashion outlets (Diesel, etc), occasional electronics stores, the excellent Page One bookshop (in the basement of Times Square), Sogo and a nearby IKEA.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 GARUDA MAGAZINE

123

main feature

3 Royal clock at the iconic Queen Victoria Building, one of Sydney’s shopping heavens.

124

SYDNEY There are truly no shortages when it comes to shopping in Sydney. Brimming with all types of shops to satisfy every taste and budget; from ritzy shopping malls, specialty boutiques and historic arcades to designer shops to art galleries and jewellery stores located within easy walking distance of each other, Sydney always offers a pleasurable, world-class shopping experience.

Noon — A major shopping district is the Central Business District (CBD), in which the northern half of the CBD, starting from the Town Hall precinct (near the Queen Victoria Building) houses the greatest concentration of clothing and accessories stores. The Queen Victoria Building (QVB), David Jones Department Store, Myer Department Store and The Strand Arcade are the top shopping spots in the city and are as popular with locals as they are with tourists.

Afternoon — If you’re aiming to stay away from the ubiquitous high-fashion European labels, then look to other ultra-chic labels such as Paul & Joe, Comme des Garcons, Christensen Copenhagen and Belinda, located in Double Bay, a fashion centre down in the Eastern suburbs. The 15-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay is well worth the trip as this is a Mecca for Sydney’s beautiful people. Surrounded by Sydney

GARUDA MAGAZINE D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

Harbour, a vibrant retail scene with a real café culture and a village ambiance makes this area feel positively European.

Alternatively, head back into the city and Castlereagh Street will offer you plenty of Chanel, Gucci and Jimmy Choo luxury brand hunting.

Evening — Another alternative is to haunt Sydney’s high-end consignment stores in Double Bay, Paddington, Darlinghurst, Clovelly and Neutral Bay in order to hunt down hardly worn and vintage European and Australian designer clothes. For a little ‘indie’ flair, head to Newtown, a 20-minute train ride from Circular Quay, where you’ll find specialised shops selling vintage CDs and fashions, bookshops, antique stores, retro furniture and up-and-coming designer labels. Newtown also has a strong arts culture, with independent film and music dominating the scene.

4

JEDDAH

One of the very first things that you’ll discover about Jeddah is that the city is a shopper’s paradise, bursting at the seams with the newest craze: ‘destination malls’. And given Jeddah’s desert climate, you’ll also quickly discover that the malls are often the best destinations, complete with mindblowing, full-scale amusement/entertainment parks, fountains, ice rinks, a complete choice of ultra-luxury, luxury or mid-range brand stores, international and local brands and stores, coffee shops, bookstores and home improvement centres galore.

Souq — Jeddah’s souqs or traditional local markets offer a fascinating cultural glimpse into local life whilst giving you the chance to nab unique souvenirs at bargain prices. The Souq immediately south of Al-Amir Fahd Street and Al-Balad is one such place. This particular souq is sub-divided into different sections, with some populated by different immigrant groups, such as the Yemenis selling Yemeni coffee and Jambiyas (tribesmen’s ceremonial daggers). Souq Al Alawi offers the best deals on traditional handicrafts and more unusual souvenirs such as Arabic perfume dates, honey and spices. Adjacent to Souq Al Alawi lies Gabel Street, ideal for finding local souvenir items such as coffee pots, Jambiyan, incense burners and Bedouin jewellery. Souq Al Nada is famous as a gold and silver market, as well as for antiques and ornaments from Asia, Africa and Arabia.

Meanwhile, the historic Souq Al Jamia in Al-Balad has garnered a reputation for having the best exotic spices, grains, materials and textiles in town. Souq Al Jamia also has a long and illustrious history, so history buffs will also appreciate the chance to look into the history of the Bedouin tribe who founded the market whilst shopping here.

Top Malls

FROM LEFT: Woman in

MALL OF ARABIA: recently opened

traditional dress shopping at a mall in Jeddah; Local merchant drinking tea in Bab Makkah souq.

and claiming to be the biggest shopping mall in Saudi Arabia.

RED SEA MALL: one of the biggest shopping malls in Jeddah, located down on King Abdulaziz Road.

STAR’S AVENUE: one of the newest malls and featuring a Saks Fifth Avenue.

AL KHAYYAT CENTER: populated with designer brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Dior.

LE MALL: site of the first Starbucks branch in Jeddah.

CORAL MALL: rivals Le Mall’s Starbucks with a large Second Cup coffeeshop.

SERAFI MEGA MALL: the best mall for all ages.

JEDDAH INTERNATIONAL MALL: the oldest Mall in Jeddah. Specialises in gold and Filipino food.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 GARUDA MAGAZINE

125

main feature

5

FROM LEFT: Traditional

mask at Grand Indonesia, one of the biggest malls in Indonesia; Old musical instruments at Jalan Surabaya, Menteng.

JAKARTA Home to some ten million people from all over Indonesia, Jakarta’s status as the capital is only enhanced by the fact that these days one can find virtually anything here—from the rarest high fashion items to one-of-a-kind antique pieces to a single aluminum hubcap from the fifties—if you only know where to look. And given Jakarta’s traffic jams, there’s often plenty of time to go hunting whilst you wait for the streets to clear!

Big-Brand Shopping — Nothing defines Jakarta more perfectly than the ultra-luxurious malls that dot the city.

Some of the most frequented malls in Jakarta include Grand Indonesia (anchored by Seibu and Harvey Nichols), Plaza Indonesia (Marks and Spencer), Pacific Place (M Department Store and the Kidzania Theme Park), Plaza Senayan (Sogo and Metro), Pondok Indah Mall (Sogo and Metro), Mall of Indonesia (Centro) and Senayan City (Debenhams).

Batik: A Gift Like No Other — Batik makes for the perfect souvenir to bring home. Check out the following places if you’re after some quality textiles: BATIK KERIS is a well-known batik chain and has a large showroom on Jalan Cokroaminoto in Menteng, as well as a shop in Plaza Indonesia.

BATIK SEMAR is one of Indonesia’s most accomplished batik manufacturers, with stores in Plaza Indonesia, Blok M Plaza and Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

IWAN TIRTA produces exclusive batik tulis (hand-painted batik) and has stores in Pacific Place Mall and Menteng.

Handicrafts and Antiques — Sarinah and Pasaraya department stores each contain floors dedicated to Indonesian arts and handicrafts. Everything from textiles, woven pieces and carvings to paintings, silver, jewellery, baskets, traditional

126

GARUDA MAGAZINE D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

puppets and leather goods can be found in these two famous stores. Meanwhile, down at Pasar Seni Ancol you can see art pieces being made. Djody Antiques, a long-time mainstay on Jalan Kebon Sirih Timur, offers some of the best collections.

Finally, Jalan Surabaya in Menteng is a half kilometre long open-air antiques market packed with tribal masks, silver cigarette cases, worry beads, grandfather clocks, ivory miniatures, sextants, samurai swords, xylophones and even telephone switchboards. Even President Clinton once bought a bronze frog statue on this ‘Street of Dreams’.

Pasar — Pasar is the Indonesian word for ‘market’ and down in these usually hot and sweaty places, you can try your hand at some traditional Indonesian hard bargaining.

PASAR TANAH ABANG: This wholesale market offers a whole range of goods which can be bought in bulk.

PASAR MAYESTIK: The best buys here are the made-tomeasure tailored outfits and some great stuff for the kitchen, including moulding trays and plenty of ingredients.

6 SM Mall of Asia, Manila’s popular shopping venue.

MANILA Manila, home to three of the world’s ten largest malls, presents perfect shopping opportunities for visitors to this sprawling capital.

Shopping malls in Manila have everything that you could possibly need or want and are essentially self-sustaining mini-cities, with multiple department stores, supermarkets, theatres, spas and even an Olympic-size skating rink.

SM Malls — SM Malls is the largest mall chain in the Philippines and operates Megamall, SM Mall of Asia and SM City North EDSA, which are three of the world’s largest malls. These humongous mega structures are truly full-day destinations, and many Filipinos families treat them as such.

brands, and are comparatively cheaper than many similarly luxurious stores in the Western world.

Shopaholics will love the fact that they can get everything done at the mall—from grabbing breakfast in the morning, shopping for great deals on jeans, eating lunch, getting a haircut, enjoying a spa session and catching a movie—all in a day’s work, without ever leaving the mall.

“Triangle North of Manila” and is just as expansive as its rival SM Malls. Located in Quezon City, Trinoma is anchored by the Landmark department store, which has slightly lower prices and a wider selection than SM stores.

Glorietta and Greenbelt — Glorietta and Greenbelt shopping complexes are situated in a more upscale area of Manila, in the heart of the financial district. The complexes are surrounded by five-star hotels and are thus more frequented by foreign tourists, who flock here for premium brands. Prices are higher than they are in SM Malls, but these fancy complexes offer a more upscale shopping experience with plenty of power

Trinoma — A good alternative to the SM Malls, if you happen to be in the northern side of metro Manila, Trinoma is short for

Divisoria and 168 — Sometimes the best shopping experiences are located in Manila’s flea-market style local markets. The Divisoria and the 168 shopping area are where bargain hunters and bushwhacking tourists who want a more localised shopping experience (and great steals!) flock to, in search of everything from kitchen items to various designer knockoffs. It’s not hard to find great deals ranging from USD1 to USD3, but prices bespeak qualities.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 GARUDA MAGAZINE

127

main feature

7

AMSTERDAM Amsterdam is a city packed with antiques, books, diamonds and curiosities of every kind. If you’re looking to indulge in a brand name, shop-till-you-drop spree, then this old, charming city is probably not the best place. However Amsterdam’s pedestrian-friendly streets and diverse mix of trendy, antique, modern, luxury, cheap, second-hand, lavish, and everything in between is what makes shopping here so much fun. Moreover, each of the city’s main shopping districts has its own distinct personality.

FROM LEFT: Killing time at the cafe in Amsterdam; Unique chairs design on display at the Droog Design shop, Amsterdam.

area in the Oud Zuid (“Old South”) neighbourhood is where you’ll find the city’s haute couture boutiques, including Cartier, Hermés and Oger shop.

Bookshops — The biggest bookshop is in Scheltema and contains four huge floors stuffed full of volumes, most of them in English. Spui Book Market is an open-air book fiesta and rows upon rows of tables and tents hawk biographies, poetry, literature, history, science fiction, art, psychology and geography books, along with antique maps, prints and records.

Shopping Corridors — There are several “shopping corridors” in the city and each one has its own charms and specialties.

First is the Nieuwendijk-Kalverstraat, a one-kilometre street full of clothing, sportswear, music and gift shops and featuring that distinct Amsterdam vibe. Continue down to Kalverstraat, where you’ll find that just about every mainstream brand has a store. At the end of the Kalverstraat, there’s the colourful Bloemenmarkt, or Flower Market, dubbed the “World’s only floating flower market”. The Pieter Cornelisz (P.C.) Hooftstraat

128

GARUDA MAGAZINE D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0

Antique shops — Amsterdam’s antique shops are located mostly around Spiegelgracht and Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, a small street crammed with over 70 antique shops and fine art galleries. Its direct neighbour, Spiegelkwartier (Mirror Quarter) is also packed with antiques. Even if you’re not a collector, a pleasant stroll through this area of town will have you drooling over old paintings by the Dutch Masters, ceramics, Oriental and African Art, old clocks, pewter pieces and musical instruments.

PHOTOGRAPH: JAN DEKKER, PHOTOLIBRARY (9)

Open-Air Markets — Open-air markets are a permanent fixture of the Amsterdam landscape and a must for any visitors.

These sensory-overload experiences are exactly what define shopping in Amsterdam. The Albert Cuyp Market is a 100year-old open-air market featuring nearly 300 vendors selling everything from fresh produce to foodstuff to clothing and jewellery and various accessories.