Where are Phuket shopping malls? [toc] Phuket shopping malls keep emerging here and there, a reminder of how much the island has changed in the past two decades. They might not please travellers who used to come last century, but they are an excellent way to escape the heat or the unavoidable rainy days. In recent years shopping malls started to evolve and adapt to a fast-changing market and should
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[toc] Who are the Best Tailors in Phuket? Having a suit or a dress made to order by one of the many tailors in Phuket is on many travellers' list during their holiday. And why not? It's cheap, fast, and can be well done if you know where to go. It seems like a good idea when talking about it from home, however, once you arrive here, you will soon
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[toc] Central Patong is the latest mall to enter the fierce shopping race of Phuket island, and probably not the last. This new brightly lit mall opened in Patong Beach, soon after the Floresta branch was added to the already established Central Festival in Phuket Town, expanding further the coverage of this brand on the island. Central Patong is standing just across the street from the immensely popular Jungceylon in
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Villa Market Around Phuket Island [toc] Villa Market is a brand well-known for their impressive range of high-quality products and imported goods. They have been in Thailand for a very long time (since 1973) and opened the first Phuket branch about ten years ago in Chalong. Recently two more supermarkets were added in Boat Avenue at Laguna Phuket, and Boat Lagoon on the east coast of Phuket. We have been long-time
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Phuket Floating Market [toc] Thalang Maneekram is a new floating Market in Phuket, but it’s not the first one, so it's going to be interesting to see if this one succeeds where the other Kathu floating market failed. The Thalang Maneekram floating market is not well-known and despite being 76,000 square meters, is a little hard to find. It also has a misleading name since Thalang is the name of the
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What to Do at Central Phuket? [toc] Update: Central Floresta, an enormous new wing just built across the street from the existing Central Festival, is now open, more than doubling the surface of this already large mall. Central Phuket (Central Festival Phuket) is one of the few mega malls on the island (the other famous one being Jungceylon) and is a fun stop for a rainy day. It had a
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OTOP Market [toc] OTOP Market official name is OTOP Shopping Paradise and was initially designed as a local market to promote the handicrafts and original product of each province of Thailand. The unusual word 'OTOP' serves as an acronym for ‘One Tambon One Product’ (which means 'One District One Product'). The location of this market is convenient, on the second road of Patong beach, just 750 metres from the famous
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Stuff to Buy in Phuket You Will Never Use Again [toc] Holiday is always a lot of fun and shopping is totally part of it. People often become someone else when traveling overseas, and while they maybe be very savvy when shopping at home, they seem to forget everything and fall for the silliest items. From our many years here in Phuket, we saw people buying some really fun souvenir,
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Where to Find Phuket Night Markets [toc] Night markets in Phuket are always fun, from the new Chillva Market to the giant Naka Weekend Market or the Sunday Walking Market in Phuket Town, almost everyone loves to browse the incredible array of things you don't need. Phuket night markets are intense, colourful, surprising, fascinating, puzzling, smelly, messy, confusing and overwhelming. But night markets all have one thing in common, and
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What to Do at Phuket Walking Street Market? [toc] Phuket Walking Street and weekend market is called 'Lard Yai' by locals and is now the most popular attraction in Phuket Town. This weekend street market was an instant success, adding a much-needed event to the historical part of town. Every Sunday from 4 pm to 9 pm (and often beyond) the once quiet Thalang Road turns itself into a busy
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What to Buy in Phuket for Fun? [toc] Phuket is full of shops selling tourist stuff and chances are you bought yourself a Muay Thai short, a wooden frog and a pointy hat from Chiang Mai (In Phuket!). Good for you... those are fun, but they are tourist stuff and anyone who knows Thailand will know you are a first-timer! ;) Here are 10 small items every Thai person knows
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What to Do at Jungceylon? [toc] Jungceylon is a massive shopping mall in the very centre of Patong Beach and still the largest on Phuket island. Covering 200,000 square meters, it's so vast it feels like a city within a city. Expect to find a lot of souvenirs shops, dozens of restaurants, a department store, cinemas, electronic shops, massage, a two-storey supermarket and a lot of attractions on the upper
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Where to go for shopping in Phuket? [toc] Shopping in Phuket plays a good part of a great holiday. It’s often more about entertainment and fun than real necessity and most of the time you don't even buy anything. Phuket has a lot to offer to everyone and shopping in Phuket is often associated with food. You will mostly notice this in night markets and shopping malls. It’s also a great
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Exploring the Chillva Night Market [toc] Chillva Market Phuket is one the best weekday night market on the island. Everyone seems to love them, Thai teenagers more than everyone else. Every town in Thailand has a surprising amount of night markets, and they are always packed, so it's no surprise that there are now more than 7 night markets in Phuket. Also, Chillva Market Phuket makes smart use of those
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Explore a Local Bazaar in Phuket Town [toc] Expo Phuket is a very little known covered bazaar found in Phuket Town, next to the newly renovated Novotel Phokeethra hotel. Expo Phuket is surprisingly vast and modern as it was also renovated recently. It might not be worth travelling all the way to this bazaar but it is entirely air conditioned, which makes it a nice break from the heat if
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What to buy and eat at Banzaan Fresh Market? [toc] Banzaan Fresh Market in Patong Beach is an excellent experience during your holiday. It's a lot easier to access than most local markets since it is just behind the gigantic Jungceylon Shopping Mall. Get your first glimpse of fun looking Thai fruits, amazing fishes, strange veggies and colourful sweets! Banzaan Fresh Market (‘Banzaan’ is the Hokkien for 'fresh market') is
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Fun Shopping at Indy Night Market [toc] Phuket Indy Market is a fun, young and creative little night market in Phuket Town. It is located in Limelight Avenue, a small lane off Dibuk Road not far from the well known Raya Restaurant. It's not as popular as it used to be but it's still a good place to spend an evening on a week day if you are in this
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Premium Outlet Phuket [toc]The Premium Outlet Phuket has been opened since almost 10 years but despite a very strategic location at the intersection of the busy By Pass road and Thepkasattri Road (you probably will drive by when coming from airport), it never really took off. The design is quite attractive with terracotta colors, large walking covered alley and immense parking space. It was a bit of an event when
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About the Phuket Weekend Market [toc] Phuket Weekend Market or Naka Market or even Chaofa Variety Weekend Market, is an immense night bazaar located near Central Festival in Phuket Town. Occasionally it's even called 'Phuket Chatuchak' by reference to the giant Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok and Thais call it 'Talad Tairod’, which means 'Car Boot Sale'. Actually 'Naka Market' seems to be the name everyone is now using. The
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Phuket Markets, where to find them what to expect [toc] Phuket markets are a great way to get close to real local life with very little effort, and Phuket is not different. Markets are everywhere around the island, every community and every village has one, small or large, permanent or occasional. Some are daily market, often open until the end of the afternoon, some are available only certain days of
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