Golf Shop, Lessons and Packages in Phuket, Thailand

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Shop until you drop in Phuket

Fashion & Style

If you wish to purchase stylish, high quality silk-made clothes and accessories you should try a Jim Thompson outlet. Situated in Canal Village, Laguna; Le Meridien; Arcadia; JW Marriott, and Blue Canyon Country Club, Jim Thompson sets the pace for chic in this domain.

Bespoke tailors abound. In spite of the rather aggressive tactics used by these people to get you into their shops, some bargains are to be had. Always make sure that you have enough time for at least three-to-four fittings and if the end result is not to your satisfaction you are in no way legally required to buy. There are several qualities and thickness/coarseness to choose from when buying silk. Ask your tailor about these.

With so many local lovelies around, Phuket’s got to have a beauty secret. Right? Well, the most-repeated local beauty tip from these satin-skinned queens is to ”Keep out of the sun”.

Alternatively, there are spas and saunas galore on this island. You don’t have to look far on Phuket for a spa or an “eco-healing-rejuvenation-born-again” hotch-potch of cures, massages, and whatever. Facials, manicures, and haircuts are offered by the many resort-located beauty centers.

Thais are not particularly well known as good hairdressers when dealing with farang’s, or foreigners, hair. If you’re staying long enough to warrant a hair trim/cut, the best bet is to ask around for a gay hairdresser. If you’re in Patong, go to the many bars lining the entrances of the Royal Paradise Complex. For men, expect to pay 100 baht. For women, depending on the service, you’ll be paying 400 baht+. On the other hand, services in hotels hover just under Western prices.

Buyer Beware

Since the 1997 devaluation of the Thai Baht Phuket has been shopper’s paradise. This doesn’t mean that everything in sight should be snapped up, though. Buyers beware…
What are the best buys? Street stall vendors offer good quality copied design clothes and accessories. If you’re willing to put up with poor quality soundtracks, then VCD discs are a kill at US $1 a shot. Burnt or copied CD’s are also a good buy at US $2.50 (100 Baht) but are soon to be eradicated, according to the Thai Government. Artifacts and religious paraphernalia abound, especially in Phuket Town. ‘Instant’ antiques are actually a good buy but certainly not to be confused with the real stuff, for which you’ll have to obtain a permit to exit the country with.

Scams

All the usual wide boys are on Phuket – usually operating out of Patong in the time share business. These guys are easy to spot; but what of the specific local scams? Here are a few.

Fakes

There’s a thriving cottage industry in “instant” antiques, i.e. recently made artifacts out of bronze, wood and stone that have been artificially aged. Only the most gullible tourist will pay full whack for an item bought outside a registered antiques dealer and even in these you’ll have to be careful. If you’re aware that the “antique” is fake, that’s no reason not to buy it at a reasonable cost. After all, some are downright beautiful. It’s also worth checking out what exactly you can take out of the country before buying something. Genuine antique Buddha images are not allowed out, for example.

Okay, so the fake CD’s are worth it (US $2.50) but the fake VCD’s and DVD’s are, generally speaking, rubbish. If the picture’s clear then the soundtrack is shot and vice versa – unless it’s your lucky day. The same applies to computer games. The Thai government is presently seeking to shut down illegal CD burners on Phuket so the whole situation may change in the next few weeks.

Fake brandname clothes, on the other hand, can sometimes prove as durable as the originals and go for a fraction of the price. Thailand produces top-range sports shoes and a few of these find their way onto the street; again for a pittance compared to the asking prices in Europe or USA.

The biggest source of complaints to the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) is because of fake gem and diamond scams. Buyer beware indeed! Don’t venture into this domain unless you know exactly what you’re doing. And remember, it’s just as easy to fake a certificate as it is to make a fake stone.

Tuk tuk drivers receive a commission, whether you buy or not, when they bring you to gems stores, gold shops, certain restaurants and entertainment establishments. You should be aware of this before setting out on a shopping spree or for the evening. Sometimes these commissions can reach more than 30% of your bill. What’s good for the driver may not be so good for you.

Most of the shells for sale in Phuket, Krabi, James Bond Island and just about everywhere else in this area are not Thai. Thai waters have long since been depleted of these items and nowadays the shells you see are from the Philippines or Indonesia.

For goodness sake don’t believe the labels that come with fake brandname watches. Some aren’t even waterproof! For this reason, fake dress watches are the most useful and with care you can get years of use from them.

Ditto fake sunglasses. Even though you can look cool for a small amount of money you aren’t doing your eyes a favour by wearing these.

Bargains

In spite of all the distasteful hustling by Indian tailors to get people into their shops, some places can be downright treasure troves of bespoke tailoring. This is because the tailor’s overheads are low here. It’s not unusual to get a well-cut suit with two shirts thrown in for as little as US$75. The shops that claim to supply you a tailored suit “within 24 hrs” are, of course, talking rubbish. Any tailor worth his salt should afford at least two to three fittings to his client before presenting the finished product.

Spectacles are surprisingly cheap here. You may want to bring your own prescription to present to the optician. After the decline of the Thai Baht, the great deals on Ray Ban and other imported glasses came to an end but you can more than make up the deficit by shopping for glasses. Patong and Phuket Town are the places to go for this item.

Thai silk is definitely worth checking out. Silk weaving is still one of the major rural crafts in the North of Thailand and the variety of material available on Phuket is wide; from the traditional to the modern to plain colours. Many shops will tailor dresses and shirts for you at a fraction of the cost of back home prices.

Handicrafts made from bamboo, cane, silk, paper are available all over. There are handicraft centers around the island. As a general rule, the bigger the centre the more fixed (and more reasonable) the price. Sure, go ahead and try to bargain down the prices; you’re expected to. If you buy a few items at a time you’ll get a bigger discount.

Furniture. Yes, furniture. If you shop around you can find some fantastic bamboo and rattan furniture. Discuss the shipping fees with the shop owner. They’ll be more reasonable than you think.

Thais are undeniably gifted with their hands and make some beautifully intricate silverware and silver bracelets/necklaces. Most of this is shipped down from Chiang Mai in the North but is still a bargain. The only negative aspect of the bracelets is that no one at home has the know-how to repair them if they become damaged. But that gives you one more reason to come back to Thailand.

Bargaining Tips

• Obey the Golden Rule: keep smiling.
• It doesn’t matter if you’re in a hurry; you should never pay the original asking price. Listen to the original asking price, then politely halve it and start from there.
• If you cannot understand Thai numbers, the vendor usually has a calculator handy.
• If the vendor refuses to come down on a price thank him/her and slowly walk away. He/she then will usually ask you what price you realistically think you should pay.
• You are under no obligation whatsoever to buy, or put to up with pushy behavior. If the situation demands, politely decline and walk away.
• The more items you buy, the more discount you should ask.
• Do not believe claims that street goods are genuine. They’re not.
• One foolproof way of getting the price down is to protest: “I saw this item 50 meters down the road for such-and-such a price”. Simple, but effective.
• Bargaining can be a lot of fun, especially if you learn to relax and act friendly to the vendors. Their lot is not an easy one but that doesn’t mean that you should get ripped off by them.