Hot to Shop | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

Nov

Hot to shop: Dubai

33C outside, -4 inside at Ski Dubia, in the Mall of the Emirates

In the US, they’d ask ‘do you want fries with that?’ In Dubai, they ask, ‘do you want the world’s largest aquarium/tower/shopping mall with that?’

You’d think Dubai might have tempered its outlook after being ravaged by the global financial crisis, but no. It’s still got a one-way ticket to Hubris Central.

Spotted in the malls: Jimmy Choo’s collaboration with the Ugg boot, a Versace cafe (serving Illy coffee) and the world’s longest street of watch stores.

For record-breaking, up-to-the-second shopping, it’s all here. Click to read the full story here

Nov

Hot to shop: Seoul

They call it Planet Korea, and the bizarre north Asian capital, Seoul, is regularly written up in the world’s big newspapers of the day for its new design focus and old culture.

I would never have found my way through Seoul’s insane shopping scene without pro-shopper Joey, my Seoul sister Fee and a large dose of sheer luck.

It’s a game of hide and seek, and you shall find, in a labyrinth of old markets and modern malls.

You can shop for fashion till 4am, and grab breakfast in the markets while waiting for them to open all over again. With almost no English signs or language spoken, and street cred achieved only by doing the whole shopathon in 9-inch heels, this is not a scene for novices. We can but try…

To read the latest Hot to Shop, click here

Oct

Hot to shop: Kuala Lumpur

Photo: the bewilderingly fabulous mall, Suria KLCC.
Photo: AFP & Sun Herald

Malaysians have two great loves: eating and shopping. Sometimes you could flip that around to shopping and eating.

Either way, the capital, KL, is truly fabulous for a shopover, especially if you’re a mall fiend.

Smell the fakes, snap up the bargains then advance to genuine designer talent. Click here to read the full story…

Jul

Hot to shop: Delhi

Spices, silks, scarves and saris? Let the games begin.

Delhi is full of emporiums selling jewellery and scarves. Even I got bitten by Delhi’s voracious auto-rickshaw drivers, who receive a commission from shops that they’re keen to run you in to. Lucky they were dealing with someone who’d hardened their heart against the charms of cashmere, the glimmer of gold and the gazillion pretty dust collectors that Delhi merchants are dying to foist upon you.

However, I can recommend a place for a nice turban, in Amritsar… more

Jun

Hot to shop: Hong Kong

See the pros in action in one of the world’s greatest retail meccas, Hong Kong.

How to compress shopping in Hong Kong into 600 words? Physically impossible. But you’ve got to have a go… You can see the story here.

Speaking of shopping, I came across an article recently which found that in a round-up of 14 cities across the globe, Australia is the most expensive destination for electronics and camera shopping. Not that we didn’t know that already.

Surprisingly, Manila came in second most expensive, while Shanghai and Jakarta were in the cheap end of town, the example of a Canon EOS 550 DSL being US$570 more expensive in Sydney than Shanghai. Shame, Australia.

Pic credit: Sun-Herald

May

Hot to shop: Manila

The reason why a week in Manila was so manic: because I needed to discover the underbelly of the city, from the grandly named Mall of Asia to the street markets selling everything from seashells to Chanel.

It’s hot, it’s steamy … just the weather to spend in an airconditioned super-mall that is this shop-mad city’s specialty.

Click here to read more.

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