Hong Kong has a lot of shopping streets. But Mongkok can be considered the ultimate shopping place to go to. Personally, I call it the shoes haven. Specifically for sports shoes. All the popular brands are here and the prices are relatively cheaper compared to other neighboring countries, Singapore for instance. Aside from sports goods, the popular Ladies Market is also located in this area. All your bric a bracs and souvenir items can be bought here. A word of caution though, as with all other night markets and bazaars, you need to be more discriminating with the quality of the items you're getting. Bargaining is a must too!
If shopping is part of your vacation itinerary, Bangkok is definitely the place to be. The city is known to be a shopping mecca. And there's no contention on that because they have anything and everything that shopaholics look for. From high end designer labels to bazaars merchandise, they have it all. The only key to be able to maximize your shopping mileage is to find a hotel with a good location and accessibility to the shopping districts.
Tuktuk and BTS are your best mode of transportations to hop from one shopping area to another. Just make sure that you take care of your belongings (as in literally hold on to them tight) when riding a tuktuk as "snatching" is quite rampant.
If you're averse with the inconvenience of open air shopping, big shopping malls are the places for you. Some of the most popular ones are MBK, CENTRAL WORLD, SIAM PARAGON, PLATINUM and the newly opened TERMINAL 21. Except for MBK, most of our shopping sprees were done on these shopping centres. As I mentioned in my previous post, Central World and Siam Paragon are just a walking distance away from our Hotel.
Close to the SIAM station is a popular night market, Siam Square. It's located just under the bridge. Ladies will feast in this area.
The shopping centre that is designed like an airport hence, the name Terminal 21. Each level is designed with a theme of some of the world's famous cities. The merchandise and brands that you will find are mostly from that cities too - Paris, London, Japan, Istanbul and San Francisco. There are a lot of interesting novelty items and undoubtedly it's another shopping paradise in the heart of Bangkok.
Hongkong is indeed a shopping paradise. It will definitely top the list of the shopping meccas in asia. I can easily claim it as my favorite go to place when it comes to shopping. It literally has everything. From the simplest and most sublime to the most classy and luxurious of all things, name it and they have it. In terms of trends and innovations in fashion, they were never too late. What's even amazing is that, anywhere you go in the island there's always something to look forward to that's related to shopping. Since our hotel is located in Kowloon area, the likes of Nathan Road, Mongkok and Canton Road were our shopping haven during our visit. But I'm sure there are so much more than these famous ones. If you have the luxury of time, it'll be worth exploring the different parts of the territory.
Ladies Market in Mongkok.. Lots of bric a bracs being sold here. Just don't forget to haggle big time when you intend to buy.
The popular Milan Station (that sells mostly second hand designer leather goods) didn't escape my wandering eyes and neither was I able to resist to have a peek of what's inside. Unfortunately, I found the price still quite expensive. You'd rather buy brand new ones. Although there are a few new ones (unused) being sold, the designs are quite limited.
This is Canton Road where designer labels such as Gucci, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Marc Jacobs and what have you are located. Prices in Hongkong are relatively cheaper compared in Singapore. I checked the Mulberry store in Harbour City and the price of Mulberry Bayswater is almost SGD200 cheaper. They give 10% discount to tourists.
We also visited the City Gate Outlets in Tung Chung. The selection of international brands housed inside the mall is extensive enough. That's where I found real good deals on Coach items. The discount ranges from 30% - 50%. In other brands, the choices are a bit limited.
All in all, the shopping mileage in Hongkong is limitless. So make sure to allot a significant amount of time for your shopping needs.