Thai buys

On your first trip to Thailand, you buy clothes; on your second trip, you buy fruits; on your third visit, you buy toilet paper." These were the words of advice that Thai Airways’ sales supervisor and seasoned Thailand shopper Malu Dueñas imparted as we were checking in our baggage at the NAIA for our recent educational trip to Thailand. She was such a staunch believer in Thailand’s cheap toiletry offerings that she had brought along one empty suitcase just for the purpose of bringing home rolls of the "throne" necessity from Bangkok. "They come out really cheap," she emphatically added, "It comes out to about three or four pesos a roll. And they’re of really good quality."

Though a Thailand virgin, I knew all about the country’s famed shopping scene and amazing bargain finds. Bangkok regulars gloriously recount hundred dollar shopping sprees, some of them biyaheras who re-sell their wholesale buys in Greenhills. Thailand is a world-class shopping mecca, known for its handwoven silks and cotton, ceramics, lacquerware, and gems and jewelry. The toilet paper testimonial was a novel story. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to allot baggage space to butt wipes on my first trip to Thailand but it was something that I didn’t dismiss.

Dave de Jesus, the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Philippine representative, recognizes that Filipinos love to shop. No itinerary is complete without a trip to the local market, the city’s largest mall, or a stop at a tourist attraction’s souvenir shop. Buying is a reflex action, bargaining is in our blood. In introducing the northeastern portion of Thailand to the Philippine press, the TAT made sure that a shopping expedition was part of each day’s schedule.

The northeastern part of Thailand called I-san is not as popular as usual Thai destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, or Phuket, although it is fast gaining ground as a rewarding vacation spot for its historical sites, national parks, and its silk and pottery centers.

One of I-san’s biggest and most modernized provinces is called Nakchon Ratchasima or Khorat. It takes about three and a half hours to get to Khorat by land from Bangkok – trains and planes are faster alternatives. Though not yet considered a foreign tourist hub like Bangkok, Khorat’s shopping come-ons are pretty impressive. The Mall, the biggest shopping house in the I-san province is a 6000-acre buying center along Khorat’s main highway Mittraphap road. It is is Khorat’s paean to Western shopping, housing popular foreign brands such as Boots, Nike, and Mcdonald’s. A less modernized shopping alternative is the Khorat night market, a Baclaran-style marketplace that composes an entire block of rickety makeshift stalls plying merchandise found in most Bangkok markets but at slightly cheaper prices. The dizzying sights of stylish clothes and traditional handicrafts mingle with the scent of roasted corn and the cacophonic prattle of I-san merchants inviting you to check out their wares. Included in these offerings are I-san delicacies that can never be found in Bangkok. For about ten baht (fourteen Philippine pesos) you can get your protein fill with a bowl of gigantic deep-fried bugs or deep-fried worms. Seeing fried wrigglers being sold alongside chic accessories is both an intriguing and macabre experience – one that the weak—stomached vegetarians should try to stay clear of.

Bargaining in Khorat is pretty much the same as bargaining in most Southeast Asian markets: start at less than half the original price and work yourself up. Ignore the sour looks from the stall-minders. They know as much as you do that they’re still making a pretty good sale.

Traditional Thai handicrafts also abound in Northeastern Thailand. I-san is touted to be the silk weaving capital of Thailand. The local silk weavers are centered around Sakhon Nakhon, another I-san province bordering Nakchon Ratchasima, although the silk village is situated in the Paktongchai area in the latter province. The silk being sold in Paktongchai are far cheaper than the Thai silk finds in Bangkok, and, according to our Khorat tour guide John Jeerasiri, are of better quality (Thai silk jackets can go for as low as B1000 or P1400). Haute couture designer Valentino recently paid a visit to the I—san silk weaving industry to collect fabric for his upcoming collection. Other designers such as Kenzo, Pierre Balmain, and Hanae Mori are also known to have patronize I-san Thai silk in their past creations.

Some twenty minutes from Khorat proper–going in the direction of the silk village – stands Nakchon Ratchasima’s Pottery Village. Numerous pottery shops line both sides of about a half-kilometer stretch, displaying home and clothing accessories that mostly make up the village’s merchandise. Brightly-painted clay jugs line the shelves beside clay representations of the Dancing Shiva (steals at B150 or P210); terracotta mobiles chime each time the breeze blows, giving off xylophonic sounds; tables display terracotta accessories that go for as low as B10 (P14). Bargaining is easy and calculator-reliant; a single numeric punch assures better deals.

After spending two and a half days getting acquainted with the I-san province, we headed back to Bangkok where I knew I was sure to double the hefty shopping purchases I had acquired in Khorat. A two-weekday stay in Bangkok ruled out the possibility of shopping at the famous Chatuchak weekend market. The city is riddled with night markets that promote Bangkok shopping beyond Chatuchak. One of them is Suan Lum market on Rama IV road, "Bangkok’s first official night bazaar."

Suan Lum composes about four blocks of shops that sell home furnishings, Thai handicrafts, fashionable clothes, shoes, gems, and accessories. Beaded merchandise are popular. Everything from jeans to sandals to bags to candles and lamps are display bead or sequinned finishes. Three thousand baht (P3600) should be enough for some serious shopping. This amount is good to buy you a few pieces of clothing, a couple of pairs of shoes, a beaded bag, and a beautiful jewlery piece, with enough money left over to hoard scented incense for pasalubong. One end of the night market features a plaza with a stage and restaurants that allow for al fresco entertainment and dining.

Shopping centers are also very much part of the Bangkok landscape. The Skytrain – Bangkok’s equivalent of our MRT – has stops at Mabukhrong Center, Siam Square, and Siam Center, popular multi-level shopping haunts in the city. At least four malls line Ratchadamri road alone – the Central Chidlom, World Trade Center, Big C shopping center, and the soon-to-open Pratunam shopping center.

I had already exhausted the budget I had allotted for shopping before I realized that I had not indulged Malu’s suggestion to stock up on T.P. My maleta was already straining at the zippers and I wasn’t sure if I had enough guts to hand-carry twenty-four rolls of bathroom paper into Philippine immigration. I just promised myself that the next time I go shopping in Thailand, toilet paper would top my list.

For more information on shopping in Bangkok and in Khorat, log on to www.tourismthailand.org, the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s official website.

For tour arrangements in Khorat, contact Nanta Travel Service at (066)044251339. Look for Prasert "John" Jeerasiri.

Special thanks to Golden Valley Resort (188 Mu 4 Thanarat Road, Ampoe Pakchong, Nakhon Ratchasim 30130, tel 066-044297466) and Sima Thani Hotel (2112/2 Mittraphap Road, Ampoe Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30000, tel. 066-044213100) for providing accommodations in Khorat, and the Royal Orchid Sheraton (2 Captain Bush Lane, Siphya Road, Bangkok 10500, tel 662-2660123) for providing accommodations in Bangkok.

Thai Airways has daily flights to Bangkok. Call 812-4744 for reservations.