View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Martha S.

Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Location: Recently freed from house arrest
|
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 9:49 pm Post subject: International Shopping - what to buy in Thailand? |
|
|
Greetings gentle people -
I'll be fortunate enough to have a layover in Thailand, soon. Since my release, I simply can't stay still!
I'm thinking about shopping - I simply adore those triangle cushions. I plan to carry them in Martha-by-mail, my catalogue store.
Other things I recommend picking up are the readily available skin creams that are over-the-counter. Retin-A, Renova, Hydrocortizone, no medicine cabinet should be without!
For those of you who enjoy shopping trips as much as I do, what are your must-buys in Bangkok? (I want to specify things that are tangible, and can be carried back in checked luggage with little concern. Pharmacy products are fine - I belive in being prepared in advance for all circumstances, including asthma, insomnia and nervous breakdowns.
Thanks gentle folks,
Martha
OTC is a good thing |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
desultude

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
|
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 11:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well, knowing how you love to cook, I suggest stocking up on seasonings, various dry beans- garbanzos and lentils are particularly missing here, fragrant long grain rice, curry mixes (in the grocery there are little clear envelopes of wet curry mix that sell for about a quarter each- green, yellow and red), confectioners sugar is another item hard to find here, and I even buy whole bean coffee ( so much cheaper and better than here). Oh, yes, you can't get tahini here either, or cracked wheat, which you need for hummous and tabouli.
Being the good yuppie that you are, I am sure, like me, you can't live without these things.  |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Ekuboko
Joined: 22 Dec 2004 Location: ex-Gyeonggi
|
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 3:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
Fish sauce and P&G's Herbal Essences Shampoo - after all, it's made in Thailand these days |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
desultude

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
|
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
Ekuboko wrote: |
Fish sauce and P&G's Herbal Essences Shampoo - after all, it's made in Thailand these days |
Smells great, but fries your hair! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
simone

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Now Mostly @ Home
|
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
desultude wrote: |
Ekuboko wrote: |
Fish sauce and P&G's Herbal Essences Shampoo - after all, it's made in Thailand these days |
Smells great, but fries your hair! |
Agreed. I've had trouble with L'Oreal Brands as well, namely Fructis.
Before my last time coming back, I thought I'd go in and get some highlights - it never hurts to be just a bit blonder in Seoul...
I went to a fairly posh salon in Montreal. So half my head is done up in foil, when I notice an odd tingle, which slowly becomes more of a burning sensation. I ask the colorist if it's supposed to feel like that, whereafter she opens up one of the pieces of foil releasing a line of chemical which immediately gives me second degree burns on my scalp.
She races me to the back yelling something like "Code Blue" in French, and she proceeds to rip all pieces of foil out while the shampoo girl hoses me down - the whole process took about 20 seconds, thankfully.
As we're walking back to the chair she asks me if I use Pantene. I said Fructis, (which happened to be the #1 Brand in Quebec that very quarter - I'd been at a recruiting session for L'Oreal that week, and the assistant Brand Manager for L'Oreal was way too smug) and she sniffed and made some comment about people who use cheap shampoo. We started the process with a more silicone-friendly process.
You'd think that if it's THAT common, she'd ask before starting? I was picking scabs out of my hair for over a month after. However, it was a pleasure not to tip her. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
funplanet

Joined: 20 Jun 2003 Location: The new Bucheon!
|
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 5:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Gold |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
dg611
Joined: 11 Jun 2004
|
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Custom made shirts, pants and suits!!! great buy off Silom road and Sukhumvit...300 USD and you could have an entire wardrobe of custom made clothes in just a couple of days...though you sometimes have to be picky about the quality...the Indian taliors do a great job.
If you like cooking and want something different, in any grocery store you can buy.
cumin seeds
coriander seeds
tamarind paste
fish sauce
instant thai curries where you just add boiling water.
coconut milk powder |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
peppermint

Joined: 13 May 2003 Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
|
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:59 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I believe you can get all those ingredients in Itaewon. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
desultude

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
|
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 11:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
peppermint wrote: |
I believe you can get all those ingredients in Itaewon. |
Yeah, first, try finding them any place else in Korea (sorry, but the idea that Korea=Seoul is sometimes a bit much. ) Second, if you are in Thailand anyway, you can get spices that are actually fresh and at a fraction of the price. Those dusty old bottles from the back corner of the Red Door do leave a bit to be desired in terms of freshness.
I've been enjoying a lot of hummous, tabouli, indian curried yellow lentils (dal) black beans (the western/latin kind) great whole bean coffee, lots of curries, jasmine and basmati rice, and homemade meusli from stuff I brought back from my trip in August, and it was really really cheap. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
deessell

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:56 am Post subject: |
|
|
A hammock, clothes, incense, stock up on reading material.
A the list is endless......I booked my ticket to Thailand today for winter holidays so this topic is close to my heart.
Also good medical and haircuts and colours etc. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
dg611
Joined: 11 Jun 2004
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: |
I believe you can get all those ingredients in Itaewon. |
You would pay an arm and a leg for them here...in thailand you can get a large amount for a very reasonable price.
The point it that it is really cheap there...suits and cooking stuff. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
funplanet

Joined: 20 Jun 2003 Location: The new Bucheon!
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
Tailor in Itaewon suck...to put it mildly....as one who wears nice clothes, and knows something about tailoring, trust me....do not do it in K |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
funplanet

Joined: 20 Jun 2003 Location: The new Bucheon!
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
Tailor in Itaewon suck...to put it mildly....as one who appreciates nice clothes, and knows something about tailoring, trust me....do not do it in K |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
desultude

Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:45 am Post subject: |
|
|
Speaking of buying in Thailand, I am thinking seriously of buying a lot and building a house in Chiang Mai. I'm spending next summer there checking it out.
Yes, near to my heart, too! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
nrvs

Joined: 30 Jun 2004 Location: standing upright on a curve
|
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
desultude wrote: |
Speaking of buying in Thailand, I am thinking seriously of buying a lot and building a house in Chiang Mai. |
Unfortunately, foreigners cannot own property in Thailand. The building itself? Sure, but not the land beneath it. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|