Shopping in Koh Samui - What to Buy and Where to Buy

Shopping in Koh Samui

The major villages of Chaweng, Nathon, Lamai and Maenam all have central commercial districts. For daytime shopping most people head for Nathon, where a wide variety of shops are open all day. Chaweng Center's night market, located along Chaweng's main street and surrounded by many restaurants, stays open well into the evening.

Many souvenirs, clothes, jewelry etc. are produced on mainland Thailand and brought to Samui. By comparison to Bangkok or Chiang Mai some products may not seem like the bargains you had hoped they would be. But they're still likely to be less expensive than they are where you live! Try to make the best purchase possible by getting a fair price.

Many labor intensive items are produced locally, such as custom tailoring, and some of the handmade crafts found on the market. There are also several jewelry manufacturers on the island. Many of these items can be bought at very favorable prices.

A bargaining tip: Smile when you say "That seems a little expensive!" Thai merchants do not respond well to aggressive, loud, or insistent tactics. You may consider yourself a good negotiator, but remember that in the Land of Smiles, the friendlier and calmer you remain, the better deal you are likely to get.

Legendary Thai silk reflects the rich diversity of Thai culture. Each has its own way of weaving, dyeing styles and techniques. In Southern Thailand, Thai Muslim villagers made Pum Riang silk by applying traditional weaving patterns to Japanese silk, the Yok Nakhon cotton of Nakhon Si Thammarat is equally distinctive. Batiks and Patae skirts glow with the brilliant colours of Malay-influenced designs. Thai people of Lao origin residing in southern Thailand are renowned for their Moot Mee and Khitt silk, usually made into tubular skirts, or Phasin. Silk shops provide reams of silk at bargain prices.

Lacquer ware, ancient oriental craft, entailed by a repeated process of coating structural bamboo or wood with lacquer before doing hand-painting with the elaborate designs. Generally, they are made in either gold and black, or yellow and green on a brownish-red background.

Silverware is a kind of traditional craft from northern Thailand. Bowls, boxes, cigarette cases, vases and cutlery are skilfully worked with relief patterns.

Nilonware is a related craft practiced in southern Thailand for hundreds of years. Nilonware, or khrueang thom, is the craft of decorating objects by delicately etched designs filled with a metallic alloy to produce a smoothly patterned surface in black and gold. The art is widely practiced in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Certain parts of Thailand are blessed with a natural abundance of rubies, sapphires, zircon, onyx, jade and opal. Local cutting, design and manufacturing skills ensure a fine range of quality items with a variety of prices.

Gold is generally used in the temples and palaces for golden Buddha images, jewellery and royal insignia and decorations. Buddha images are decorated with gold leaf and gold is used to enhance modern jewellery.

Pearls are the special jewel of Southern Thailand and they come in a variety of makings, sizes and colours. From Southern pearl farms come the rare south sea pearls, cultured pearls, and Mobe pearls in every shade of cream, pink, and black. Imitated pearls from this area are made of ground pearl dust and cemented by a secret formula. Cultured pearl production mimics the natural process to produce pearls of guaranteed quality. Cultured pearl farms are abundantly found in Southern Thailand, particularly in Koh Samui, Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket and Suratthani.

Chaweng, Lamai and Nathon Town is excellent places to have some customised made-to-order clothes by local dressmakers and tailors. Whether you bring them your own personal sketches, or have clipped a photograph of the style you wish, you can be assured of receiving a quality garment within few days. Imported linens, blended wools, and print cottons are popular fabrics to choose from, while the lustrous Thai silk is hard to resist. Tailors can patch you up a great fitting suit in just a couple of days.

Places to Shopping

Chaweng, Lamai and Nathon are major shopping places for something special and souvenirs to bring home with you. Some decorative items include: Thai triangle cushions to brighten up your living room, reproduced antiques and Buddha images from ancient Thai civilizations of Ayuthaya and Sukothai and brightly pointed batiks or silks, which are convenient to carry and very affordable on Koh Samui. Shopping in Samui is concentrated in three major areas; Nathon market, Chaweng shopping area and Lamai shopping area. Many kinds of retail goods from all over Thailand are available to guarantee that you enjoy great shopping on Samui. Thai silks and handicrafts are just two good examples of Thai products which have become internationally popular.

The major shopping areas of Chaweng, Nathon, Lamai and Maenam have central commercial districts. Most of the shoppers direct to Nathon for day-time shopping, where many shops are open the whole day. Chaweng Centre's night market, located along Chaweng's main street and surrounded by many restaurants, stays open well into the evening. Lamai has a variety of necessity products and souvenirs to fulfill the needs of shoppers from all walks of life. Maenam is popular for the household products, accessories, and construction materials basically for the local people and the property developers. However, there are nice restaurants and luxury resorts located in Maenam though.

Nathon town is really the main shopping centre. This is where the ferries arrive, where the buses come in, the head offices of the banks and local government offices, along with many shops, supermarkets, general shops and small Thai restaurants. Although offering no western style night entertainment, there are several very good and inexpensive restaurants in Nathon along with several Karaoke Restaurants. Being on the western coast with stunning sunsets over the Angthong Archipelago, planning a shopping trip to Nathon, sunset dinner on the beach road. Make sure you arrange your transport back to Lamai or Chaweng if you plan to spend your evening there. During the night time, transfers out of Nathon will be a tiny bit "spotty" after 7 p.m.

Of course, Chaweng, Lamai, Maenam and all other areas and towns On-Samui offer extensive shopping experiences. Most of the high quality western- style retail outlets are located in Chaweng or Lamai, not Nathon. Night and day markets operate in almost all towns in Koh Samui. Selling everything from imported underwear to everything, the local markets are worth a visit for sure, regardless of whether you purchase something or not. Markets are always a source of great colour and activity in Koh Samui, an early morning visit to a market in Koh Samui Island could give you some of the best photographs that you have taken long time ago.