Consumer Product Comparison

[jan1van1hooten]

This is a consumer oriented post not a business post.

i have found the different countries offer good deals on different products, in terms of price and quality.

Men's knit golf-style shirts -- the best are in phnom penh cambodia because they are american factory quality but perhaps with a slight mistake. good workmanship, and good comfortable cotton. when they say 100% cotton it is true. price. Location russian market. $5 each. golf shirts and t shirts in thailand that say they are 100% cotton are often not, but the prices can be 50-100% higher than in cambodia.

tailors-- so far I have found thailand has better than malaysia or cambodia.

shoes. For readimade, I think Thailand has the best selection, especially in Bkk. be careful with a lot of readimade dress shoes from thailand. they may look good but for some reason they don't wear well. also those shoe stores near khao san road on chakrapongse street sell fashionable styles of very low quality.

Shoes made to measure- there is a decent place in Phnom Penh. offering shoes for $33-40 US. But there is also a made to measure shoe place just opened in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Their asking price is about $70. have not tried.

Readimade men's pants-- although thailand sells good quality cotton slacks, the dye tends to fade with a few washings. I would say the same thing about dress shirts. It costs the same or less just to have a tailor make your formal clothes in Thailand.

chinese temple gods Georgetown, Penang by far.

chinese porcelain Chiang Mai used to have good interesting chinese porcelain but in the past few years, I am just seeing low quality from an aesthetic point of view.

Antiques Chiang mai has the best old hill tribe stuff. and good jewellry too.

avoid the crap on khao san road. it is virtually all of low quality and will break within two weeks. I also would not trust the sunday market in chiang mai.

any other suggestions from those with experience? wood, leather products, etc.

Edited September 21, 2010 by jan1van1hooten

[jan1van1hooten]

lamps the best lamps I have seen, that is, the most charming and imaginative, were in Saigon, Vietnam. shops around khao san road in Bangkok also feature a lot of lamps but but they are not as inspiring as the vietnamese.

sandals the best sandals I have seen are in penang, malaysia. they are made of leather and cut in interesting patterns like leaf patterns. have not tried personally.

Edited September 22, 2010 by jan1van1hooten