HOROLOGICAL MARKET

Then off we went to the Wangjiao Horological Market to the west of Guangzhou Railway Station. There, we came across a building with a large trading on the ground floor that houses numerous showcases featuring all types and styles of watches. There's a wide array of formal, casual, sporty and trendy watches and it is possible to get all your favorite brands at low prices. But please keep in mind these are designer replicas. It was, however, sold like hot cakes in the market. (sorry no pics)

On the other side of the street is well worth a wander for shopping with all sorts of packing boxes and packing bags from watch box, gift box to jewelry box. With so many assortments of shapes, sizes and designs available right under my nose, I can't help but get euphoric! I was planning to buy the 24-watch holder but it was too big and heavy. So, we ended up buying two sets of 12-watch holder case. We also purchased quite a lot of single holder watch boxes.

12-watch holder case made of wood

Within a few blocks you will find also a mix of retail outlets and stores selling sunglasses, casual clothing, outdoor apparel and gear, footwear, bags, home furnishings and a lot more.

This place will surely give enough excitement to keep shopaholics and casual shoppers occupied for at least several hours.

Related Links:

About Guangzhou
Dong Fang Hotel (Accommodation)
Beijing Lu (Shopping)
Shangxiajiu (Shopping)
The First Tunnel of Guangzhou (Shopping)
Marriot Hotel (Accommodation)
Yide Lu (Shopping)
Onelink International Plaza (Shopping)
Carrefour (Shopping)
RBT Real Brewed Tea (Restaurant)
Leather Market (Shopping)

LEATHER MARKET

On our last day in Guangzhou, China we perused a number of large wholesale stores in BaiYun district Ziyuangang area, which is famous for large-scale Leather distribution centers. We roamed around and scouted the shops. It was like a never-ending shopping retreat crammed with rows and rows of stores. The entire area has over 10 wholesale buildings and thousands of street shops selling exclusively of handbags, shoulder bags, briefcases, luggage, wallets and leather belts of every possible description.

Along this area, we happened to see Guangzhou Baiyun World Leather Trading Centre, which is one of the biggest wholesale with some high quality leather products and another store named Gui Hua Lou Leather Mall.

Guangzhou Baiyun Wold Leather Trading Centre
Gui Hua Lou Leather Mall

The are many varieties of leather ware available here. It is the optimal area for your free options. But most wholesalers do require a considerable wholesale orders. The Leather markets are just huge, so you need to wear comfortable shoes as there's plenty of shops to meander.

But sadly, due to enormity of the place and lack of time, we decided to eschew most of the shops. :(

Related Links:
About Guangzhou
Dong Fang Hotel (Accommodation)
Beijing Lu (Shopping)
Shangxiajiu (Shopping)
The First Tunnel of Guangzhou (Shopping)
Marriot Hotel (Accommodation)
Yide Lu (Shopping)
Onelink International Plaza (Shopping)
Carrefour (Shopping)
RBT Real Brewed Tea (Restaurant)

CARREFOUR GUANGZHOU

We paid a visit to our favorite French International hypermarket chain, Carrefour. I've started to love this hypermarket during my first visit in Shanghai. Most of us know that this is a giant outlet that offers everything under one roof.

Carrefour in Guangzhou is conveniently located in the city center and easily accessible by car. It has a contemporary set-up mix with majority of local Chinese brand and tastes. The standard grocery assortment is quite small compared to other Carrefour in Asia that we visited. But one good thing about this store, it has relatively large walkways that are wide enough for shoppers. Prices and quality is generally good.



One noteworthy here is the "Baggage Deposit". You basically fill it with your personal belongings except cash and other valuable items. How to use? You have to refer to the "operation guide" before using this machine.


Please take note that you have to lock the door first if it is unlock before pressing the "store" key. When you're done don't forget to get the bar-code sheet. It's for getting back your parcel and it can only be used only once.

Related Links:
About Guangzhou, China
Dong Fang Hotel, Guangzhou (Accommodation)
Bejing Lu (Shopping)
Shangxiajiu (Shopping)
The First Tunnel of Guangzhou (Shopping)
Marriot Hotel, Guangzhou (Accommodation)
Yide Lu (Shopping)
Onelink International Plaza (Shopping)

ONELINK INTERNATIONAL PLAZA

Easily accessible from Haizhunguangchang subway station and a short walk along Yide Lu brings you to One Link International Plaza. A wholesale air-conditioned market especializing in soft toys, gifts, garment, household appliances, bags, horologe, suspending ornaments, festival article, ceramics, stationery, packing ribbon and a lot more.

Actually I enjoyed my shopping experience here. This is where I mostly bought my gifts and presents. The place has an array of curio shops, but not all items on display are good. You have to take a little effort to find the nicer ones. Fortunately, we came across a gift shop and I then perused on my own and found a bunch of fun and cute items like the car decors, tiny lamps and rotating elephant and pig musical tabletop pieces. Prices were very reasonable.



Right opposite appears like a Victorian style shop selling personal and home accessories. And I saw similar bedroom slippers that I bought from Yide Lu.



The next store we visited looks like a traditional antique shop. But what was more fascinating, they specialize exclusively in making wood wristwatches. Since hubby and I are wristwatch enthusiasts, we were immediately hooked and bought quite a few really nice pieces such as the Pilot style (an all wood case hand-made wooden strap with stainless steel buckle and Citizen quartz 3 hands movement), the Telephone style (the concept of this watch came from the inspiration of the olden day telephone, made of all wood case, soft leather strap with stainless steel buckle). We also had the oversize "Save The Earth" watch and my favorite of all, a lady bracelet watch that has a distinctive crystal rhinestone pattern. This is a very unique and eye catching model that I won't probably see any one else wearing.

the Telephone wristwatch

What's unique about the whole watch, it is cut from wood except the inner core. It is lighter and more durable than alloy, combined succesfully with various fashion elements. The design is audicious in idea, but distinguished, decent, and fashionable in style.

We also visited several stores selling bags. We also happened to pass by a shop focusing solely on army specialty apparel and accessories where hubby bought a helmet for his collection.

inside the plaza

And if you're hungry, there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet located on the ground floor while the basement level has a food court.

Close by is Guangzhou Metropolis Shoes City, a store specializing in all kinds of of shoes. Unfortunately, we weren't able to visit the place because I was already tired as hell after our long day of walking. Shopping in Guangzhou can be a pretty exchausting experience simply because of its vastness.

Related Links:
About Guangzhou, China
Dong Fang Hotel, Guangzhou (Accommodation)
Bejing Lu (Shopping)
Shangxiajiu (Shopping)
The First Tunnel of Guangzhou (Shopping)
Marriot Hotel, Guangzhou (Accommodation)
Yide Lu (Shopping)

ZHONGSHAN ROAD Part 1

After we had our snacks at McDonald's, we then finally jumped into a taxi and made it to Zhongshan Road, the busiest commercial street and the main tourism landmark in Xiamen, China. We took a leisurely walk over the long pedestrianized street with shops on each side. The architecture along the road is a combined style of East and West that features an elegant ambiance and charming atmosphere.

The bustling thoroughfare is aligned with brimming traditional shop houses, boutiques and numerous shopping arcades offering an eclectic mix of retail goods. Browsing here kept us occupied for hours.



I was also excited to see familiar Christmas characters with ornamental facade and glimming colorful lights that gave a little spark and enlivening mood.

Here we are on the bustling street of Zhongshan Road, Xiamen, China

We then continued walking along the road, when we happened to pass by a group of talented elderly performers playing lively traditional Chinese music.

I think most of us are familiar with Santa Claus, especially with his common appearance as a jovial STOUT old man with a white beard and a red suit, associated with bringing gifts on Christmas season. Fortunately, we spotted a new modern version of Santa who was TALL and so SKINNY. (Hummm, did he also join the “DIET-CRAZE”, which is enormously popular today?) Yep! Yep! No doubt. He really does look somewhat ANOREXIC to me. hahaha… Forgive me but I’m used to the angelic Chubby Santa who is certainly more irresistibly cute.

Anyhow, Santa was extremely busy entertaining children and adults alike who were so enthralled by him.

XIAMEN: SM CITY PLAZA

After we got settled in, we decided it was time to explore so we headed to SM City Plaza. From Zhenhai Road, we hailed a taxi to take us to SM and we paid only Y30. Taxis are cheap here and it start at Y8 for the first 3 kilometers.

The exterior of SM City Plaza in Xiamen, China

SM is the first Philippine shopping mall opened in Xiamen, China in 2002. It is situated at the intersection of Xianyue Road and Jiahe Road with six floors and a construction area of 126,000 square meters. The mall is very similar in design and layout to SM Shopping Malls in the Philippines, but it has different kind of tenant mix. Too bad, I didn't enjoy shopping here. The selections of stores weren't great, but I was pleasantly surprised to see popular Filipino retail outlets like Bench and Penshoppe. You can also expect to find the world famous brands here like Wal-Mart, Watsons, Cybermart, McDonald's and KFC.

McDonald's in SM Xiamen
SM Foodcourt in SM City Plaza
SM Department Store in SM City Plaza Xiamen

Speaking of McDonald's and KFC, these restaurants are all over the city and always packed with locals enjoying every meal. I knew that eating too much fast food isn't healthy at all, but we had a hardtime looking for a decent restaurant. So, most of the time we ended up having our lunch and dinner at these fast food eating places.


Address: SM City Plaza
Xianyue Road,
Xiamen, China

SUNTEC CITY MALL

Suntec City Mall is a giant 83,850 square metre shopping mall in Singapore, with over 400 retail, dining, and entertainment outlets. It is divided into four thematic zones - Galleria, Tropics, Entertainment Centre and Fountain Terrace. This is also home to the World’s Largest Fountain, The Fountain of Wealth, a feng shui masterpiece that signifies the achievement of wealth and prosperity. You can enjoy here a nightly multimedia show of laser, lights and sounds. It stretches a kilometer across the mall. It was recorded in the 1998 edition of the Guinness Book of Records.

The Galleria showcases a wide selection of famous brand names such as Espirit, Raoul, Hush Puppies, G2000, La Senza (sexy lingerie from Canadian premier lingerie retailer) and trendy Spanish Fashion label Mango. There’s also an entire floor devoted to children, including Toys “R” Us, Cloud 9, Creative Art Corner, KiDstyle, Chateau de Sable, Crosscom, Seafolly Girl and Virtualand located at Level 3. Specialty shops offering home furnishings, casual wear, lingerie and leisure products are located in the Tropics zone. There is the worldwide French hypermart Carrefour, where you’ll find just about everything ranging from movies to music, food, car and household accessories, fashion, groceries, pharmaceuticals, electronics and more. There are also over 70 different restaurants, bars, pubs and fast food outlets at the Suntec City Mall.

Just a 10-minute walk from City Hall MRT station or walk through CityLink Mall to reach Suntec City.


Address:
Suntec City Mall
#3 Temasek Boulevard
Tel. 6825 2667 / 6825 2668

ESPLANADE MALL

Esplanade Mall offers over 9,600 sqm of exciting mix of retail, lifestyle and entertainment outlets over three level. There is the Library@esplanade, Singapore first performing arts library. Music aficionados can also check out Frank Brothers Violins, which sells vinyls and handcrafted musical instruments such as violins, violas and cellos. For souvenir hunters, you can stock up on Esplanade-themed keepsakes, chocolates, movie paraphernalia and customized teddy bears.

I already had in mind what to buy at the Esplanade Shop (located on the second level), which I ran across through surfing the net.



I acquired some Esplanade jewelries made of 92.5 sterling silver such as Silver Rear Studs (S$14.50 per pair) and Silver Bangle (S$29.50). I got a 30% discount (S$13.20), so I only paid S$30.80 for the two jewelries.

silver rear studs
silver bangle

Esplanade Shop is the main place in town for all things related to Esplanade. the specialty of the shop is exclusive Esplanade signature goods including commemorative coins, a variety of clothing items, soft-toys, post-cards, stationery and books on esplanade. Also available in the shop are perfromance related items such as CDs and books. Please remember the shop does not accept refund or exchange for all items purchased as stated on their receipt.

Address: Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue
Singapore
Open daily from 10am - 11pm

MARINA SQUARE SHOPPING MALL

Later on we went to Marina Square, the newly revamped 700,000 sq. ft. shopping mall in Singapore. It comprises four levels of shopping with more than 300 shops such as Buffalo, Massimo Dutti, Zara and East Zing, a home and lifestyle store, Earz, a CD depot for used and new CDs, and Miniature Hobby, a store for toy collectors, Marina Food Loft (a hawker fare from two mini restaurants and three zones of local, international and halal food stalls in a designer-style setting), and a giant hypermart.

It has an easy access to and from Suntec City, Citylink Mall, Millenia Walk and the famous Esplanade theatres. The complex also houses three hotels, which are The Oriental Singapore, Marina Mandarin Singapore and the Pan Pacific Singapore.

Inside Marina Square

We went straightaway to Creative Store located on the second floor. It houses the most comprehensive range of Creative's Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) products such as MP3 Players, portable speakers, headphones, speakers, audio products (internal and external sound cards), web cams, input devices as well as prodikeys dual-function keyboards. The Creative Store aims to provide an enhanced shopping experience where customers can get a better understanding and can also test-drive the latest products.



Hubby bought more than a few sets of small and trendy Zen V MP3 Player (S$ 200.00), which features a brilliant full color of 1.5" OLED display. And 1 set of Muvo v100 (S$65.00), that offers the ultimate convenience from its 2-piece integrated USB flash drive design and supports both MP3 and WMA formats.



We also caught sight of "Kids Carnival" by John Little located on the ground floor. It offers a comprehensive range of children's merchandise, ranging from fashion finds, toys and many others.


A 10-minute walk from City Hall MRT station or walk through Citylink Mall to reach Marina Square.


Address: Marina Square
6 Raffles Boulevard
Tel: (65) 6339 8787

HOME

MUSTAFA CENTRE

Mustafa Centre is located on Syed Alwi Road in Little India. It occupies one entire block on the eastern side and it is only the place open for 24 hours in Singapore. Some common misconception about this shop, made us a little bit apprehensive, not knowing exactly what to expect. But we stand corrected. I can't believe that this place is a shopping Mecca, more than I thought would be. Mustafa offers 15,000 types of merchandise at some of the lowest fixed priced in Singapore.

Since I'm a WATCHaholic who simply adores watches, I was like entering a wonderland dazzling with eclectic mix of trendy and functional designer watches to be had. It offer pickings aplenty! But I also had a guilt feeling when I saw the same watch that I bought from another store. It was sold here in Mustafa at a lower price. haaay... Nevertheless, I still got another watch for myself. I had a GUESS Limited Edition Ladies Box Set - a Gold Plated and Ivory Dial Color Quartz Movement with Light Brown Camel Croco Leather strap and with extra White Interchangeable Strap. Yippee!!!

GUESS Limited Edition Ladies Box Set

Another items that are in great supply here are jewelries, perfumes and electronic goods & gadgets located also at the ground floor. Then we went to the second floor where the supermarket is situated. Hubby left me there, so I had a shopping galore all by myself. I bought oodles of chocolates and candies. Believe it or not, my most favorite is "My Singapore: Orchid & Merlion" chocolates. I thought this would be a commercialized version. But i was wrong. The chocolate was delectably delicious combination of smooth chocolate and surprisingly crunchy of whole roasted almonds. Darn! Now I'm salivating just thinking about it. hahaha... It was undoubtedly a brilliant indulgent treat for a chocoholic like me.

My fave - Orchid/Merlion Choco
Some chocolates that I bought ranging from S$2.20 to S$7.15

I also bought some grocery items and a few flexible Singapore refrigerator magnets (S$1.80 each). I started a new hobby as a fridge magnet collector when I started to travel, but I only collect Country Fridge Magnet.



Shopping in Mustafa Centre is a shop 'til you drop with no guilt since this caters mainly to the budget market where you can also practice your bargaining skills. There is almost nothing you won't get here ranging from books, food, clothing, footwear, sportswear, household appliances, CDs and DVDs and others. This place is a must for budget shoppers.


ADDRESS:
Mustafa Centre
145 Syed Alwi Road
Singapore
Tel. (65) 6295 5855
5-minute walk from Farrer Park MRT station

PARKWAY PARADE: NGEE TIME GALLERY

The following morning, we headed first to Parkway Parade, a suburban shopping centre located just 8 kilometres to the east of Singapore's CBD off the Marine Paraded exit on the ECP. It comprises 6 levels of retail and an office tower with 17 levels. Parkway Parade is designed around a central mall with a number of smaller secondary malls and boasts an impressive atrium space, which filters in natural light.

We happened to stop by at Ngee Time Gallery shop at basement 1 near the escalator.

(Ngee Time Gallery Shop)

I was super elated when hubby bought me a GUESS stunning ladies gold plated fashion watch (S$ 195.00). (Yahoo! Another new addition to my watch collections.) It has set with two rows of crystal stones around the bezel and features day & date dials. It comes with the offical box and instructions and with a free Wow Pod magazine.

(Guess ladies watch bought from Ngee Time Gallery)

Aside from Ngee Time Gallery, there are also hundreds of stores conveniently located such as Best Denki, Giant Hypermarket, Planet Fitness, Isetan, Borders, Treats and Timezone just to name a few.

At basement level, food & beverage, and eclectic specialy mix are found. Level 1 is mostly a fashion targeting young executives. Level 2 is a lifestyle, family, youth and ladies fashion. Level 3 is a value retailing, food and beverage. Level 4 is predominantly a family entertainment and services. Level 5 is mainly medical and beauty services, and Level 6 is primarily a Furniture Mall / Fitness Centre.

VIVO CITY: PAGEONE BOOKSTORE

Then we visited PageOne bookstore located at level 2, occupying a floor space of almost 28,000 square feet. It has a large offering of English & Chinese books, totaling more than a thousand titles. In addition, the store also stocks a range of periodicals, music & movie titles, as well as Asian artefacts and handicrafts.

Hubby bought a book titled "The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life", by Jean-Francois Revel and Matthieu Ricard (Foreword by: Jack Miles).

PageOne Bookstore entrance

I left him for a while, and I did a bit of shopping and window-shopping. I bought a Bre Wooden Hoop with Charms Necklace gold (S$9.50) at Viva. The original price was S$19.00 but I got a 50% discount because of the ongoing Great Singapore Sale. :)

Viva is a shop exclusively selling fashion accessories such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles, belts and hair accessories.