March 2010 Newsletter

Sunday, 14th March, 2010

Welcome to the March 2010 Hot Spots 2 Shop newsletter.

Kuala Lumpur has become a popular shopping destination and on my trip recently to gather information for my book on the city we shopped up a storm.

It has to have some of the greatest shopping centres and malls anywhere.

The stylish Pavilion is connected by a walk way to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and has over 400 outlets. You seem to walk around one corner after another finding a new part to this chic mall.  Of course it is only one, the Starhill Gallery offers luxury goods, Suria KLCC is popular with tourist and locals alike, and the Mid Valley Mega Mall is worth the shop drive out of the city centre. These are just am few of the many KL malls.

If you are looking for  computer hardware, game consoles, phones, iPods or the latest designer gadget and cameras head to Plaza Low Yat. Each floor is broken up into zones with areas for cameras, gadgets, telecommunications, digital games but there is also dining options, fashion and bookshops.

This complex is next door to Sungei Wang Plaza which is a great place to find fashions from trendy young Malaysian designers.

If shoes are your thing you are in for a treat with KL being the birth place of the well known Jimmy Choo. If you can’t afford a pair of shoes from his KL boutique look for local label Vincci and Vincci sold outside Malaysia as VNC; they are a bargain in KL however you may have trouble getting larger sizes.

Don’t miss the markets probably the best is Chinatown or Petaling Street – Pasar Malam After 6pm Petaling Street that anchors Chinatown is closed off, however if you go earlier in the day you will not have the same crowds. The stalls open around 11.30 am and with fewer buyers you often can get a better bargain. Petaling Street is the centre of Kuala Lumpur’s original Chinatown. Forget the credit card bring cash.

Just writing about it I want to head back there, look for my book soon and start planning your trip.

Happy Shopping!

 

Nuance has opened a new store at Sydney International Airport as part of Sydney’s Airports state of the art renewal project which is due for completion in May.

Nuance claim that their new store is the biggest Duty Free in the Southern Hemisphere and will offer a new shopping experience with new products including my favourite fragrance Jo Malone. The idea is to educate as well as provide products and the store has a series of World of stores such as World of Wine and World of Chocolate. They will have the world’s first Wiggles Store and an area of Harley Davidson merchandise.  As if that isn’t enough there is the SYD cocktail bar which each week will have a different theme. It all sounds really exciting and the outwards journey at Sydney could be a great shopping experience.

If you are planning a trip to Singapore don’t forget the Great Singapore Sale is on from 28May to 25July 2010. Nearly all the stores in Singapore join in so you get really huge discounts on clothing, shoes and bags, jewellery in fact nearly everything you can buy. Of course most Asia cities such as Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok also have sales so factor this in when you are planning your trip.

http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg/2009/

All Nippon Airways will join Korean Air and Japan Airlines in offering a designated woman only bathroom. The new feature will be on most international flights. Men would be allowed to use the lavatory in emergencies or when there were very few female passengers on the flight. I wonder how many women would choose these three airlines because they get their own WC and I would love to know just how much cleaner this bathroom is after a long flight. Is it just me or does it drives you mad when the person before you does not bother to clean up the sink after their visit as requested by the airline?

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