I don’t travel widely to mention about other countries but on a couple of trips to China I learned that package tours tend to steer you to expensive shopping outlets. This is no different than my trip to Thailand as well. I guess you can’t blame them as they want you to buy from quality stores and charge you more money. After a while I wise up and whenever I join the guided tour I pay quick attention to some stores within the tourist sites, not those shopping stores they take you to during their bus driver rest time. You can imagine how little time you have. While you look around at those shops within the tourist site, your guide is moving his group along to keep up with his schedule. So basically you have probably three minute to zero in on what you want and strike a deal. This means you better be ready with a bundle of cash in your hand, ready to make a deal and join the crowd lest you are left behind!
Then there is the other strategy when the bus take us to the restaurant for our meals. Pay attention to the surrounding stores when you go to the restaurant. If you find some worth a visit, be prepared to eat fast and get out to visit the stores. The bus won’t wait for you once all are ready to leave the place. In this scenario you probably have about fifteen minutes to do some quick shopping. Good luck!
