There was no travelling for me in 2020, and I was almost sick of plane rides by the end of the 2019, but now here I am wishing I was on a flight out of the country during Christmas. It’s boxing day, so I spent some time reminiscing on some of the best shopping trips that I can remember.

5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

They have some very cheap fast-fashion brands, so I enjoyed indulging myself just once in a few years on some low-durability stuff. I remember buying almost 10 pairs of shoes (some of which I did wear until they fell apart so terribly it was impossible to keep wearing), a Crumpler bag (that is still holding up very well), tons of Miniso cute stuff (one of the stuffed animals I still sleep with every day), Cotton on basics etc. The malls in KL were also made to be entertainment centers. I could walk around for ages, eat food, go to an arcade of catch a movie… all in the same building.

4. Stockholm, Sweden

I bought some very high quality goods here. The leather Vagabonds boots that I bought is the most pampered item of footwear in my entire closet. I would clean it carefully every year and polish before wearing once or twice for the fall season. The Åhléns near Central Station is the largest I found in Sweden, and at Christmas time was so beautifully lit. I also went to the Mall of Scandinavia, which was brand new at that time, and marveled at the fancy food court. It was out of my budget at the time, but I definitely spent a good chunk of my money on Hunkemoller and followed up with Joe and the Juice – neither are Swedish brands – oops! I think I spent like $200 on a button up shirt (it wasn’t even Filippa K, and I have not worn it this year due to working from home. What a waste.) The Designtorget was also addictive! I bought so many gifts and souvenirs for friends and family there.

3. San Francisco, USA

This gets a high ranking because there are brands here that I cannot find outside of the USA. Trader Joe’s has an enormous store near Hyde street and I never bought so many snacks I didn’t need. My bad. I also have lovely memories of shopping on Valencia street: overpriced candles, second hand books, super fancy and ethical chocolate… all to follow up with cheese, wine, tacos etc. I also found Mission Bicycles – which I am still hoping to spend a lot of money on one day to get the the super special custom bike I desire – as soon as they recover from their fire.

2. Singapore, Singapore

In the period of more than a decade since I last lived there, it feels like shopping malls in Singapore had grown by 2 times! I’ve been back to Singapore multiple times since I left, and each time I could spend an entire day and my entire paycheque at one mall. The latest spree was at Bugis Junction, the one before that was at VivoCity. The time before that was probably at Plaza Singapura and the rest of Orchard street. It has a really good mix of fast-fashion choices like Charles & Keith, and middle-class brands like GG<5 and G2000. The last time, I also noticed the influx of Korean fashion brands around. If I wanted something cheaper I think I would just spend more time in Kuala Lumpur, but I liked the mix of lesser known stores that I didn’t find in other cities, and whose names I already forgot – oops!

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

(I have not visited Sao Paulo, so this is a temporary #1 spot – based on what I heard about the extravagance of that city.) I honestly had so much fun shopping in this city. I loved the soaps from Granado and the beautiful textile of Farm Rio. I also loved cookies, chocolates and pastries at Confeitaria Colombo. The chocolate-covered nuts from Dengo in Village Mall was so good (and expensive)! I also got hooked on Havaianas flip flops and still wear them to this day (surprisingly they never caught my attention when I was in Singapore). I also bought some extravagant costume jewelry for my dance competitions and I have had so many compliments from the stuff I bought. I would have bought more if I didn’t insist on a small suitcase. Thankfully my friend came in 2019 with some goodies that I treasure so much!

Honorary mentions:

• Tokyo, Japan: I did some shopping for souvenirs in this city and really enjoyed the large malls, but I only remember the international brands like Uniqlo and Audio Technica.
• Seoul, South Korea: There so many cute fashions stores here, and I did spend an significant amount of money on stuff like overcoat, dress, lingerie, jewelry… But at that time I was not entirely into the Korean entertainment industry as I am now, so I missed out.
• Ha Noi, Viet Nam: there are a lot of good quality fashion and jewelry brands now, but it’s still hard to tell if the products are authentic, so I would rather stick to cheaper things.
• Barcelona, Spain: there’s shopping everywhere. No kidding. But I didn’t find one large destination mall that I could spend a day sheltered from the rain, wind, or whatever else…