A great place to stock up on bargain souveniers and gifts before heading home. You can find anything from origami paper, crockery and toys not to mention all manner of household goods

They're everywhere. There's a nine story one in Funibashi on the outskirts of Tokyo.

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A local craft/Brazilian art store in the heart of Ipanema, very close to the beach, in Rio de Janeiro. Everybody knows how rich in art and culture Brazil is, the weird thing is that it's very difficult to find a decent store, with no-cheesy stuff to buy for nice prices.

Brazil & Cia products are among the largest crafts and popular art centres in Brazil. They have Brazilian popular art objects that reflect important aspects of the local culture. The products are exquisite, alive. Makes you want to buy it all, for your home and as souvenirs for relatives and friends.

Rua Maria Quitéria 27 Ipanema (50 m from the beach)
Tel.: +55 (21) 2267-4603
www.brasilecia.com.br/

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It is the hottest mustard I've ever encountered in the world and is only found in Ghent. It goes particularly well as a dip for cheese alongside your beer.

Just past the Korenmarkt, heading towards the Graveenstein.

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Do visit The Sheraton for afternoon tea. It’s affordable and the décor, piano and vast array of cakes takes you to another world.

Just down the hill from The Sheraton, is the St George Gallery, which has a wonderful display of quality goods, both antique and modern. Further down the hill were shops that sold jewellery by weight of silver. It was good quality and reasonably priced.

We did most of our gift shopping at a group of shops just off Churchill Avenue on the right up Nigeria Street.

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This is a great day trip from Quito if you are at the end of your trip and are interested in buying some presents for home.

The market is large and there are lots of lovely things to buy. Also you can barter for the price, which is expected. On the same trip we also went to Cotacachi which has fantastically cheap leather goods.

Any travel agency in Quito will arrange a day trip. Be careful of cost though, we paid U$39 for the trip, someone on the same trip with us was charged U$59.

Any travel agency in Quito will arrange a day trip. Be careful of cost though we paid U$39 for the trip, someone on the same trip with us was charged U$59.

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There are a few of these villages knocking around the safari areas of Kenya, often in the middle, near camps. A fascinating experience - but be warned, you'll be forced to shop for "home made" souvenirs at the end.

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Not far from Leysin is Gruyere, a medieval walled town with no traffic famous for its cheese and well worth going to for the castle. Inside, there is that indefinable fustiness of very old wood. Twisted ageless vines grow from the courtyard and entwine themselves around pillars as they stretch upwards. There is a permanence about this castle which appears to have grown from the rock on which it is built.

Outside in the cobbled street, sit and relax at one of the discreet little cafes. And if you must buy a souvenir, buy a Swiss chalet music box or a Swiss Army knife with a multitude of accessories ... as I did for my son, who promptly sliced himself open with it.

Gruyere lies north-east of Leysin in the canton of Fribourg.

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The obligatory Red Bull or Beer Chang T-shirt need not leave Thailand.

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Forget the tacky giftshops selling Mannekin Pis corkscrews - this charming little shop hidden in a side street behind the Grand Place is the place to come for thousands of postcards, posters, art books, CDs and other knick knacks relating to Belgium and Brussels.

50 Rue des Eperonniers, Brussels. www.plaizier.be/index.cfm?type=any&action=showpage

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I struggled to find any decent gifts for people back home. A pair of Haviana flipflops are always a good bet, about £2.50-£3 over there and £15 in the UK.

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Though the annual Pragati Maidan Trade Fair is much larger, and you can find far better quality at the Cottage Industries Emporium on Janpath, this little corner of Delhi is open all year round and is still a great place to come for gift shopping at fair prices. What’s more, it’s a good chance to sample a wide range of regional cuisines from Kashmiri to Bengali at the safe, well-run yet cheap food stands.

South Extension area, near ring road interchange

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It is not easy to find good quality and distinctly North Korean souvenirs, particularly since you don't get much chance to wander around away from the prying eyes of your guide. A superb souvenir would be one of the lapel pins featuring Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il (or both). The quality is nothing to shout about, but it's a valuable keepsake because it is in theory illegal to get your hands on it. I didn't manage to, but it is definitely worth a shot.

A runner-up gift would be other pins and badges featuring the Arirang festival or other commemorative events (such as the 2000 North-South Summit). The dolls of North Korean ladies should be a last resort. If you happen to take the train out to Dandong, China, you would be able to find nice albums featuring commemorative stamps from North Korea. A tacky but generally well-received present to those at home.

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This shop on the edge of the Baixa, near the Sé, sells an excellent range of ceramics, linen, figurines etc from all over Portugal. The hand-painted clay figures from the north are delightful. Not especially cheap, but probably the best place in Lisbon to buy well-chosen handicrafts.

Rua da Madalena, 87;
tel 21 88 72 031;
www.santosoficios-artesanato.pt/index.htm

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This creation of the Mastic Producers Union of Chios looks more like a jewellers than anything else, but the valuable products it sells are all made using the therapeutic and invigorating resin of the mastic tree from the island of Chios, birthplace of Homer.

Chios' Mastic is a unique product, granted a PDO (protected destination of origin) from the European Union.

6 Panepistimiou Street & Kriezotou Street, Syntagma; tel: 210 363 2750;

Athens airport: Main Terminal/Departures/Intra Schengen Area
www.mastihashop.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastic

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Thousands of photographs: everywhere you turn there’s a photo opportunity.

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