Islamabad Shopping Tips by lachydragon Top 5 Page for this destination

Along the Abpaara District: Picking up Fabric as gifts Pakistani Dress Review

Any of the fabric stores - you can tell them by the rolls and rolls of material standing outside and lining every wall of the shops!

What to buy: I wanted to pick up some Paikstani fabrics for Mum as a gift. Ray and I checked out the fabric shops which seemed to be pretty prolific in the Abpaara district near our hotel (Ambassador Hotel- See Accommodation tip). I had some trouble communicating that I only wanted singe lengths of fabric and not a three piece women's shalwar qamiz, but managed to shop around enough to find shops who had no problems selling single lengths of fabric. I was looking for some designs which had a more traditional Pakistani look to them but had a bit of trouble as most of the fashions are using imported fabrics from South-East Asia.....it took a bit of searching but I found some great pieces that Mum was thrilled to receive!

What to pay: I picked up lengths of about 3 metres for around 100-300 Rupees. It varies greatly with the kind of material.

Address: Abpaara District (south of the City)

Theme: Gifts

Chen One & lots of others: Buy a Shalwar Qamiz (Kameez etc....) Pakistani Dress Review

I bought a great Shalwar Qamiz in the Chen-One store at the Jinnah market, we were taken to one shop by one of the shopkeepers (who seemed to own a gift shop- with no clothes in sight) and then he went off to find appropriate items from another shop for us. This wasn't to do, so we set off to find a dedicated shop selling clothing. We eventually found one and I tried on a few items, the pants are sold without elastic and the shop owner then fitted an appropraite piece of elastic for my waist size.

What to pay: Now this was my first attempt at purchasing in Pakistan and I was struggling a bit with the bargaining. The price tag has Rs.1200 on it and after some consternation I got it down to 950, an amount I was more happy with considering I was hoping to get some change from my Rs.1000 note!

Please don't tell me I paid too much, but you will have to work these things out for yourself - you can probably do a better job with the bargaining, I am such a pacifist that I really struggle!

Directions: Chen-One, Jinnah Market, F7, Islamabad

correct me if there is a better way to express this address!

Theme: Men's Clothes

Jinnah & Super Markets Super Market Review

Ray and I haunted the area around the Jinnah and Super Markets. THese were basically two large shopping squares with all range of shops from post office to public telephone services to bookshops, food outlets and souvenir shops.

I particularly liked the idea of the "Chen One" store which had a penguin as its logo - a bit of wishful thinking in the 38 degree dry heat of an Islamabad summer! I vaguely remember the post office being in the 'Super' Market.

What to buy: We just did general shopping for stuff we would need on the trekking trip. There were a few good pharmacies in the Markets where we picked up stuff like eye drops, calcium tablets, multivitamins and rehydration solutions......

As for more exciting shopping there were some souvenir shops with lots of silver and copperware, as well as carved marble pieces and flags etc.......

I also picked up a shalwar kameez in the Jinnah Market near Chen-One, these are the comfortable baggy pants and long shirts worn by all the pakistani men, just remember to drive a bargain or you will pay too much, bargaining didn't come naturally to me but I had a bit of a go!

Address: F7 and F6 Islamabad

Directions: I found the whole numbering system too confusing, but if you catch the taxis (see my transportation tip) then the drivers will know where you want to go if you tell them 'Jinnah' or Super.

Theme: Other