A Shopper’s Guide to Treasures in Asia
亞洲旅遊購物挖寶指南
By Stephanie Rosenbloom

What is the one must-have souvenir for travelers in Asia? I asked experts from Tokyo to Bangkok. Below is a guide composed of their picks:
哪些是觀光客周遊亞洲必買的紀念品？我詢問了從東京到曼谷的專家。以下是綜合他們選擇的一份指南。

Where: Vietnam
地點：越南

What: The Non La, the palm-leaf conical hat, is perhaps the most common tourist must-have, said Sandy Ferguson, the owner of Asia Desk, a travel consultancy and tour company. The Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City is the best place to buy one. But Mr. Ferguson said his favorite souvenir is handmade Vietnamese silk embroidery. “These are people who sit on one piece for a month and a half,” he said of the artisans who produce the silk embroidery. If you’re intrigued, he suggests checking out the textiles from XQ, which has multiple locations in Vietnam.
商品：旅遊咨詢和旅遊公司「亞洲服務台」老闆珊迪．佛格森說，以棕櫚葉編成的圓錐形斗笠或許是最常見，觀光客必買的紀念品。胡志明市的濱城市場是買頂斗笠的最佳地點。但是佛格森說他的最愛是手工越南絲綢刺繡。他提及製作這些絲繡的工匠說：「這些人得坐上一個月才能完成一件。」若你感興趣，他建議尋找XQ刺繡藝術公司生產的紡織品，它在越南有許多門市。

Cost: Mr. Ferguson said $200 to $400 will get you a beautiful piece.
價格：佛格森說，花200到400美元即可買到一件美麗的刺繡。

Where: Tokyo
地點：東京

What: Nancy Craft, a travel planner with Esprit Travel & Tours, suggests picking up tenugui, which she describes as “smooth and soft woven cotton hand towels that are printed with beautiful and interesting designs.” Long, narrow and unhemmed, “they are an essential in Japanese life,” she said. Ms. Craft said you can find simple tenugui in Japanese mom and pop shops, department stores, temples and shrines. In Tokyo, she recommends browsing a store called Blue and White in Azabu Juban.
商品：旅遊公司「艾斯普里特旅遊與觀光」的旅遊顧問南西．克拉夫特建議購買手拭巾，她以「印有美麗、有趣圖案，光滑、柔軟的棉質手巾」形容這些毛巾。她說，這些窄長形，沒有褶邊的毛巾，是「日本生活的必需品」。克拉夫特說，你可以在日本的小雜貨店或百貨公司、寺廟、神社找到簡單的手拭巾。在東京，她建議逛逛在麻布十番的「藍白商店」。

Cost: About $5 to $20, Ms. Craft said.
價格：克拉夫特說，約5到20美元。

Where: Jaipur, India
地點：印度齋浦爾

What: This city is “widely regarded as the gem stone capital of the world,” Victoria Dyer, a founder of India Beat, a travel company specializing in customized itineraries, said in an email from Jaipur. More than 50,000 stonecutters work in the city, Ms. Dyer said. Whether you’re drawn to emeralds or Polki diamonds, she recommends visiting the Gem Palace. “Shopping here is really fun,” Ms. Dyer wrote, “and if you go upstairs to the cutting and polishing rooms you can see the jewelry being painstakingly handcrafted.”
商品：「印度躍動」旅行社專門提供客製行程，創辦人維多利亞．戴爾在寄自齋浦爾的電子郵件中說，這個城市「是眾所週知的世界寶石之都」。戴爾說，在這個城市工作的寶石切割匠超過5萬人。無論吸引你的是翡翠或是未切割寶石原礦，她建議上「寶石宮」逛逛。戴爾寫到：「在這裡購物真好玩，上樓到切割和拋光室，還可看到珠寶如何靠手工雕琢而成。」

Cost: According to Ms. Dyer, a nice emerald piece might start about $1,000.
價格：戴爾說，漂亮翡翠一件約1000美元起跳。

Where: Hong Kong
地點：香港

What: Executives at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong had several shopping recommendations beyond the hotel’s own rose petal jam, which was created a quarter of a century ago and can’t be bought anywhere else in the world. The chief concierge, Indira Pun, recommends taking home cakes of tea, lightly scented, from local purveyors, available at shops in the Sheung Wan district of Hong Kong island. The Mandarin’s executive guest relations manager, Danny Lai, suggests shopping for a three-piece suit, which can be made to fit in less than two days (try Lord’s Tailor on Connaught Road), while the executive chef Uwe Opocensky recommends visiting Man Wa Lane for a personalized marble chop, or seal, with your name, insignia or other design hand-carved on it.
商品：香港「文華東方」酒店的高管，除了推薦酒店自家已有25年歷史，且別處沒得買的玫瑰花瓣果醬，還有其他數個建議。飯店禮賓部經理英迪拉．潘建議帶散發淡淡香氣的茶餅回家，可在香港島上環區商店，向當地供應商購買。飯店賓客關係行政經理丹尼．黎建議購買三件頭西裝，兩天內可製好試穿（可試試干諾道的「老爺裁縫」），行政主廚烏韋．歐波森斯基建議到文華里刻個大理石章或印章，可刻自己姓名、徽章或其他圖案，全為手工刻製。

Cost: Chops are around $20, depending on the design and material, according to Edwina Kluender, director of communications at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong. Custom-made suits vary greatly in price, but Ms. Kluender said a three-piece suit starts at about $1,000.
價格：香港文華東方公關主任艾德溫娜．克魯安德說，一顆章子約20美元，視圖案與材質而定。訂製西裝價差極大，但她說，三件頭西裝每套約1000美元起跳。

Where: Bangkok
地點：曼谷

What: You’ll find nice leather as well as silk textiles in Bangkok, but Mr. Ferguson of Asia Desk said his favorite things to buy are mo hom – vibrant, indigo hand-dyed cotton shirts traditionally worn by farmers. They resemble denim but are much lighter in weight.
商品：在曼谷，你可找到不錯的皮革與絲綢，但「亞洲服務台」的佛格森說，他最喜歡購買的是「莫洪姆」傳統服裝。它是看來充滿活力、靛藍色的手染棉衫，傳統上是農民的服裝。布料類似牛仔布，但輕得多。

Cost: Good-quality mo hom cost about $20.
價格：好的「莫洪姆」一件約20美元。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/travel/a-shoppers-guide-to-asia.html

2015-03-17聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 王麗娟譯 原文參見紐時週報十一版下