Our tourist guide brought our group to Doota! Mall and said that this tourist-friendly shopping mall has more English-speaking retailers, so we wouldn’t have trouble haggling for lower prices. Our tour group was overwhelmed as we stepped out of our bus! It was a Saturday and the streets were packed with locals and foreigners alike, with a band playing rock music outside the mall.

After the tourist guide informed us of our shopping time limit, I rushed inside Doota! Mall with my mom and grandma. You can’t imagine how disoriented I was when I stepped inside. More than seven floors, with over 50 stores per floor, full of shops! I did my rounds first, checking out the clothes and the price range before buying anything (a shopper’s rule.) Victorian blouses and coats, ruffled tops, long-sleeved polos with cameos, suede and velour vests, full, biased skirts filled the first and second floors. One full floor was dedicated to bags, belts and shoes. I just love their shoes! Although a bit pricey, they only have limited number of shoes per design, making yours almost close to unique.

After much haggling (with the use of either a calculator or my fingers), and convincing them that I wasn’t Japanese (although I look like one), but a Chinese who lives in the Philippines, I was able to make some really good purchases. Check out what these fab finds: