A couple shops for souvenirs at Bogyoke Aung San Market. Myanmar has plenty to offer tourists who are looking for attractive souvenirs to take home with them.

MYANMAR has plenty to offer tourists who are looking for attractive souvenirs to take home with them at the end of their vacations.

What better way to remember your stay in Myanmar than to take home a gem painting to hang on your wall? Or, why not shower your beloved with jewellery studded with precious gems, which can be purchased here at very reasonable prices? Or, you can surprise your friends with a beautiful handmade lacquerware box.

Tapestries woven by ethnic tribes such as the Kachin, Kayan or Chin; silk items such as shawls, neckties and dresses; and handmade woodcarvings, are also popular souvenir choices.

J’s Irrawaddy Dream

A wide array of top-quality handmade items including silk fabrics, lacquerware, paintings and antiques are available. Blouses, shirts, skirts, dresses and pants in one-off designs, made from high-quality Myanmar textiles are also for sale. It is also a good place to pick up a book on Myanmar as some rare editions are available. You should give yourself some time just to soak in the ambience of this shop and if you are not too rushed, a meal at the adjacent restaurant, which blends French and Myanmar influences into its superb dishes, is highly recommended.

Jane Phaw Mei Lay Cotton and Silk Shop

If you are looking for readymade cotton dresses from the Chin, Kachin or Shan states, and clothes made of silk, this shop is a must. Silk shawls and traditional bags are also available. Traditional Myanmar longyis and shawls are popular items with tourists, shop owner Daw Khin Mar Toe says.

MK Gems

Myanmar is well-known for its high-quality jade.

MK Gems offers captivating jewellery, incorporating rubies, jade and sapphires. It is also a good place to go for gem pictures made with semiprecious stones. High-quality woodcarvings are also available. Ko Kyaw Win of MK Gems says rubies and jade are most popular with tourists, but his sapphires find buyers among the most astute jewellery wearers.

Myanmar Arts and Handi-crafts Centre

If you are pressed for time and want to buy all your souvenirs in one stop, the Myanmar Arts and Handicrafts Centre is the place to go. About 50 shops in the centre sell everything from paintings and cutlery made from shells to gemstone pictures, tapestries, jade, lacquerware, woodcarvings, silverware and bronze products. Antique items such as figurines, boxes and traditional Myanmar harps can also be found. The centre has been open for around seven years and prices are very reasonable. “Not only tourists shop here but local people as well,” says the centre’s supervisor, Daw Yee Yee Chit. “Our customers especially like to buy lacquerware, shell products and gemstone pictures because they are easily portable,” she says.

Po Wa Cotton Shop

Pure cotton items such as longyis, skirts, shirts, blouses, shawls, handbags and hats can be purchased at Po Wa. Shop owner Ma May Moe Thu designs most of the items herself and is always updating her collection. She has become particularly renowned for the beautiful designs she paints onto her fabrics, especially flowers and pots. “Myanmar people who visit or work in other countries always buy our products to give to their foreign friends as presents,” a salesperson at the shop says. “They usually buy blouses, which can be matched with trousers or skirts. But handbags and shawls are also good to give as presents,” she says.

She Shines Gems and Jewellery

Loose gemstones along with jewellery can be purchased at She Shines Gems and Jewellery. This allows you to choose the gems you like from the shop’s extensive range, including diamonds, sapphires, pearls, rubies, emeralds and jade, and then have them set into any jewellery design that you like. You can even bring in your own gems for the in-house jewellery designers to set them into the bangle, necklace or ring of your choice. “Most of our customers are local people,” says Ma Thet, the marketing manager at She Shines. “But we have some regular foreign customers. We always put aside rare sapphires and rubies for them.”

Shwe Ingyinn Souvenir and Arts Gallery

Shwe Ingyinn Souvenir and Arts Gallery offers traditional longyis and dresses made of pure cotton, traditional slippers, lacquerware and a collection of antique textiles. Handicrafts such as beautiful boxes, spoons, forks and lockets made of shell make perfect presents for friends. Or, why not treat yourself? Almost all of the items sold in the shop are made at the adjacent gallery, with a small percentage of items, such as the slippers, bought from local manufacturers. “All of our products are made in Myanmar,” manager Ma Phue Pwint proudly says.

Sun and Moon Jewellery

Sun and Moon is another store offering precious and semiprecious gem jewellery. Even though local people do shop there, it is predominantly geared towards tourists. “We make a variety of designs and display different items in the shop because foreign customers have different tastes,” Sun and Moon’s Ma Shwe Zin Hlaing says.

Zawgyi House – The Myanmar Silk Shop

This shop’s products range from lacquerware to silk clothing, including a large collection of colourful silk neckties. The shop also boasts more than 100 different silk shawls. If you are a silk lover, this souvenir shop and café is a must and it is conveniently situated in the heart of the city.