It is just a good excuse for backtracking to Theingi Zei, which covers an area of more than four street blocks between Anawrahta and Mahabandoola. With such scope for idling they will certainly be able to spend several more hours fingering the textiles before making a decision. Besides, if the desired fabric still eludes them they can console themselves with some Myanmar taywah shampoo or buy some thanakha. 

However, it's tiring work this shopping. Perhaps a snack would be in order. Here again the choice is enormous. Should one patronise one of the roadside cafes or go to a more exclusive eatery? Will it be noodles or a dish of salad or something sweet? Indeed, as Sunday is a holiday and we have plenty time, a visit to Shwe Pu Zun near Lammadaw might be in order. Not only can one find a range of the best cakes in Yangon here, but there is also an excellent selection of ice-cream flavours. Who would guess that under its massive golden prawn sign such delicacies are for sale? Yet, despite masquerading as a fish shop, this is one of the best patisseries this side of Hong Kong. 

After a snack, it is back to shopping. Why not go for some fashionable footwear, some wedge-soled slippers as featured in the TV commercial? But, where should one go? There are so many shops. In addition, on every street footpath-vendors spread their wares; pairs of fashionable slippers lie next stacks of kitchen utensils. Whilst looking for German crockery recently I actual saw some exquisite Malaysian sandals. Where was it exactly? Was it downtown near Sule or was it in Hladen? I definitely remember seeing the pair I wanted lurking next some bicycle gears. Were I not a real shopper, I would be totally confused and feel a neurotic crisis coming on. Still that is not a problem either, as the shopping hypochondriac can find plenty palliatives in Yangon. A trip to any pharmacy will soon assuage all symptoms. 

Throughout the city there are enough chemists and pharmacies to ensure a constant supply of tonics and vitamins to the most health-obsessed of individuals. All kinds of treatments and placebos, both eastern and western, are available. Moreover, should you be an afficinado of the sub-continent you need not go without your ayurvedic potions. 

For the total experience one just has to slip downtown to the area around the lower blocks of 26th Street where the apothecaries are busy with their mortars and pestles. There, one will certainly find a nerve tonic. If toothache is a bother, quickly purchase a vial of clove oil; lassitude calls for ginseng; for inadequacies of a more personal nature, you can consume snake blood, gingko leaf, and possibly you may be offered Viagra. There is a cure for every affliction. Here is a calmative, which might do the trick for the over zealous shopper, and it can be consumed either as soup or tea. Now, that is what I call choice. 

Scattered staying with health? Should one check one's eyes? This could be the true test for a shopper. Indeed, I have come out of certain European opticians vowing to remain short-sighted, and I have lived in towns where an eye test meant thick lens and granny glasses. Not so in Yangon, where I can purchase Raybans, Dior frames and the latest trendy shades. The place to go is Shwe Bontha Street. Here, every alternative shop offers everything from soft lens to wrap-round goggles in a variety of designs. Moreover, they are certainly cheaper than anything to be had in Harley Street or Tokyo. And talking of Japan, brings me to super-markets. 

Where can one find a connoisseur's selection of seaweed and spices, cooking utensils and rice –steamers, green tea and dragon claw cough sweets? Go to the Japanese supermarket in Golden Valley. No ex-pat need crave wafer thin crackers or crunchy appetisers as eaten in Osaka. Should you have more basic needs and want to stock up on bottled water or cellophane wrapped tomatoes then drive to City Mart or Eight Mile where you find yourself being seduced by the Malaysian teas on offer. A raft of Chinese spices and sweet plums, however, will distract you from the Scott's Porridge Oats you set out to buy.

I could go on and on. Books, CDs, hair attachments, neck ties, mobile phones, tumble driers, brassieres and Beethoven cassettes, second-hand books, golf clubs, Marmite, silk saris and embroidered waistcoats, I have seen them all on my way home from work. All around me, consumer goods, seductive and inviting, beckon and entice. 

Satellite Dishes are seen on almost every rooftop. One chap said that he could tune into 200 channels and watches the news on CNN, ABC and live football from Australia. Hell, what more do you want. Each day the consumer in me says, 'Next time, I shall pop in and buy that!'

Fortunately, by the time I do, the coveted object has disappeared, and I can hang onto my hard-earned kyat (local currency). Nevertheless, that is why I think Yangon (Rangoon) is a shopper's paradise.

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