Manufacturers are now producing high quality goods. They are good because they are not mass produced for world consumption

4. Kuala Lumpur

Getting around: 6 Value: 10 Variety: 8 Experience: 6 Total: 30
Sometimes bigger really is better.
That's the prevailing shopper's ethic in Kuala Lumpur, anyway.
Three of the world's 10 largest malls are in KL, including 1 Utama, the world's fourth-largest mall with more than 650 shops, Asia's largest indoor rock climbing facility, massive rooftop garden with 500 species of exotic plants and indoor rainforest with koi ponds and freshwater aquarium.
KL's impressive score comes from its winning combination of high quality shopping, affordable prices and reliable sales, which can stretch for several months. This year's Year-End-Sale, from November 10 to January 1, is just one doozy of an example.
Whip out the plastic at:
1 Utama, 1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama City Centre, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan; [phone]; open daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Local designer Peter Hoe's store in KL's historical building: Peter Hoe Beyond, 145 Jaan Tun HS Lee, Kuala Lumpur, [phone], open daily 10 a.m.- 7 p.m.
Quirky Brown Cow, Lot 23-1, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur; [phone], Monday-Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Insider Travel Guide: Get to know Kuala Lumpur

3. London

Getting around: 6 Value: 6 Variety: 10 Experience: 9 Total: 31
London prices can destroy your will to live. And that's just the cab fare to get to the shopping areas. But get over the sticker shock and you'll probably agree with its Globe Shopper Index ranking as top European shopping city and its Donegar Group nod as the world's top fashion shopping destination.
The Globe Shopper City Index notes that London outstrips all the other European cities in both the quantity of shops and availability of international and local brands.
London shopping at its best is bold, eclectic and international. Case in point: department store Liberty.
Liberty may have a Tudor-style exterior and fireplaces, but its stock is contemporary and cool, encompassing in-house designer stationary, clever kitchen accessories to upstage your neighbors and clothes from a select pool of local and international designers.
Of course, you might end up with a £245 (US$390) Mathieu Challières Mini Volière Bird Cage Table Lamp, but that's the black magic of a wonderful shop -- it inspires you to buy things you never knew existed.