Outsized Shoes

[Big Boy]

One of the problems I always knew that I was going to face when moving to Thailand was buying new shoes. My feet are a very wide UK size 14. I doubt whether you will find many Thais (or Farang for that matter) with a similar requirement in Thailand. I was resigned to either having footwear made, or mail order.

I did find some reasonably priced Adidas flip flops in Market Village that did the trick, but they are not ideal for all occasions.

Somebody suggested I try the factory outlets. So off we went......

First stop was the Fly Now outlet just North of Hua Hin. I was very disappointed with this place - most things seemed seriously over-priced, and they certainly did not cater for the larger man. The largest footwear they did was UK size 11.

We then moved up to Cha-Am's Premium Outlet Village (just North of Cha-Am). This was more like it - just like the Outlet Villages I knew in the UK. Prices were reasonable as well. There wasn't a huge selection of shoes to fit me, but there were enough to make me have to choose what I wanted. I bought 2 pairs - total cost 3,870 Baht. I'd already checked out the cost of shipping something similar from USA to Thailand, and it would have cost $192 - quite a considerable saving.

The village also had quite a selection of designer clothes that would have fitted me (not that I wanted any).

For anybody needing larger sizes (with Western quality), I fully recommend Cha-Am's Premium Outlet Village - it's certainly on Big Boy's 'don't forget' list.

[advocate]

Big Boy, those are some seriously big feet you have there! You did mention you are a what we call a double wide, or EE, and so am I. I'm nowhere near your size, but still, my 11 double wide is not easy to find.

Any idea if they carry double wide sizes?

[Big Boy]

I don't I'm afraid. However, my feet are pretty wide, and they got me sorted. There were a lot of shops selling a lot of shoes - I'm sure you'd find something.

[advocate]

Thanks Big Boy, I will check it out as I am in definite need of a couple of new pairs.

[Big Boy]

I was pleasantly surprised - I hope that I'm not sending you on a fruitless mission. Let us know how you get on.

[migrant]

13 extra wide here!!