Marleen Naipal scoops up another pot of face cream, glances at the price tag, and tips it into her bulging basket of cosmetic products.

But this is no ordinary shopping splurge: Naipal has taken a 400-kilometre round-trip in a coach to Germany from the Netherlands, where the high cost of living is poised to be a major factor in October 29 elections.

“We came all the way from Rotterdam to Bocholt (in Germany) for a day of shopping because it is just so much cheaper than in the Netherlands,” the 53-year-old hair stylist told AFP.

“I think some products are half the price, then the day trip is definitely worth it,” she said, with tickets for the “shopbus” costing around 40 euros ($45).

She is not alone. When AFP joined the trip, Dutch bargain-hunters boarded in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Ut

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