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Travel<br />
Thamel, a commercial neighbourhood in Kathmandu<br />
Thamel is a shopping mecca for tourists<br />
as it is one continuous strip of souvenir<br />
shops selling everything from tie-dye<br />
T-shirts and gemstones to antique butter<br />
churns and Tibetan Buddhist dance<br />
masks. Most importantly, it is the most<br />
recommended neighbourhood to buy<br />
trekking gears. Numerous stores around<br />
Kathmandu sell knock-off trekking gear<br />
of varying quality with locally made<br />
trekking boots and waterproof gears<br />
ending up being poor investment, but<br />
good quality fleeces are available for<br />
bargain prices.<br />
Thamel is also popular among the locals<br />
for non-designer clothes that are<br />
comfortable and inspired by the hippie<br />
culture. Casual jeans and t-shirt, trekking<br />
clothes and equipment, artifacts, CDs,<br />
bags and fascinating cultural trinkets will<br />
always be on sale.<br />
Apart from these trinkets, the stores here<br />
also sell an abundant supply of pashmina<br />
shawls, khukuris (a Nepalese knife) and<br />
Thangka (a rare painting) which are all local<br />
products and would often come cheap.<br />
However, if you're looking to buy genuine<br />
trekking gears, head on over to Tridevi<br />
Marg for brand-name stores. One such<br />
famous store at this street is The North<br />
Face Nepal.<br />
Durbar Marg<br />
Meanwhile, south of<br />
Thamel, New Road is<br />
lined with camera<br />
stores selling highspec<br />
equipment at<br />
reasonable prices.<br />
One key thing to<br />
observe while<br />
shopping at Thamel<br />
and its surrounding<br />
areas is that you<br />
should wear your<br />
bargaining hat! The<br />
shopkeepers will be<br />
ready to bargain and<br />
so should you.<br />
Durbar Marg is also known as King's<br />
Way among the international crowd as<br />
the street leads to the former Royal<br />
Palace of Narayanhiti. Do keep an eye<br />
out for fake trekking gears. It does not<br />
mean it is bad, it just means the original<br />
manufacturer did not produce it. Also,<br />
trekking clothing is often made within<br />
the Kathmandu valley from the same<br />
material the branded manufacturers buy<br />
in China. In this aspect, quality of build<br />
is what you should look for.<br />
A UNESCO<br />
World Heritage<br />
Site, Boudhanath<br />
is a great place<br />
for shopping too!<br />
Boudhanath is just a five minutes’ walk<br />
away from the Hyatt Regency hotel in<br />
Kathmandu. The Boudhanath Stupa, a<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located<br />
in Boudha and is a religious centre for<br />
Buddhists. Surrounding the Stupa are<br />
many different monasteries belonging<br />
to different Buddhist sects. Most visitors<br />
go to the Stupa for sightseeing and<br />
shopping. Items that can be picked up<br />
include Tibetan handicraft, gems,<br />
jewellery and Thankas. The area is open<br />
24 hours a day and shops close at 7pm.<br />
There are loads of shops<br />
selling trekking gear<br />
Lastly, Baber Mahal Revisited is a neoclassical<br />
Rana palace that has been<br />
redeveloped to house clothing stores,<br />
designer galleries, handicraft stores and<br />
food outlets. With the country's second<br />
biggest tourist souvenir market being<br />
handicrafts, why not purchase a 'singing<br />
bowl'? These heavy metal bowls are used<br />
to produce a high pitched sound when<br />
the rim is rubbed in a circular manner<br />
which causes a vibration. The vibrations<br />
from singing bowls are said to have<br />
healing properties.<br />
Singing bowls don't actually sing!<br />
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