On the last day of our trip to Nepal, we were given the option of either having a lie-in and then start the 4 hour bus journey to Kathmandu airport and head straight home, or get up at the unearthly hour of 4AM and drive to Kathmandu and do some shopping at the markets and visit the temple there. Although the lie-in option was tempting after 6 days of early starts, the thought of spending some money and getting some gorgeous little pieces that no-one else has in Kathmandu was too much, so I opted for the latter.
Kathmandu is a very strange place, especially for me being from England... I've never really experienced poverty before so it was a huge eye-opener driving through the capital and seeing the conditions that people in Nepal live in... I expected the market to be a haggling heaven, I'm used to the notorious Dolce & Karama of Dubai (not anymore, I don't do fakes), and my expectations were not wrong as they really will try and sell you a piece of shit for ridiculous prices. I managed to haggle my way down a few items and must admit I did get a bit carried away... it's so easy to spend money when you have no idea how much you're spending (Nepalese Rupees are confusing, okay!) ... In all fairness most items were pretty cheap, I only realised this once we'd left the market and felt bad for forcing people to sell me things for peanuts... but oh well, I love a bargain!!
It's mainly little souvenirs and tacky jewelry that is sold at the markets but I love my jewelry so I couldn't resist a few little items!
My favourite items are probably the gold bracelet with Nepalese writing on it (don't ask me what it means, I tried to question the man selling it and got no-where, but it looks cool) & the pendant necklace with the face on it. I think it's a Hindu design but it's hard to question the market sellers as it's so hectic and I constantly had people coming up to me trying to sell me shit, so what with fending them off and trying to settle on a decent price it was quite hard to understand anything about the actual item, first impressions were vital and I just went for it!
I love stacking bracelets and the three black and white ones are perfect, they hang just right. The rosary bead-type necklace was just a bit of a random buy but I liked it and think it will go nice with a plain outfit, vee-neck tee and chinos is what I'm thinking.
Now, aside from jewelry, I couldn't help but add to my Buddha collection (I only actually have on Buddha so I more or less started my Buddha collection), but they're so cute and apparently good luck. I love Buddhism, I've researched it and I just find it the most peaceful religion and I agree with their values.
My mum said the lime green one was disgusting and it's staying in my room but I think it's so cute! Ah I love them! And they just brighten everything up and make a room look a lot more interesting...
I really couldn't help my last purchase...
Introducing... The Karma Sutra.
These kill me, just a little souvenir to remind me of my time in Nepal. I encountered a horrendous experience at Kathmandu airport however, I didn't realise they personally search all your hand luggage and when the security man pulled this one out I could have died, making matters worse he decided to show it to the rest of his colleagues, while I stood there slowly dying... not good. Then I literally shat myself as I realised that pornographic material is not allowed in through Dubai customs... I hid my trusty Karma Sutra and got away with it!
Sorry if there's a lot read... Well done if you've got right down here without falling asleep!
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