Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [205]
If you have made a purchase and want to send it home, it’s best to have the shop make all the arrangements for you. Keep the receipt and let your guide know what you are doing so they can follow up in case the package does not arrive. Send all parcels by air; sea mail, via Kolkata, takes several months.
DHL ( 02-324730; dhl@druknet.bt; Thori Lam, Thimphu) provides efficient international courier service to and from Bhutan. There are several smaller courier companies that specialise in service to India.
Receiving Mail
The best way to receive mail is to have it sent to the post office box of the Bhutanese tour operator that is handling your trip. Unless you are on a long trek, you will probably not be in Bhutan long enough for a letter to reach you.
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SHOPPING
Bhutan boasts a variety of handicrafts. Until recently, nothing in Bhutan was made especially for sale to tourists and it was possible to find high-quality arts and crafts almost everywhere. Now there is a fair amount of tourist schlock on offer; one of the worst places for this is alongside the trail to Taktshang Goemba. A few creative souvenir items, such as Dragon Kingdom T-shirts, coin purses shaped like bangchung (round covered bamboo baskets) and mini atsara (clown) masks are available.
There are many handicraft shops in Thimphu and Paro, and most hotels have a shop selling Bhutanese crafts. As you shop, remember that it is illegal (and immoral) to export antiques.
Some of the crafts sold in Bhutan are actually made in Nepal or India; if in doubt, ask. Most shopkeepers will be honest with you, and your guide can probably offer some independent advice.
Thangkas
Thangkas are Buddhist paintings, usually on canvas. Traditionally, they are mounted on a background of brocade and hung by a dowel sewn across the top. You can also buy an unmounted painting and roll it up to take home. If you buy an expensive one and don’t want it damaged in your luggage, stop at a hardware shop and get a short length of plastic pipe to protect it. Prices vary tremendously, with small paintings made by students selling for Nu 500 and large mounted thangkas starting at Nu 30,000. The price depends on size, quality of work and detail.
Textiles
Hand-woven fabric is the most traditional and useful item you can buy in Bhutan. The quality is almost always good, but the price will vary depending on the intricacy of the design and whether any expensive imported silk was used in the weaving. Hand-woven fabric is sold in ‘loom lengths’ that are 30cm to 45cm wide and 2.5m to 3m long. Bhutanese sew three of these lengths together to make the traditional dress of gho and kira. You can find handmade cloth in the Khaling handloom project in eastern Bhutan (Click here), in handicraft shops or in ordinary fabric shops. Also check out the National Textile Museum, the Gagyel Lhundrup Weaving Centre and the Handicrafts Emporium in Thimphu. Indian machine-made cloth, in a variety of Bhutanese designs, is also sold at a price far lower than handmade cloth.
Hand-woven woollen cloth is also available. Yathras are lengths of rough woollen cloth that can be sewn together to make sweaters, scarves or blankets. A length costs Nu 1000 to 3000, depending on the tightness of the weave and whether wool or cotton threads were used for the weft. The best place to shop for yathras is in Zungney in Bumthang’s Chhume valley (Click here).
Other Items
Brass statues and Buddhist ritual items, such as prayer wheels, bells, cymbals, trumpets and dorjis (stylised thunderbolts) are available from handicraft shops and at the weekend market in Thimphu (Click here).
Jewellery and other silver items are best purchased from a reputable shop or from the artisans themselves. Much of the low-priced silverwork sold in Bhutan is actually made in Nepal from white metal.
If you have lots of space in your luggage, you can choose from a variety of carved wooden pieces. Useful items such as picture frames and furniture are available, as are wooden