Miss_Lynne

My husband will be on a business trip in Sri Lanka within the next couple of days. He has asked what I would like him to bring back for me - within reason, ha. I would like some earrings so I've suggested jewellery to him. Does anyone have any recommendations for somewhere near the Colombo Plaza that would be reasonable, reputable and close to his hotel? Anything else that I should suggest for him to bring back? I saw tea and spices?

Cicerone

Sorry I don't know any specific jewellers in Colombo. The best source of suggestions would be Sri Lankan or Indian colleagues or business associates who live in Colombo, and if possible, he should bring them along to help in the bargaining. If there is any way you can do some comparison shopping in the US now for what you might like, that might help as it would give your husband an idea of what you would like and, more importantly, how good a deal he may be getting in Colombo. He should definitely bargain hard.

I think he will find that much of the gold jewellery will be at least 18 karats or higher, which is more yellow than most Westerners are used to, and does not look as nice against Caucasian skin as it does against Indian, African American or olive skin, IMO, so bear that in mind.

Tea and spices are a great thing to bring back. There are many tea varieties, I think the only thing he would not find is the Japanese type of green tea, but I could be wrong on that. He should be able to find cardamom and other spices easily and very cheaply. Any spice associated with Indian cooking should be easy to find, if you like curry, ask him to get you a masala mix. You can get cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg as well. I believe you can also get a good buy on vanilla, but I am unsure if you can bring pods in the US. I think most spices have to be dried, i.e. no fresh leaves. I believe seeds which can germinate are also prohibited. To avoid any problems, he should declare whatever agriculture products he is bringing. Take a look at the guide put together by the US Customs Services at customs.ustreas.gov/travel or the website for the US Department of Agriculture at or visit www.aphis.usda.gov/travel

Miss_Lynne

I've been trying to find online sources for jewellery and haven't been able to find much. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank-you for the tips!

Archeeey

Hey sorry I couldn?t reply earlier there was something wrong with my comp. Well there are plenty of places where your husband can get good jewelry from. Incidentally the Colombo Plaza is adjoined to the most exclusive shopping center of the country knows as Crescat Boulevard. Though nothing much compared to the shopping centers in other parts of the world, this is the place where people come to get the good jewelry and watches. There are a few shops who are the authorized agents for most of the popular designer jewelry..Ck..Gucci Dior and so on?and there are some local places that are popular just for the women?s jewelry. But I don?t think the prices are that flattering and you can probably get just the same, if not better stuff where you live. Sri Lanka is suppose to be famous for Gems, but not necessarily Jewelry. I mean there is a wide choice jewelry outlets and I?ll be glad to give out the names of the popular ones. And don?t worry, Colombo is a small place and it won?t take that much time for him to go to a shop even at the other end of the City. Plaza is a good hotel. All the good hotels in the Capital has a lot of shops in them, but I think the Plaza is the best placed among them. Hope I didn?t reply too late. Just tell me what u need to know..I happen to live here

Archeeey

Tea of course wont be a problem. Most of the Hotels have outlets selling what tourist seek when it comes to tea. And by the way why are their question marks appearing all over my last post? Sorry about them... Its not me who put them there

Miss_Lynne

Thank-you very much for your assistance. I had an email from him and someone did help him buy me a gift. I can hardly wait to see.