One of the favorite gifts that I bought home and I wish I had bought many more, are the lovely handmade paper "money envelopes" that I have only seen in India and are made for guests to give money to brides and grooms. They come in packs of five and every person I gave them to as a gift was thrilled. They all have pretty gold ties with beads and sparkles, cost only a couple dollars and take up no room. I bought them at "Wrap it up" in Delhi at 1 Hauz Khas Village. I put money in three of them as graduation presents to my nieces this year and they all remarked that they loved the envelope as much as the money--I told them I would remember that next time LOL. It isn't something you think of as a present, but everyone gives money to relatives and friends for holidays, weddings and graduations. The US money envelopes are so ugly. The Indian ones are delightful.

Those little envelopes are really nice. Good suggestion for a unique purchase that, as you said, takes up NO space at all. I have several that were given to me with money. I keep them just because they are so pretty.

Oh....more suggestions............EXCELLENT! Very good ideas.

I will look for these envelopes. Of course we "spread" them all over the place and might take them also to Africa to hand out the tips for guide and trackers. Sounds so much nice than just the cash or lodge stationary.

The leather journals as well sound interesting.

What about Pashmina shawls?
Have you bought very good quality in India?

SV

Pashmina is a tricky purchase. Shawls sold by the street vendors are probably a wool mixture and not worth your money.

If you go into a nicer store, the choices may be of better quality and more likely to be pure pashmina.

Things to check are:
1) the softness of the shawl. Pashmina is super soft.
2) the design part of the embroidery should be made of tiny stitches that are 2 to 3 mm in size and it should be very clean work even on the reverse side,
3) hold the shawl up to a light and look at the even-ness of the weave. It should be mostly even and the spaces within the weave should be small. If the weave is mostly uneven and there are many areas of larger holes in the weave, it's of lower quality,
4) open the shawl up and check that it is a nice rectangle and not mis-shapen.
5) very good pashminas are not cheap these days, even in India. The more embroidery there is and the more intricate the design will increase the cost (assuming the overall shawl is also of good quality). Don't be surprised to see prices of 20,000 to 40,000 rupees.

Look at shawls at different stores and you will start to see/feel the difference in quality - then made your decision.

If you buy any pashmina, store them at home inside a cotton pillowcase in your drawer to keep the moths away. Moths don't eat cotton, so your shawl is protected. Take it out now and then to "air" and then back into the pillow case.

Keep it away from jewelry or anything rough that will cause a snag while wearing it.

Jaya

Thank you very much for your advise! Very much appreciated!

I'll take a hard copy of all the suggestions/advises with me in order to not miss any bit of information!

Good bye.........will leave on 27 and there is lots to do.

SV

Happy Shopping and safe travels.