What tea to bring from goa. What to bring from India

India is like a litmus test that reveals everything hidden in a person, hidden somewhere deep in the soul. We feel new aromas and tastes. We are impressed by the fluttering of multi-colored saris and the ringing of bracelets on the legs of graceful Indian women. We are pleased with fragrant masala tea, which is poured by a clever merchant on a crowded street. All these altars and countless deities with many arms, elephant trunks; dancing, sitting, singing and making amorous pleasures. India! She can be scolded for poverty and dirt - and at the same time admire the luxurious palaces. We can spend weeks studying the peculiarities of Indian cooking, comprehending the intricacies of ancient medicine - Ayurveda - or marveling at the courage and dexterity of the Kama Sutra postures. And how you want to take with you this feeling of India, those feelings and emotions that overwhelm us there, on the Hindustan peninsula. Today we will understand what is worth buying and bringing from India.

Most of the photos were taken at the market in Anjuna (Flea market in Anjuna). This is a resort town in North Goa. There you can not only shop, but also just have fun drinking fresh juices, trying new food, drawing mehendi on your hands and trying on new outfits. Another part of the photo is straight from Main Bazaar - the famous street in Delhi, where most backpackers stop. And a few more pictures - from Arambol, a creative village in the north of Goa, where you can buy designer jewelry.

Indian clothing

I will say right away that if you expect good quality and long wear from clothes in the Indian market, then this will not happen. Most things are cheap jersey, not particularly well cut and sewn. Yes, there are mini-hotels in Indian markets where you will see craftsmen behind sewing machines who will build shorts and trousers. But even they did not find worthy options.

The only thing that caught our attention was the clothes made by the Nepalese. If you like unusual sweaters and jackets, piece skirts or jumpsuits, you can look for such things in small shops.

Many tourists who come to Goa immediately put on local clothes. Aladdin pants, wrinkled linen shirts, shapeless dresses. Alas, as a rule, what looks good on vacation is completely inappropriate in Moscow or in spring Kyiv.

What kind of clothes to buy in India and not spend money in vain?

Kashmiri shawls- large warm scarves in delicate colors with oriental prints. In the market in Anjuna, they cost from 150 rupees ($2.5) to 600 ($10), depending on the material and quality.

Indian saris and punjabi(pants and shirt) - beautiful national clothes that you can wear to an Indian dinner party, Halloween or New Year's masquerade. An unusual outfit can also come in handy for photo shoots. It is unlikely that you will be walking around the streets of your hometown in a sari, so do not buy too many exotic dresses. And I also advise you to buy such things, after all, not in the markets, but in small shops where factory-made products are sold. They are strikingly different in quality from the market consumer goods, but also cost several times more.

Clothes for oriental dances. If you are a professional belly dancer or just like to arrange romantic evenings for your loved one, you will find very beautiful costumes in India.

Nepalese hats and scarves. Funny, bright and very warm, they are made of 100% yak wool.

Handmade leather bags. If you love bags and understand the quality of leather, then you can look at an unusual handbag that will be a worthy addition to your women's accessories collection.

As for fur coats, sheepskin coats, gloves and other things. If you are satisfied with such tailoring and quality, then the market in Anjuna is full of this goodness. Personally, I didn't like anything.

Indian cosmetics

If you leave me alone in an Indian cosmetics store and give me full carte blanche, then I will spend every penny and endure just half the store. There are many brands in India that produce cosmetics from natural ingredients. All those amla hair oils, neem cleansing toners, rose water, delicious fragrant cinnamon soap… I can talk endlessly about cosmetics! In great detail, I understood the most popular Indian brands, tried many things on myself, and as a result, a separate post appeared. Be sure to read it, there is a very useful life hack on how to buy Khadi luxury brand products for two to three times cheaper than the store price.

Indian medicines

Everyone has heard of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of medicine. With the help of special herbs, you can cleanse the body of toxins, purify the blood and skin, restore female health or male strength, strengthen the immune system and generally feel better.

In addition to Ayurvedic medicines, which are produced by world-famous pharmaceutical companies, it is worth buying ordinary medicines in India that you often use at home. The fact is that in India tablets and syrups are several times cheaper than in our country. How do you like cough syrup for one dollar, for example? Do these prices not exist? Happen in India.

All about Indian medicines, read in a separate post.

Indian jewelry

Handmade bracelets made of copper and brass, beads made of teeth and horns of animals. If you are a lover of unusual jewelry, then it will be interesting for you to wander among the malls in India.

However, beautiful jewelry, of really high quality and interesting, can be purchased not from Indians, but from expats at the evening flea market in. Finding it is very simple: traders sit right next to the circle where Sunset passes in Arambol.

This photo was taken at the Main Bazaar in Delhi.

Utensils made of silver and brass

There is no need to explain anything. If you like all these teapots, glasses, trays made of silver, copper, brass, nickel and chrome, then in India you can buy it relatively inexpensively. Just don't forget to bargain. Bargaining in India is an integral part of the purchase. To begin with, reduce the named price by three times and slowly add it with a mournful look.

When buying cookware, remember that some metals can be hazardous to health. Copper utensils destroy ascorbic acid and vitamins in fruits, and when food is stored for a long time, harmful free radicals are released from copper. When heated copper utensils, on which a patina (blue-green coating) has formed, harmful copper salts are released, which are not only dangerous, but poisonous and can cause serious poisoning.

Spicy dishes and vegetables should not be cooked in nickel cookware. From the acid found in fruits and vegetables, harmful salts are released from nickel. In general, it's best to avoid buying nickel-plated cookware.

Silverware has its pros and cons. Silver ions disinfect water and drinks, but at the same time, if you eat and drink exclusively from silver dishes for a long time, then these same ions will accumulate in the body and can negatively affect the nervous system, cause headaches or muscle pain.

Bedspreads, textiles

I really liked the Indian bedspreads. Hand embroidery, pretty decent quality. Prices for large bedspreads start at 1,200 rupees ($20). Of course, this is after half an hour of bargaining and "dancing with tambourines." The starting price is 4,000 rupees, and especially impudent sellers can ask for all 6,000 ($100).

Also, the market is full of bed linen and sheets, which in Goan houses are hung on windows and balconies, saving the home from the scorching sun. But when buying such things, carefully look at the quality. We bought a very unfortunate sheet that sheds a lot with every wash. However, it cost only 150 rupees ($2.5). But if you buy more expensive things, then it is better not to wash them in hot water. In India, no one washes at more than 30 degrees, and most dyes are simply not designed for higher temperatures.

Hammocks

Wicker, linen, coconut fiber, cotton ... There are many of them, in different colors and patterns. If you have a cottage, then buy without hesitation. In a city apartment, it will most likely lie on a shelf and be used only for picnic trips.

Figures, figurines, masks

Wooden, metal, ceramic. Here everyone chooses to their taste. Of course, you may encounter ugly scams in the markets in India. Often, ordinary clay figurines are given out for wooden figurines.

Believe me, the Indians can paint and sell them so that you will be sure that you are buying an expensive handmade wooden product. And only when a piece of a leg falls off from Ganesh or an elephant, you will understand how much you were mistaken. Choose wisely.

singing bowls

An interesting and mystical thing. If you are a fan of spiritual practices and meditations, then you can take a closer look at this curiosity. Vendors in the market will show you how to play the bowl and tell you how its vibrations improve the emotional and physical state of the wearer.

Musical instruments

"Buy a drum, well, buy a drum, good price, buy a drum!" - if you are going to have a rest in Goa, then this phrase will haunt you all the time. On the beach, in the market and just on the street. Drum dealers are the most aggressive sellers who are ready to wear you out and sell you a completely unnecessary thing. They are counting on the fact that you will eventually get tired of refusing and you still buy a drum so that this dude finally gets behind you! But here's a surprise: as soon as you buy one drum, a couple more hard-sailers of drums will flock to you and will be twice as hard to persuade you to buy another drum from them. Mister, you bought a bad drum and I'll sell you a good one.

If you really need a drum, then there is only one piece of advice. Drummers on beaches and markets often sell decorative instruments and are interested in finding a client who does not understand the intricacies of its production and materials. If you want to learn how to play the drum and buy a good, high-quality instrument, then ask for help with choosing a musician. A good drum, which will sound booming and clear, differs from a bad one not only in weight due to different types of wood, but also in the quality of the leather used for covering.

Spices

Aromatic spices are the best gift from India for me personally. I just love to cook exotic food, and Indian dishes cannot be prepared without Indian spices. So many spices are sold in the markets in India that it is very difficult to figure them out on your own.

Personally, I advise you to go to culinary courses in order to understand at least a little the basics of Indian cuisine and make it easier to navigate the ingredients. If you do not want to waste time on such nonsense, ask the merchant to mix spices for meat, chicken, vegetables, biryani and so on according to his taste.

She wrote about the main ones in great detail with many delicious photos. If you haven't read it yet, please do so!

Indian tea

Indian tea. For people born in the USSR, this phrase causes nostalgia. In fact, tea in India is a lot and different. Buy a little of everything. You can choose these sets or buy loose tea.

To make the world's favorite milk masala chai, you don't need to buy any particular brand of tea. It's all about the spices. They are sold in any grocery store, they are called Masala Tea. Ordinary black tea is brewed in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then the same amount with a spoonful of spices, at the end add the same amount of milk as water, cook for a couple more minutes ... and delicious masala tea is ready!

Aroma oils and sticks

I'm not a big fan of aroma sticks. Our Kyiv apartment made in a modern, very concise style, and I can't imagine it smelling of Tibetan incense, lavender, sandalwood, or myrrh. But I would love to light an aroma stick somewhere on the country veranda, remembering the Goan warm winter on the shores of the Arabian Sea.

If you forgot to buy sticks and oils in India, it doesn't matter, there are plenty of these in our stores.

Indian henna for mehndi (mehendi)

Allow yourself a little bit of Indian flavor, do not spare a couple of dollars for mehndi - henna body painting. Usually Indian girls draw mehendi before the wedding day, but for tourists it is not at all necessary to comply with such conventions.

Indians say that you can learn how to draw mehndi in a couple of months of training. Mehndi paste costs less than a dollar a pack, and you can have fun photo shoots or just fun henna bachelorette parties.

Products: fruits, sauces

Mango and pineapple chutney, ginger sauce, meat pickling sauce, nuts, Chyawanprash, and everything you love in India. Remember that containers with liquids must be sent in baggage, they will not be allowed to be taken in hand luggage.

As a good gift to relatives and friends, you can bring fruit from India. Mangoes, pineapples and pomegranates perfectly withstand flight. You can try to bring passion fruit and papaya. If you're buying fruit to take on a plane, make sure it's slightly underripe. So tell the seller that you plan to eat them in a few days. He will help you choose. Feel free to pack fruit in a suitcase, after wrapping it in newspaper and putting it in a cardboard box. This will keep the fruit better. And if you are flying on regular or charter flights, be sure to specify how many kilos of luggage and how many pieces of luggage the company allows you to take at no extra charge.

Indian alcohol

If you don't know what to bring to your friends from India, you can buy a bottle of Old Monk or McDowel Indian rum. The drink is made from sugar cane. Rum is quite cheap. It is sweeter and softer than its European counterparts, which is why Old Monk is usually drunk undiluted.

Of course, in India there are many more interesting things you can buy. For example, handmade carpets or carved furniture made of precious wood. Interesting antiques that can be found at flea markets. But keep in mind that the transportation of these things to Russia or Ukraine can be very expensive, and antiques will need special certificates and export permits.

What can not be exported from India:

Each country has a list of things that are punishable by a fine or even a prison term if taken abroad. Carefully read the list of items prohibited for export from India.

- Indian rupees. No one will check your pockets, but still bother to exchange the remaining money for dollars or buy something in duty-free shops at the airport.

- gold and silver bullion x is also prohibited for export from India.

- antiques over 100 years old. In order to determine the age of an item, you need a certificate from an antique store.

- Animals and living plants.

- animal skins, bird feathers, teeth, fangs, bones And so on. So, having decided to buy a handbag made of reptile skin, think a hundred times whether you can take it out of India.

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Despite the fact that a lot has been written on the Internet on the topic of gifts, souvenirs and shopping in India in general in India, people constantly ask me: What to bring to my loved ones, family, colleagues and friends.
IMHO, it is very easy to choose gifts in India, if you know someone, I will try to write useful tips from this point of view, based on my own experience, as usual.

Almost all women will probably like thin and light cotton embroidered in the Kashmiri style. blouses -shirts.

Jewelry with natural silver stones in India is plentiful, but it is often difficult to choose what will fit or please. So my advice is astrological decoration (Navratna), this is the most sought-after souvenir among my friends, probably already worn by 6 (I brought it to order). Navratna is made with rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets... the thing is beautiful, versatile, and most importantly with meaning.
If you are planning to buy jewelry with natural stones - buy in stores, not on stalls, there is only glass and plastic, yes, and don’t think that turquoise and coral cost 100 rupees, they will sell you ceramics for these ...

Women can also bring Ayurvedic cosmetics or a gift set from Himalaya (read about it), Butik and others. India also has a huge selection of fragrant soap and various gels based on natural oils.

What to buy in India for parents and elderly relatives

For the elderly buy fluffy so-called "Tibetan shawls" made of acrylic, they are cheap and very warm, half of India wears them in winter, they are striped or with patterns, the latter are a little more expensive. These shawls are large, completely replace the plaid. At first glance, they are not very good, but then they will tell you that your gift is very warm and soft.

Natural Ayurvedic remedies

If a woman is a relative or friend and she is over 35 years old - buy her a female ayurvedic herb as a gift, it is recommended simply for women's beauty and health, the packaging is different from powder to capsules and tablets.

For a general cleansing of the body, which often leads to weight loss, you can bring triflu (triphala, triphala), it is written on it.

There are many articles about Ayurveda on the Indonet, Ayurvedic shopping is my main one, and I bring it to Russia in kilograms for myself, my mother and friends, so by searching you can find many useful workshops. Remember one thing - not analgin, the course of taking such drugs is months, so do not expect the effect on the 2nd day :)

Gifts from India for lovers of oriental style and exotic

Gift for children and youth you can bring pseudo-ethnic clothes such as Aladdin-Afghani bloomers, T-shirts, hoodies with ethnic prints, as well as exotic ones.

Sports style for children and adults- buy t-shirts with embroidery or just painted ones as a gift, there are a huge number of them, and all are very Indian :)

Religious people can bring a rosary - from lotus seeds and other plants, from different types of wood and natural stone, for example, such

For homely lovers of oriental style, you can choose textile - a heating pad for a kettle with an elephant (look at), a cotton bedspread with an ethnic print, and if you have money, then a beautiful carpet (pile) woolen or mixed wool and silk. There are also lint-free carpets in India, embroidered with silk and wool, they are light and relatively inexpensive (about $ 50-100 for a size of 70 cm x 1.2 m).
In addition, India has excellent cotton and silk underwear; earlier Indian cotton was also supplied to the USSR.

Incense (incense sticks) and fragrance oils need to be chosen carefully as it's not just a scent, so read on first. Oils should be bought only from those who hide them in the shade, they deteriorate and can cause inflammation of the skin. It is optimal to buy aroma oils in stores, they come in small packages, which indicate the production date and expiration date.

If you want to please a person, sympathetic to Indian culture, you can give him Namaste palms, where Lakshmi and the elephant-headed Ganesha are carved, or just a statuette of Ganesha, this gift brings prosperity and abundance to the house, it is also good for business, since both deities are associated with money.

I will not recommend the purchase of figurines of the Gods in general and ritual objects to anyone, on the contrary, I believe that bringing an object of this property into the house simply because it is beautiful in the absence of knowledge and understanding of what kind of energy it carries can sometimes be unsafe. Buy such things only if you know exactly who it is and understand that you need it, and not just liked it!

You can probably bring other useful souvenirs from India, I just ran out of fantasy :) So additions are welcome.

Enjoy the shopping!

PS Since most tourists and travelers fly from India via Delhi, there are articles on the indonet about shopping in Delhi, indicating the best markets and shopping complexes, as well as recommendations on how to shop, bargain and protect yourself from fraud. If you are poorly oriented or do not know English, you can order a 1-2 day shopping tour of Delhi from its resident and one of the authors of the Indonet, who will organize and help in the auction as a translator, read her ad for more details on contacting Tatyana, you can in her (!) ad, not here.

Part one. North and South.
My experience of traveling to India is not great. Two years ago I went to the south of the country, to Kerala, to the small town of Kanur. This year we were in Delhi for a couple of days, and most of the time we lived in the north of the country in the state of Orisa, the city of Puri - one of the tourist and religious centers of the country.

The shopping experience in the two cities was so different that I'll allow myself a few generalizations. Kanur is not a tourist center, Europeans there are a rarity. Therefore, when I came to the store, I always saw a fixed price tag on the goods (by the way, shockingly low), paid at the checkout, and received a standard 5-10 percent discount, like other Indian buyers. Silver, gold, pearls were sold in jewelry stores, everything was certified, checks were issued for everything, prices for Europeans were the same as for Indians. So, I bought there the cutest openwork frog-pendant with moving legs for 250-300 rubles. At the same time, all the clothes in Kanur were in no way adapted to European tastes, jewelry was redundant and clumsy in an oriental way, pashmina, which I dreamed of, could not be found - it’s hot in the south, locals don’t need warm scarves, but tourists, ready to buy them, no.

In Puri, where Europeans are a dime a dozen, the story is diametrically opposed. If a person with white skin enters the store, he is told the price is 3-10 times higher than for an Indian. This is very upsetting, because if you are not a lover of bargaining, then you will leave with nothing or overpay at exorbitant prices. Besides, you cannot be sure that you are being sold silver and not iron, silk and not polyester. So, if I don’t really understand silver, then I exposed polyester, passed off as silk, many times.

Part two. The purchases themselves.
I show them so that you can determine the order of prices for yourself. I write prices in rubles, because not everyone knows the rupee rate.

A blanket. Bought in Delhi, Sitywalk store (this is a huge shopping mall with a large number of European and Indian brands), the price is about 5000 rubles.

Napkins on the table, 300 rubles for 6 pieces.

Statue of Ganesha (box of matches for scale), stone, price - 700 rubles. To buy it at such a low price, our Indian doctor friend ordered it for himself. When the seller found out that "white people" bought him, he blamed our friend for a long time, they say, what are you, you could get much more money from them.

Pillowcases. 750 for three pieces. Here I bargained a little, but I'm still sure that I overpaid.

The pashminas were purchased from Dilli Haat (Aurobindo Marg). This is generally a very interesting place, you can go there just to stare. Be careful, cunning taxi drivers sometimes bring not to the market, but to shops with the same name. Only the prices there are much more expensive, and the goods are worse. The market is a bunch of small shops - open-air stalls in a fenced area. Entrance to the market is paid (about 15 rubles per adult, children are free). Yes, the price of each pashmina is 750 rubles.

Stand for incense sticks, brass, 35 rubles.

Local women's costumes (dress + harem pants + scarf) cost from 400 rubles per suit, but there are also 1000-1500 rubles if the quality of sewing and fabric is higher and the store is richer.

Most of all I was pleased with the clothes for children (and the children were with us). We bought some fine European brand items at very low prices. At the end of January in Delhi, there are big discounts in all shopping malls.
As you can see, the prices are not so low, I often caught myself thinking that I could buy similar things in Moscow and not much more expensive, if not even cheaper.

Part three. conclusions
Based on the results of the last trip, I concluded:
1. If you have the opportunity to find a friendly Indian guide to the markets - this is a must do. If you have one in mind, please share your contacts.
2. You have to bargain, but it's even more important to come to the right places. So, in one store a stone plate cost 57 thousand rupees (1200 dollars), in another the same plate cost 5000 rupees, I suspect that its real price was 40 dollars).
3. All the same, the prices are low and there is a temptation to buy everything, everything, everything and a little more, so you need to keep in mind the question “How will I use it?”. This is especially true for Indian clothing. Still, all of it is very specific and it will be difficult to wear it in your hometown. Ethnic stylizations of the same Zara look much more appropriate.
4. If you do not understand something, then it is better not to buy it. This is especially true for oils and herbs. I do not recommend taking oils at all, since the quality and, most importantly, cleaning leaves much to be desired. Herbs on the market are also not worth buying. Look for an Ayurvedic doctor, go to him for a couple of procedures, gain confidence, so to speak, and then buy from him. What exactly? Read the recipes in this magazine and decide what you need. I take powders of red and white sandalwood, triphala, bala, vetiver, hibiscus, rose.

What is India in terms of shopping? Currently, India can be a very profitable shopping destination. Indeed, in India, prices for everything are an order of magnitude lower than in the CIS (we don’t even need to talk about European countries). So, what to buy and bring from a trip to India.

Tea growing is a traditional occupation in India. They grow tea in the highlands and in the valleys, and sell specialized shops that offer a wide range of tea. Green tea is much more expensive than black tea. Indian tea has good tonic and healing properties. For tea, you can buy exotic orange honey harvested in Cherrapunji.

Spices

Indian houses, streets and the air itself are saturated with a unique aroma. It's the smell of spices. The most popular among them is curry, which includes plant cultures unfamiliar to us. Also in the markets you can buy mustard, chili, black and red pepper, garlic, cilantro seeds, cardamom, anise, fennel, sesame, garam masala, etc. Indian spices are of the highest quality. The largest spice markets are in the state.

Cosmetics

In India, a wide range of cosmetics based on herbal ingredients and Ayurvedic products is presented. The most famous brands are Ayur, Biotik, Dabur, Shahnaz Gerbalz. But among all Ayurvedic remedies, chyawanprash is especially popular. The recipe for this mixture of herbs has been known for 10 centuries. A specially selected complex of minerals and vitamins contained in chyawanprash has a rejuvenating and healing effect on the body.

Decorations

In India, there is such an amazing paradox: the price of gold jewelry with diamonds is significantly lower compared to Western counterparts. What is it connected with? The answer is simple. Because of the very cheap labor force. This is what significantly reduces the cost of polishing diamonds in India. There is a diamond processing in the city of Surat (about 200 km short of Bombay if coming from Delhi). It is the largest diamond cutting center in India. And India, without any doubt, has become one of the largest cutting centers, along with and. A diamond exchange has recently been built in Surat, which gives India the right to become one of the world leaders in the processing of diamonds. It is gold jewelry in India that is much cheaper than in other countries. Silver jewelry is also much cheaper. Those who are interested in the choice of silver jewelry should definitely visit Chandni chowk street. It is located at the Red Fort, to be exact, opposite it. This is a historical place where silver products have been traded for many decades.

Diamond prices, of course, please both our and Western tourists. Of course, “cheaper” and “much cheaper” even “almost for nothing” does not mean at all that they will give it away for a penny here. The Indians, of course, value their property, and, of course, no one will sell it to their own detriment. We are talking again in comparison with European, and our (CIS) prices. Diamonds are classified into major categories: clarity, color and weight. It is these combinations that determine the price. It should be noted that you need to take the product you like without fail with a GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certificate. This certificate is the most demanded in the world. And handing over this diamond with this certificate will not be difficult. There may be problems with other certificates.

And about one more jewelry asset of India: rubies. Many of them are imported from neighboring Sri Lanka). But many are mined in India. Prices are also very different, depending on the clarity, transparency, weight, cut style. The cheapest opaque in the cabochon style (smooth, almost round stone, opaque). And the most expensive, cherry-colored, transparent. Most of these are exported.

It is highly advisable to make such purchases only if you are at least a little versed in precious stones. And of course, it is better to buy in expensive certified stores. “Around the corner”, of course, will be cheaper. But who knows, you won't make a mistake?

Arriving in India, you find yourself in a completely different world: colored saris and jingling bracelets, alluring aromas of incense, fragrant and tart. I would like to take a piece of this magical and so unusual culture for us with us. So much so that, having arrived with one suitcase for three, we left already with two. I don’t call anyone to such shopaholism, but it’s a fact: there are a lot of interesting things in India, and you want to bring everything with you to Russia.

When we arrived in India, it was 1 suitcase and 1 backpack less

Once on the Indian market, the eyes of tourists run wide, the rhinestone needs everything: that singing bowl, and these wonderful feather earrings, and, of course, the “branded” Goan Aladdin pants. And more ringing anklets. Moreover, seductively low. We have compiled a list of interesting and useful things that you can bring back from India as souvenirs.

Indian medicines and cosmetics

Perhaps this is the most important and useful thing that you can bring from India. In India, all medicines and almost all cosmetics are made from natural herbs, berries, roots, leaves, etc. This is called Ayurveda - the ancient art of healing, "knowledge of life." And it is not surprising that in the list of many tourists, Ayurvedic medicines and cosmetics are in the first place. We wrote in detail about Indian natural dietary supplements and cosmetics, so we suggest that you read separate articles about them:

The miracle of Indian Ayurveda is Chyawanprash. It will drive away illnesses, fill the spirit and body with vivacity!

Indian spices and tea

Masala chai is the most popular drink in India. Many tourists, having tasted a hot and tart milk drink, fall in love with it so much that they cannot imagine life in Russia without it. By the way, masala chai is not a specific type of tea (as we ourselves thought), but a set of spices that need to be boiled in full-fat milk along with assam tea. In any Indian market, you can buy spices for masala chai, as well as a wide variety of other types of teas: mango, ginger, mint, cardamom, etc.

With the same order: there are many of them, for every taste. At the spice shop, eyes run wide: turmeric, zira, saffron, coriander, curry, cardamom - what not! But if you buy Indian spices, you need to at least roughly imagine. You can ask the merchant to mix spices for you for a particular dish. We ourselves, in addition to spices for masala chai, appreciated lemon pepper and dried chili.

Indian Rum Old Monk

The famous Indian Old Monk. Probably, there is no tourist who would come to India and not try this alcoholic drink. Rum is made from sugar cane. Its taste is soft, with chocolate notes, and the price is very low: only 175 rupees for a bottle of rum 0.7 liters. Old Monk is often taken as a souvenir to friends. We also brought: everyone appreciated it!

By the way, officially you can take out up to 3 liters of alcohol per person through customs. But most often, border guards turn a blind eye to the amount of liquid being transported.

Indian textiles: bedspreads, scarves, pareos

Indian bedspreads are quite famous all over the world. As a rule, they are hand-embroidered with beautiful "Indian" patterns, decorated with beads or sequins. With such a bedspread you can cover the bed, and every day remember the bright and original India. Prices for solid, dense and very beautiful bedspreads on the market in Mapusa are about 3000 rupees. You can buy a thinner, simpler cotton bedspread - prices for such start from 500 rupees. In general, prices in the Indian market are an individual matter. If you are a good bargainer, you can knock down the originally declared value by 3-4 times.

On the beach you will be offered a wide variety of scarves, pareos, beach covers. Their price is low, but the quality is lame. After each wash, such scarves and pareos shed heavily, so they need to be washed separately from other things and in cool water. The cost of a small pareo on the beach starts from 100 rupees. A large square shawl will cost an order of magnitude 400 rupees.

Girl with beach pareos on Arambol

Kashmiri scarves will also be offered in any market. Most often, they have nothing to do with real cashmere, but they are quite beautiful and pleasant to the touch. We bought these scarves in different colors for gifts. Initially, for such scarves they usually ask from 650 to 800 rupees. We ended up bargaining 350 rupees.

But in addition to inexpensive (albeit beautiful) fakes, in India you can also buy real pashmina shawls (the most expensive type of cashmere). These scarves are made from the wool of Himalayan goats. They are very warm, but so thin that a scarf can be threaded through the ring. Kashmiri shawls are valued all over the world: Napoleon himself brought a Kashmiri shawl to his wife Josephine from the war in the Middle East. Prices for natural pashmina scarves are not small: about 2000-3000 rupees.

National Indian clothes (sari, sarong, punjabi)

An interesting souvenir is national Indian clothes. Indian women love to dress "tastefully": bright, colorful, brilliant. The Indian sari is a beautiful and elegant garment. It consists of a tight top, a skirt and a long piece of fabric that wraps around the body several times. Having bought this, you can flaunt your entire vacation in Goa (or any other cities in India), make a beautiful photo shoot. But apart from India, there will be nowhere to wear this outfit. Even at home, because wearing a sari is not very comfortable. And learning how to tie it correctly is also a whole art. The price of a sari is quite high, because it takes a lot of fabric. In the market, we were not interested in its price, but in one shop in Delhi we were offered a very high quality and beautiful sari for 3000 rupees.

Punjabi is another traditional Indian women's clothing. Consists of their pants and dresses. Very comfortable and fast-dressing (unlike sari) clothes. Punjabi is sold in any market, they are inexpensive. In Delhi, I bought myself one such suit at a street sale for just 150 rupees.

The same Punjabi for 150 rupees: fits well into the landscapes of Delhi

By the way, it is more comfortable to move around Delhi in some kind of national dress, in the usual European one you feel “out of your element”. But in Goa, this feeling did not arise.

Aladdin pants and hemp hats

We have not seen such things in Delhi, so we will call them "Goan". Ali Baba pants are the favorite clothing of Goan tourists and winterers. They are quite versatile, so they can be worn in the summer in Russia (at a camp site, for example). Personally, we wear these pants at home. The price of harem pants in Goa is 200 rupees.

Hemp hats are such an interesting gift. We saw many local wintering guys wearing such hats under the scorching Indian sun.

By the way, hemp fabric is highly valued due to its unique properties. Before the Europeans discovered cotton, almost all products (from clothing to ship sails) were made from hemp fabric. In Russia, there are also shops selling clothes made from hemp.

Indian jewelry

Indian women themselves have great respect for various decorations. A lot of bracelets on the arms and legs, rings on the fingers and toes, earrings in the ears and nose, chains from the earring in the nose to the head: this is how a standard Indian woman usually looks. On the beach, Indian girls with homemade bracelets will repeatedly approach you. Their prices are usually the same as in the market: 50-100 rupees.

But on the beach market near the drum circle on Arambol, you can buy unique hand-made jewelry made by craftsmen from all over the world. I really liked the earrings and feather hairpins.

Indian figurines and other wooden souvenirs

In the Indian market there are always several departments with various souvenirs. Figurines of the gods Ganesha, Buddha, Indian elephants, scary wooden masks: you can’t list everything!

Souvenir shop on Arambol

Ethnic wall masks

Our Acquisition: Ganesha

Prices depend on the size of the product and its material. For wooden figurines ask, of course, more expensive. But most often, souvenirs made of polymeric materials are sold on the market. They are heavier than wooden ones and can break, so when transporting such a figurine, you need to wrap it with at least paper.

Aroma oils and sticks

India is smells. In every house, near every shop there is a lit aroma stick, exuding an alluring smell of sandar, lavender, myrrh, etc. Lovers of such things in India expanse. There are a lot of oils and sticks here: just choose!

Henna for body painting (mehendi)

Indian mehendi patterns have long been popular all over the world. Even in Russia in the summer you can already meet girls with painted hands or feet. In India, mehendi is worn by girls on various holidays. And every Indian can draw such patterns with henna. There is a cone with henna of everything 10-20 rupees.

Any girl in the market for 50 rupees can make a beautiful pattern

Leather and suede natural products

In the market in Arambol, there are many stalls with leather and suede bags, backpacks, wallets. There are even flirty suede mini-skirts and wild-style long dresses. With feather earrings and hairpins in such a suit, you can pass for Pocahontas.

Market on the beach of Arambol

These products are sewn right there, in front of you. Great little things that you can wear with pleasure in Russia. I myself could not resist and bought a fringed suede backpack, and for 1000 rupees!

My backpack is in the process of choosing

Ethnic bags and backpacks

In addition to bags made of genuine leather, fabric options can also be found in the Indian market. Nice souvenir for yourself and friends. With such a bag, you can walk with pleasure in the Russian summer. The cost of these bags 100-200 rupees.

Nice bag, honestly!

Backpack for 100 rupees: not very practical, but pretty

ninja shoes

The market in Arambol has a stall with the famous Ninja Shoes. In Goa, many foreigners wear such shoes: they look cool. There are even cute models for children, but the price tag is high: from 3000 rupees for children up to 5500 rupees for adult boots.

Indian films and music

And what a nice and unusual souvenir! Singing, dancing and making films are the most loved in India, so there are a lot of new and classic Bollywood on the market.

Indian DVDs for all tastes

Goan drums

Goa lives to the rhythm of the drums: many expats learn to play the drums so that at sunset they proudly stand in the Drum Circle and beat their rhythm as they see off the setting sun.

Drums and mini-drums at the local market are made right before your eyes. And the most frequent traders (after girls with bracelets and saris) are drum sellers. Most often, so-called "decorative" drums are sold to tourists. Those who play drums professionally do not buy their instruments here.

Pipes, bongs and other smoking devices

This is, of course, a commodity for the connoisseur. In Goa (namely, on Arambol), smoking weed (charos) is common, so many souvenirs here have a “smoking” focus. For example, bongs, pipes, hookahs, neck pendants, in which you can store ganja or a mix box for grinding it.

Everything is relatively inexpensive. We bought home Asfal hookah tobacco for 100 rupees per box. In Russia, such a price still needs to be looked for.