Jaipur is the place to shop until you drop. Grimacing
puppets greet you at every corner, and the old city is lined with
bazaars specializing in different handicrafts. You'll have to bargain
hard through - shopkeepers are accustomed to tourists with lots of money
and little time to spend it. The tourist-trap areas, such around the
city palace and Hawa Mahal, tend to be more expensive.
Jaipur is especially well known for precious and semiprecious stones.
There are many shops offering bargain prices, but you do need to know
your gems. The gemdealing area is around the Muslim area of PaharGanj.
Here you can see stones being cut and polished in workshops tucked off
narrow backstreets. Johri and Siredeori Bazaars are where many jewellery
shops are concentrated, sellin gold, silver, and fine, highly glazed
enamel work known as meenakari, a jaipur speciality.
Bapu Bazaar is lined with saris and fabrics, though you might find
better deals along Johri Bazaar , where many merchants specialize in
cotton. Kisanpol Bazaar is famous for textiles, particularly bandhni
(tie-dye).Nehru Bazaar also sells fabrics, as well as jootis
(traditional, pointy-toed shoes of Rajasthan), trinkets and perfume.
There lots of cavernous emporiums on Amber road, selling textiles,
clothes, blue pottery and paintings, but put your bargaining hat on
before entering.
Many rickshaw-wallahs are right into the commission business and it's
likely that they'll be getting a hefty cut from any shop they steer you
to.
