Magic carpet ride

Rug shopping in Kathmandu, for heaven's sake

You know how when you travel sometimes it suddenly strikes you that you’re not in Kansas anymore?
One indication is when you look out the rearview mirror of your taxi and see this.

Are you kidding me?

An elephant literally just passed us

After our trek in the Khumbu region, we returned to Kathmandu for a couple of leisurely shopping and sightseeing days before heading home by way of a short stopover in Bangkok.

And this was by far the best shopping day I have ever known in my life.

Rug shopping. Hand-dyed wool and beautiful designs laid out before you, piled against the walls, and under your feet. Everywhere you looked - rugs. For anyone at all interested in home décor, this ought to make you renew your passport.

The rust colored one in front of me? We bought it - filled with bats in the design

Now try to decide.

We spent hours here. At least I think we did. Time stood still. Each one was unfurled before us like an offering, tempting us into a buying frenzy that forgot to ask the question, "How do you ship rugs home from Nepal?" Is that a thing?

You betcha.

You know how? DHL, though we managed to slip a few into our duffels to make things easier, because why not?

In the end, I had a whole new appreciation for the art of rug making. The workmanship that goes in to each one, the vegetable dyes used, the artistry, the hand knotting. Unbelievable! After seeing how much time and effort it takes to weave these heirlooms for your feet, I promise you will never look at rugs in Target the same way. And I'll tell you this for sure - the rugs you get in Nepal will last far longer than the ones you can buy at Target. I don't know about you, but I like beautiful things collected from exotic trips to use in my house. The price was right. Now had we tried to purchase rugs like this here in the States? Not possibly affordable. So there you have it.

Here is a Tibetan saddle blanket we picked up. What attention to detail went into this functional piece of "wearable" art! I keep it in my studio for inspiration.

Next time I will talk about our trek on the road to Everest Base Camp.