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Nepal has an abundance of street vendors and specialty
stores, selling almost everything and anything imaginable.
There are big bargains available for those willing to avoid
fakes and badly made souvenirs and gifts.
Some very popular buys include goods such as, knitted mittens
and socks, topis (caps), Tibetan dresses, multicolored jackets
and shirts and pashmina (fine goat's-wool blankets), khukri
knifes (the national knife), saranghi (a small, four-stringed
viola played with a horse-hair bow), Tibetan tea bowls,
paper mashe masks, Buddhist statues, bamboo flutes and many
other folks goods.
If you are in the market for a nice gift or souvenir, then
a Khukuri knife is a very good choice, and you wont even
have to go far to get one, street vendors and almost all
shops sell them wherever there are tourists. In fact there
is a whole shop devoted to them. Some other nice gifts include
bamboo flutes and many different Tibetan-style curios.
The shopping hours of most of the shops in Nepal are usually
Sundays- Fridays from 10:00am to Fridays 20:00pm although
some shops are also open on Saturdays and holidays.
 
Note that all foreign visitors other than Indian nationals
are required to pay their trekking permits, hotel bills
and airline tickets in foreign currency. Also note that
it is illegal to exchange currency with people other than
authorized dealers in foreign exchange. All visitors should
get hold of Foreign Exchange Encashment Receipts when changing
currency and they should keep them, as they may help in
many transactions such as getting a visa extension or a
trekking permit.
Credit and debit cards such as American Express, MasterCard
and Visa are widely accepted at almost all shops, hotels,
restaurants and agencies.
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