shopping

Shopping In North East India – If you are travelling across North Eastern India, ensure that you have lots of pleasant memory in your camera to carry with you. India’s Northeast is not just a melting pot of different culture and people but is also a fashion destination, developing trends that the whole nation follows. Thus, the area boasts of several of the most effective areas to go shopping. Be it clothes from Thailand, ornaments from Myanmar or ethnic motifs, the markets of Northeast are an experience for the heart as well as the interested traveller. Apart from the memories of your satisfied and also adventurous times that you may have here, you make sure to be mesmerized by the local art as well as craft work. By some unique items as a souvenir from north east India.

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Fashion, Street food, Dining, Nightlife

Bargains? Check. Street food? Check. Popular brands? Check. Cafes and restaurants? Check. Clubs and watering holes? Check.Whether you want to sip on a cocktail with a view or you are ready to explore some interesting local handicraft, Khyndailad and the surrounding market zone (Police Bazaar or referred to by locals as PB) Shillong Meghalaya is a place that throws up many surprises.

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We would recommend an evening visit – the place is perpetually crowded but this is the time it comes alive as a sea of blinking colours – marked by shuffling cabs, busy pedestrians, scrambling two-wheelers, and leviathan buses negotiating the streets around a prominent roundabout. Khyndailad is always in the thick of the action – it is, after all, Shillong’s commercial hub. So you can expect to find a lot of shops selling souvenirs and knick-knacks that would be wonderful gifts or home décor additions.

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Apart from fine local cuisine, you will also enjoy a choice of Indian and global cuisines in the countless restaurants that line up the surrounding Police Bazaar and Jail Road. Check out the multitudes of apparel stores and complexes dedicated to clothing and accessories – this is where Shillong’s hip street style comes from. Some of the famous ones are Glory’s Plaza and New Bhutia Market.

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As the shutters of the main stores come down, the Khyndailad area opens up to street snack vendors – you can sample jadoh, local curries, noodles, grilled meat, and more – or maybe just rejuvenate yourself with a chai after all the shopping you have done.

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Traditional Bazaar, Local Products, Culture, Daily RoutinesIewduh Shillong Meghalaya is a maze of humanity, a hub of trade and exchange that will leave you amazed! The lanes snake around forever, crisscrossing each other around an area populated by clusters of buildings and covered platforms. The stalls here sell everything from local fruits, spices, meat and vegetables to electronics, apparel, and wholesale goods – with specific sections. Photographers will revel in the organized chaos and the explosion of colours – this is after all the largest traditional market place, or indigenous bazaar, in the entire North-Eastern region.

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Iewduh is a place where producers from all over the Khasi Hills and beyond converge – you will see the blue, wooden-top buses stacked with conical baskets containing goods, old resilient taxis filled with an impossible number of people, snack vendors vying for your attraction, and here and there – a restaurant filled with grinning, boisterous folks serving a bit more than just food. Be ready for whistling porters dashing up and down the steps like ninjas carrying impossible loads. Iewduh also has a thriving early morning flea market.

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Visit Iewduh during the day. It is not a place for those who seek space and solitude but if you want to see the faces of Meghalaya share a single platform, there is where the action is. Expect a bit of walking and be ready for all sorts of aromas – from dried fish to tobacco leaves. We suggest some sturdy walking shoes so you can soak in all the vibes and stay comfortable.

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Silkalay

Silkalay is one of the biggest and most popular haunts for shopping in Guwahati. As the name suggests, Silkalaya specialises in silk sarees of virtually unmatched quality. These sarees bear subtle reflections of the tradition and culture of Assam. 

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The other distinguished product is a local dress known as the ‘Mekhala Chadar’, one of the most coveted products in Assam, both by locals as well as travellers. Silkalay is a registered member of the Silk Mark Organisation of India, and crafts products woven with certified, pure silk.

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NEDFi Haat

Amongst the hustle and bustle of mainstream malls, if you’re looking for an offbeat area for shopping in Guwahati, the NEDFi Haat is the place to be! What began as a government start-up to promote the art and craftwork for the local artisans, turned into a full-fledged exhibition center for handloom products and other handmade clothes. 

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There are also numerous cultural and traditional items at the gift shop that you can take back at affordable prices. The shopping experience here is a virtual sneak peek into the rich Assamese culture.

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Fancy Bazaar

Aptly nicknamed as the ‘Chandni Chowk of Guwahati’, Fancy Bazaar is the biggest flea market in Guwahati, harboring countless little shops, street stalls, and setups. Though you may have to brush up your bargaining skills, the market is perfect for shopping, and offers products at steal prices! It’s unending alleyways and numerous food joints and sweet shops lure in herds and herds of travellers, including those few who have no intention of shopping. There are also some famous Assam Silk shops here, selling the finest quality of clothing.

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Masks from Majuli Island

Majuli is a riverine island and also their large art type is the mask. At mask making satra of Majuli (Samaguri Satra) bhakats( monks) make these masks of personalities from Ramayana and also Mahabharata making use of simply bamboo and clay and even clothes. It is excellent to have it for your wall décor back home.

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Hong Kong Street, Dimapur

Known for the smuggled goods, this place is best suited for your shopping Northeast frenzy. Back in the 1980s, few women and men who had the taste for fashion and who have felt the business potential in the industry have travelled to Southeast Asia bringing clothes from abroad to be sold in Nagaland. Sometimes they would bring one suitcase at a time and later in larger quantities. During that period, few shops have been opened in the name of clothes trade and now it has turned into the biggest clothing market, the Hong Kong Street in Dimapur. Today, a wide range of garments are sold here which are appealing to the stylists and fashionists which are imported from China and as well as Southeast Asia. This is the best place while you’re shopping in North East India. In fact, any shop in the Hong Kong Street will have imported clothes which are brought through specialized dealers that work in Siliguri, West Bengal.

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MG Marg, Gangtok

MG Marg is the main hub in the Gangtok and is very ideal for chilling out. It is the main marketing area you can find in the Gangtok, especially for the tourists. This road is filled with various shops on both sides of the road. A part of the MG Marg area, which is known as the New Market where you can find a lot of things. There are so many shops you can find clothes for both women and men including the dresses, shoes, gifts, souvenirs, and trinkets. One of the must things that you can buy while shopping in North East here are the Sikkimese cups. They are not only unique but are also attractive with many traditional designs printed on them and they come in several natural colour combinations.

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The cups have lids which are made of china porcelain and usually. The cups can be packed nicely so that you can include them in the check-in luggage as well. There are many shops like Kandoika in the area where you can find books on Buddhism along with the artefacts. You can find a nice collection of Buddhism and other philosophical books including the ones on culture, North East tourism, and several jewellery items as well as dragons available on earrings, rings, and golden pendants.

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Naga shawl & Naga Jewelry

These are traditional distinctive formed shawls (mainly in red as well as black woollen) made by various Naga people from Nagaland in India. Each people has its own patterns with straightforward, clean lines, red stripes, squares and bands being one of the most typical layout motifs. These are swung in the house by the females using wool. One of the typical features of the Naga serape (Nagaland Shawls) is that 3 pieces are woven individually and also stitched together.

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Just like every other tribe across the world, even the Naga tribes are known to make their very own handmade jewellery in some cases with nails as well as horns as embellishments as well. These pieces of jewellery are used by tribal men and women. Even today throughout their famous Hornbill Festival event, the men and women dress in animal fur, and also beaded belts, crowns as well as even big scrap grains and rhinestone jewellery.