Jodhpur, India

Published: 12:00am, 12 Mar 2006

In Jodhpur, you can easily spend a whole day emporium-hopping for wooden art and craft items as well as carved wooden furniture.

A novel place to shop is Krishna Art and Crafts (Tija Mata ka Mandir, 1/F, Ghasmandi, Jodhpur, tel: 91 291 510 3348). Krishna occupies part of an old Hindu temple and the walls are still decorated with ancient drawings. The shop specialises in bedspreads of Indian and European design. Prices range from 1,500 rupees to 3,000 rupees ($260 to $520). You will also find racks of embroidered silk jackets (4,500 rupees) and piles of pashmina shawls.

Umaid Bhawan Palace Road is the street for handicraft shops. Lalji Handicrafts (Handicraft Market, Umaid Bhawan Palace Road, tel: 91 291 265 4570; www.laljihandicrafts.com) is full of second-hand bargains, from door knobs and glass bottles to antique statues and lamps. There are no prices on any items, so bargain hard. A solid wooden chest-high statue of a maharajah cost 4,500 rupees after haggling.

Along the street, Maharani Handicrafts (www.maharani.com) offers a broad range of ready-to-wear men's and women's jewellery. Although most pieces are contemporary, a significant number borrow from Moghul-period design.

Rani Handicrafts (Hanumant Coony, Circuit House Road, tel: 91 291 309 9753) is packed with large wooden elephants (2,800 rupees), figurines, jewellery boxes, Indian statues (1,400 rupees to 2,400 rupees) and Rajasthan turbans (from 1,200 rupees). They are complemented by an assortment of home furnishings, including cushion covers (350 rupees), rugs and wall hangings.

Paisley Cottage Emporium (Ajit Bhawan, Circuit House Road, tel: 91 291 251 7835) is home to high-quality curios such as camel-bone jewellery boxes of all shapes and sizes. Kingcraft (A/277, Shastri Nagar, tel: 91 291 264 9412; www.kingcraftindia.

com) manufactures its own furniture and decorations. It specialises in handicrafts, wooden and wrought-iron furniture, antique reproductions, decorative gift items and examples of ethnic art.

Don't leave Jodhpur without visiting a spice shop. Maharaja Spices (shop 211B, Vegetable Market, Clock Tower, tel: 91 291 263 7009) has shelves lined with packets of saffron tea (400 rupees) and all kinds of curry powder. The most unusual item on offer is Winter Tonic - the local equivalent of Viagra - at 200 rupees a packet. Maharaja's spices are grown on a nearby farm and processed at the company's factory.

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