If you are a die-hard London and New York shopper, then the shopping in Sri Lanka is not that amazing.

With a few judicious nudges your driver will take you to where you are interested in going, rather than, erm, where he'd like you go.Top of the list: the thick, hand-woven fabrics made by the ladies on the premises in a factory outlet called Selyn, off the village of Kurunegala (on the road from Colombo to Kandy). The hand-woven fabrics retail from €2.50 to €4.00 a metre and the staff are protected by the Fair Trade movement. Do not even try to bargain (even if you are buying hundreds of metres) as it is useless: they do not budge a rupee, and much like the humour point, it will be embarrassing all 'round. [Selyin Handlooms: +94 37 2232188, +94 11 2582845, www.selynexports.com]

For very little more, albeit with less choice, you can buy the same fabrics at Barefoot (in Colombo and Galle). Barefoot is also good for books (in Sri Lanka, 'bookshops' sell mostly newspapers) and beauty products. For real indulgence - minimalist elephants, cutlery, oil lamps, linen tableware, Sri Lankan flip flops for adults and children, literature and coffee table books, nothing beats the small but perfectly formed Elephant Walk in Geoffrey Bawa's Gallery in Colombo.