PICS: BIKRAM RAI

The largest shopping mall in Kathmandu is not the high-rise glass boxes that have sprung up in the city in the past few years, it is still the Khula Bazar in Bhrikuti Mandap.

Also known as 'Hong Kong Bazar' because of the preponderance of cheap Chinese goods, the makeshift shops with blue plastic roofing form an indoor semi-circle around the exhibition grounds. The shopping area has expanded organically without any planning or government regulation, but since it fulfils such an important need it has continued to thrive. Extending from one end of Bhrikuti Mandap to another, it houses 1,351 stalls selling everything from Chinese thermos flasks, blankets to electrical goods and books.

Before 1991, the shops were scattered in the Khula Manch. But the political parties needed the open-air theatre for their frequent rallies so the shopkeepers were evicted to Bhrikuti Mandap. Which is why Hong Kong Bazar is also called Khula Bazar. For the next two decades, the market has served as a one-stop shop for Kathmandu's middle class and for travelers going back to the districts from the nearby bus terminal.

Despite the competition, Khula Bazar is always packed. Vendors open from six in the morning till after eight each night seven days a week. On the weekends and around festival season the market sees a tremendous increase in customers in search of unbeatable bargains.

Despite the obvious fire hazard and stiff competition from new malls and streetside vendors elsewhere, Khula Bazar continues to grow because customers are convinced there are good bargains there.

Bhrikuti Rai