Silk

Friday 22 October 1999 23:00 BST

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IF YOU'RE planning a trip to India, thinksilk. You can find it all over India but the holy city of Varanasi is the place that those in the know head for.

Tucked away deep in the maze of dusty alleyways that make up the old city, you'll find Vishalakshi Silk Industries (0091 542 321643). Choose from the rainbow-coloured silks here, and you can get an elegant sari made up for Rs1,250 (£20).

Back in the UK, a bag made from sari fabric (pictured) would cost you £57 from The Cross (mail order, 0171-221 8616), so in theory you could buy eight saris in Varanasi, fashion them into bags and, with the profit you'd make back home, you could just about afford a £312 return from Heathrow to Delhi on Aeroflot (0171-355 2233) via Moscow.

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