...Of all the illnesses

Of all the illnesses I expected to get in India the common cold was not one of them. Jessica & Heather are suffering from a rather nasty head & chest cold while Kathy remains invincible.

Today after dragging our butts out of bed we FINALLY got to the Hasty Tasty in time to get the Pakora... every other time we have been there since getting back from our trek they have been out or too busy to make them. Sadly- the momos were not yet ready...

India hides all the best fabrics down dark alleys

After out tasty breakfast we headed to the bank to change some money as we were planning to shop until we dropped.  We then went and spent some of our money at the Nathmull's store near the bank to get tea strainers and a tea cozy for Heather.  Kathy purchased tea for a friend.  We then went to our hotel to drop off our purchases and decide where to go next.  We need to do a couple of things today.  We had to get to the "Lower Market" and go back to the Tibetian Refugee Self Help Centre.  We decided to go to the lower market first and pick up a few things, mostly for me(Heather).  I wanted to pick up some gifts for family and friends and I needed fabric and a measuring tape, we were told that the lower market was the place to go.

This Market is the local market where everyone but the tourists shop.  There were meat stalls, yuck, watch stalls, dozens of shoe stands and cobblers, tailors, fruit stands and all kinds of clothing.  There were people selling balloons and toys for kids and everything under the sun for sale.  The prices we found were better than the tourist market and the quality looked better as well.  We made our way to a shop that had some items Heather wanted to puchase. She got a very good deal.  We then asked where we could buy a tailors measuring tape, we were directed to this dark alley looking street, and around the corner were glorious cloth merchants and a store selling measuring tapes.  Heather bought a measuring tape for Rs.10.  We then made our way down the street to some of the cloth shops.  We found one that had all the fabrics pre-matched for Shalwar suits. The sales were less high preasure and it made for a more enjoyable shopping experience.  Jessica and Heather both found fabrics that they liked.

We then made our way to a shop across the dark alley to look for fabric for a saree shirt for Heather.  This took very little time and was only Rs.40 per metre of fine soft, hand spun cotton.  What an absolute steal.  India hides all the best fabrics down dark alleys, you cannot find this quality in Canada.

We then walked back up through the market to eat lunch again at the Hasty Tasty, this time for the Momo.  MMMMMMMMM!  After filling our bellies with momo goodness we returned the to hotel to drop off yet more packages and then continued on to the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre.

This time armed with charged camcorder batteries, extra memory cards and more money.  Jessica spent most of the time photographing as many of the shops were open and occupied.  Heather did some video recording and Kathy and Heather revisited the store.  After about an hour it was time for the long winding walk back up the hill.  We stopped at a couple of stores in the square outside our hotel before returning for a short rest.

Then we were off to see traditional Nepali dancing at the Shrubbery Nightingale Park.  We were advised that this was a short walk form our hotel and this was confirmed by a sign stating that it was a mere 10 min walk.  After the first 10 min we were unsure that we were on the right road.  After the second 10 min we were getting quite worried.  After the 3rd 10 min we finally heard music and the park appeared around the corner.  We didn't stay for the whole show because hunger was calling, but the dancing was really good or at least entertaining.

That brings us back to Glenary's and now that our bellies are full it's time for bed.

More soon; Heather, Jessica & Kathy