The downtown area of Gangtok has become our familiar. It tends toward a place of comfort, we know where to get a bite to eat, we know where to buy bins for our underwear and socks, and we are beginning to figure out where to buy clothes. The walk to town takes about 15 minutes. These are 2 photos of the view along the way.
Most neighborhoods in the area, including the one we live in, are nestled into the side of a hill, as you can see. I found out yesterday the roads are so bad in our neighborhood because the people who live there are critical of the local government. The consequence? Dirt roads with patches of pavement and potholes that, as you go over them, make you feel you could lurch off the cliff at any moment.
The walk down to town includes steps that pass a local monastery. Each flag has a prayer on it that the winds blow into the ears of the gods. Some days the flags are up, some days they are missing.
Usually we get something to eat first thing when we go to town. If we go after school, Baker's Cafe provides yummy sweet baked goods to eat. If we go for a meal we tend to go to Gangtalk, a restaurant above the marketplace with decent food and a veranda view of the walkway. These are photos from the veranda. Across the way is a palm reader, a trekking travel agent and our money exchange location.
Here is the view from the street. This is a well lit walkway with children running around. We often run into students from school as we walk among the gawking strangers. Lately there have been more white people in view -- I think that tourist season will begin soon.
This is the store where we ordered the girls' uniforms for Taktse. It seems that most schools get their uniforms from this store, which makes it a busy place.
Sagun showed us where she likes to buy ice cream. It had a decent flavor and consistency, but it was no Capt'n Dusty's! The cones were bright orange, which was a bit disconcerting at first....
Ah, the orange, papery, and faintly chemical tasting cones. With bright green pistachio or bright yellow pineapple ice-cream, eaten sitting on the Bombay sea-wall amid balloon-sellers and hawkers of roasted corn rubbed with lime juice, salt, and chili-powder, which we weren't allowed to purchase if wearing school uniform. Not because of any great concern on the part of school authorities regarding the sanitary condition thereof, but simply because such purchase might cast disrepute upon the school, after all a relic of the Raj. Have you tried gulab jamuns? Do, if you can - you can't eat a lot at a time, as they're very sweet, but they're wonderful - and not even too bad for you, other than the calories - just boiled-down milk and sugar. And for other snack food, I don't know if there's an enterprising Bombay expat in the region who sells Bhel Puri, but if there is, give it a try: crisped rice and noodles and vegetables with tamarind chutney - yummy.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I concur with Laila - those uniforms aren't at all bad - you girls look great!
Yasmine--your posts are great! You add a knowledgeable and expanded view of Indian life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to know that you are still feeding your girls ice cream! Comfort food is an essential ingredient of childhood and adulthood for that matter.
Hi, Laila - thanks. I just love this blog - Chris manages to blend objective detail, personal experience, and big picture really well, and so many little bits of it resonate with my memories of India, even though it's such a completely different region and generation.
DeleteThanks for sharing your walk into Gangtok with us...it looks summery there. Fall has begun to arrive here, cool mornings and a softer light. It was so wonderful spending time with Glenn, but of course you and the girls were sorely missed. He was so appreciate of the "family energy" and was mentioning little things he missed about each of you throughout the visit. We look forward to spending time with all of you soon enough...for now, it's adventure time! OXOX
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