Our first morning at Dharamshala was sleepy. We were told that Dalai Lama would be preaching at a local temple, and decided to head there after a good breakfast of aloo parantha (every place, right from a local dhabha to big restaurant serve aloo parantha in Himachal Pradesh). Our car wiggled though the narrow, people packed, slope, up and down, towards the market as the temple was across that, until our driver asked us to move our bums and walk across as he was worried about the car parking if he moved further.
First thing I noticed was monks all around. Non of the places I have been before, had I seen a single monk and now so many of them at once. Talking monk, sneezing monks, smoking monks, humming monks, praying monks, .. The market was stacked with small stalls on one side and proper shops on the other selling Tibetan artefacts (like the ones in this snap), Prayer wheels, Buddha idols in all poses in all sizes, jewellery, winter clothes. We enquired at one small stall, (small stall, small price.. hehe), and the stall-keeper offered to show more items, come to my shop he said, its right across! Hmm.
Soon the girls, were discussing colors I have never heard of, I just asked for black gloves and black woollen cap and got it in few mins. But we did get a good price thanks to them.