the Dalai Lama's Temple

The marketplace with its two main streets and a temple in the
centre is the lifeline of the place, shops displaying
merchandise in geometric patterns, beckoning the visitor.
Hand-knit woollens, shoes, prayer bells, backpacks, pickles
and chutneys, jewellery, car rentals and trekking gear at
competitive prices - it's a backpacker's dream-come-true.
Tsuglag Khang or the Dalai Lama's Temple (close to his
residence) is visible from a distance with its white awning
and tent designed to shelter devotees who congregate here
daily. A woman is circumambulating the main enclosure with a
sick dog in her arms, praying for recovery. Others prostrate
themselves repeatedly, chanting prayers. Still others simply
sit there, soaking in the calm and quiet.

gucci watch

"You must try the vegetarian food at the Namgyal Cafe in the
temple precincts," a friend had suggested and my daughter
Maya I complied. We had to share the tofusprouts-veggie salad
and cheese-spinach pizza, such was their generous size, and
both were absolutely scrumptious. Even more interesting was
the manager with his long, plaited hair and collection of
international currencies displayed on the wall behind him.
The Norbulingka Institute, 8 km away in Sidhpur is a
different world - designed after the Dalai Lama's summer
palace in Lhasa, its aesthetically designed gardens and
waterways, fountains and stone walls please the senses. The
Institute nurtures Tibetan arts and crafts, language and
culture. We bought some of the products there and even toured
the Losel Dolls Museum that tells the story of Tibetan
tradition and culture.