Wrong again?!
We are getting a little to used to lazy starts. No rush, no stress and waking up to sunshine everyday!
After a delicious breakfast, Darryl went shopping with our friend. One small stall for fresh fruit and veg. Another for curd, bread and treats. Christine relaxed and read a book from the new online library service.
Today we went on another temple adventure. This time we thought we would check out the Tapawan temple. We saw a beautiful photo online of this colourful temple and plotted it on the map following instructions from the web. It wasn't far away so we walked the 2km along the road.
We arrived at the mark on our map. Yes, there was a temple. A very small one but it wasn't brightly coloured like in the picture we had seen. We were slightly puzzled? We looked at the site we had grabbed the temple information from. It was incorrect. The temple was miles away in a different town. This is the 2nd time this has happened in Dehdradun! And, we cannot remember this happening on all our other trips. Many digital nomads are writing content or blogging these days. The information given is not accurate or checked by an independent source. Internet user - beware ;-)
We stood around the temple in the shade of a big tree. A number of people seemed interested in what we were doing and why we looked confused. No one spoke more than a few words of English but one man invited us to eat at the temple. This is not unusual as this generosity is part of the religious beliefs. There were a number of primary aged children that wanted to say hello. We chatted to them whilst we ate. A gong (rather an unusual metal object they hit) rang at 2pm and the children disappeared inside. They reappeared with trays full of food and sat on the grassy area outside and ate.
This made us think a little as to where we actually were. Were we sitting at a school and eating the kids food prepared by the dinner ladies? Hopefully not depriving these poor little kids of food! Had we gate crashed the school canteen?
The school was next door but we think they went to the temple to eat. Darryl played with the children's Rubik's cube whilst they ate. They assured him they could complete it.
We said goodbye and walked back 'home' and waited for our friend to arrive from work. Darryl walked (with help) the huge dog which licked his foot a lot! He then proceeded to jump all over Darryl so Darryl gave up the walk and came back.
Evening arrived and we headed across Dehradun to the race track area. There was a traditional handicraft fair taking place. We were a little late so missed the live music! There were many stalls selling pots and pans, ceramic items and food. We had a good look around and our friend's purchased a few special items, difficult to find elsewhere.
The driver picked us up and took us to our next destination. It was a huge, modern shopping mall full of designer shops and beautifully decorated for Diwali in a few weeks time. We are in the food court on the 4th floor. Darryl had a special Thali and Christine a masala dosa. Both were divine!
Totally full we then proceeded to the Baskin Robins shop to eat ice cream. Wow, delicious.
Apparently the door above was filled with fancy restaurants. There was even a bar with a dance floor. A very fancy place!
Home now as it was getting late and time for bed.
