A fair comes to town!

The buzz around town is that :

A) The Dalai Lama is teaching next week!! We registered and will attend.
B) A street fair has arrived in the town square. We went!

We decided to go to the fair with our friend, Joelle. Joelle is from Holland and lives across the hall. She is a big hit with the girls. Joelle is here studying yoga and was happy to spend the day together on her break from her course.

Joelle and the Girls

 The fair was a hit! It snaked along a road behind the square and featured food stalls, rides and games for kids, clothing, toy and houseware stalls. Since we were there mid morning, it was pretty quiet. We began at the first food stall in the fair. Now we are well aware that food stalls are mostly a no no here but we figured that since so many people were gathered around, it would be ok. We ordered samosas and tikkis that came slathered in gravy, veggies, chutneys and a bit of yogurt. It was some of the best food I have had. We went back for seconds. Avigail loved the tikki - round, fried potato patties. Happy to say it all went down really well! (So far, that is)

Divine Food Stall

Our Delectable Dish

We then moved on to the rides. Joelle was a bit concerned about the rides- they looked ancient, badly maintained and rusty. But, the girls had no interest in the huge swinging boat that was nearly throwing its passengers out. We stuck to rides that were mostly man operated (no engine). We all had a great time. While the girls were on the big bouncy castle (biggest one I have seen), people gathered round to watch them squealing and screaming. Avigail got stuck at the top and a crowd gathered to convince her to come down. It was really sweet.  

On the Bouncy Castle

The carousel was very sweet and unique. It was operated by an older man who pushed it around manually. 

Carousel

More Carousel

We bought the girls some toys that broke later in the afternoon. We finished our day walking back up to our hilly home, having dessert on the way and visiting the local playground. We have made many friends and acquaintances here, from shopkeepers, cafe workers and owners, expats, travelers and other families on the road. It was lovely to come back “home” and see so many familiar faces.

Walking back up the hill, Amit said to me “India is cool. It is really special mommy.” Yes it is.

At The Toy Stand 

Here are some snaps from our trip to the waterfall

The Waterfall Ravine

We Made It To The Top

Frigid and Fresh Water

Surprised by the Goat at the Top

Goats at Rest in the Ravine