SHOPPING

It’s true.  You can find almost anything here in India.  Sometime the packaging is different than what is found in the United States. Shopping is a bit different too, especially in the smaller towns.  The market consists of small family run shops.  One basically goes up to the shop counter and asks for what they want.  The shop keeper gets it for you, and tallies up the bill, usually by hand.  A lot of times the counter is actually on the street. Looking at the shops it is not always easy to determine just what they carry.  One must ask.

Haldwani, Uttarakhand

We bought our gas cook top here and I found a pair of sandals nest door at Liberty.

Bhowali, Uttarakhand

This is part of the main market and where we do most of our shopping.  Here one can find poultry, fruit and vegetable stands as well as clothing, saree and jewelry shops, tailors, a barber, hardware and paint supply, several general stores, sweet shops and a pharmacy.

Poultry stand, Bhowali Market

Fresh chicken anyone?

Pharmacy in Haldwani

A prescription is not needed.  The pharmacist will make suggestions if you don't know exactly what you need.

Fast food shop in Ramgarh Uttarakhand

We found the Samosas to be very tasty and very fresh.

General Shop Bhowali, Uttarakhand

This shop is similar to a convenience store in the United States, only smaller.  They sell snacks, dairy products, drinks as well as cell phone minutes.

Milk

Milk comes in a one liter plastic bag.  I boil it to keep it from splitting.  If you want cream, it then can be skimmed off from the top.

Cooking oil

Cooking oil comes in a one liter bag as well as in very large plastic containers.  Many types of oil are also available.  For health reasons we prefer soy.

Bleach 16 ounces

I was very surprised to find bleach in this concentrated form.  The directions say to add two caps to a bucket of water.  Actually it makes perfect sense.  Shelf space is limited and many customers walk to the market.  Who wants to lug a gallon of bleach?

24 liter copper water filter

This Copper water filter is my latest find.  Due to the Monsoon the trail to the spring has become muddy and hard to travel.  We can now filter our tap water for drinking and cooking.  The copper kills viruses and gram negative and gram positive bacteria including MRSA.  

This copper container also has a ceramic candle filter that filters particles from the water but leaves oxygen and mineral contents unchanged, which gives water it's spring-like taste. Pathogens filtered from the water include; cholera, typhus, cryptosporidium, amoebic dysentery, ecoli, colibacillose or bilharzia, anthrax spores among others.  It also filters out pesticides.