On few eateries

The Home Turf Cafe is a cozy, well furnished, economical place to have one's snacks or non alcoholic beverages. The snacks are all popular stuff, momos, maggi, egg bhurji, sandwiches etc. The menu at Home Turf is a welcome departure from the monotony of the Officers' Mess. The Home Turf staff is efficient, cordial and talented. The Home Turf is a favourite haunt for OTs who have had their fill of Pooja and Ganga dhabas. The decor is that of a hang out for sports lovers. Therefore there are few board games, posters of sports icons and sports equipment. There are also flash cards with quiz questions on sports. Quite thoughtful, I think. Quite did not understand what the bean bags are doing there, though.

Home Turf, interior.

Illuminated Home Turf

The way to a man's heart is through food...or eyes.

When one is feeling lethargic, it is recommended that one stuff oneself to the gills. What better place to accomplish this noble deed than at Momo's, the place for all edible things Tibetan?! Momo's has an attiribute that sets ia part from other eateries/restaurants in town, namely, consistent quality. The food is tasty and it is so every time one has had the opportunity of dining at Momo's. Consistent quality performance and promise of good quality is an essential element of branding. If they do not do too bad in the future, Momo's will be a strong brand to reckon.

A light fixture at Momo's

The afternoon was given off so that the serious OTs can prepare for the end semester exams. The non serious types went for lunch and since it was a balmy day, decided to take a stroll through Mussoorie town. Hence, Gun Hill was visited, for the first time after all these months. And what an utter, utter disappointment! The area is smothered by tacky commerce. What might have been a good view point-Gun Hill is the 2nd highest point in the local area, highest being Lal Tibba- has been spoilt by greed. We have a talent for killing the golden goose. Take Kempty falls, for example. The area surrounding the falls is infested with tin shed installations blocking the view of the falls. So it is with the Gun Hill. The area was boxed in by tin shacks, tourist traps. There were shacks with games of chance and skill, shacks with shiny clothes, snack shops and a 'binoculars point.' There are 3 binoculars and the slick businessmen characteristic of tourist places charge Rs.30 per person for peering closely at the snow peaks, the same peaks which are visible to the naked eye.

View from the Gun Hill, from the Binocular Point

A sample of shops at the Gun Hill

Temple Bell

The chronic disappointment of the Gun Hill was however offset by the pleasant walk on the Camel Back road. The quiet back roads were a good place to watch birds. There were many pretty bungalows as well.

Blue Whistling Thrush

The longish walk from Gun Hill via Camel Back road, Waverley road and to the academy was timed for the sun set. Sun rises and sun sets have been spectacular of late in these areas.

The after glow

Stairs near the AN Jha Plaza

14 days yet to be chopped.

A fist full of salt.

Leeches are as leeches do. They are much maligned creatures. One expects them to be engorged with blood from a hapless victim, sinister creatures with no morals, blood suckers, etc. In reality, they are no more than an inch in length and quite often can be mistaken for earthworms, except for their colour. A leech that has partially fed itself looks like this.

Yes, it is not a pretty creature. And judging from their desperation to cling on to anything, they remind me of eternal romantics, dil phenk characters that I run in to from time to time.

I encountered leeches in good number in our trek to the Kempty falls, some 14 km from the academy as the road rolls. The trek path may have been much shorter- not more than 15 km in all. There was a trek briefing yesterday, complete with Google Earth view of the trek path. Needless to say, the GPS-computer jazz did not resemble anything we have seen on ground. That much must be obvious. Doh.

The trek briefing had specific instructions on how to deal with leeches. A fistful of salt liberally applied on parts of the body vulnerable to leeching, would get rid of the creature. I saw it in practice today when a sprinkling of salt antagonized the leech. They were present in full numbers in parts of the trek through the mulch and dense undergrowth.

The trek in itself was uneventful. The upper reaches of the Kempty falls have improved a bit, with cement pavement in place of boulders behind which the tourists would unburden themselves.

I shall continue this post at a leisure time. I need to sleep now.