Settling in. Pity about the marble floors. Still can get around that.
Head up to Lalal for some samosas on the way to the church. Not keen to arrive early it is right on 11am when we walk up the final steps into the church annex. The church is packed but there is a surging crowd that seems quite fluid who move in and out of the church even though the
service has commenced. Many of the surge is children and teens. It is hard to identify whether they have come to spectate or participate as they make their way to the front of the annex and then cycle out again, only to come back in. In fact just before the sermon started there was a slight altercation down the front which turned out to be two fighting dogs, at least one we saw being chased out and the hub settled back to excited multiple voices packed in around us. We leave post the sermon which sounds a bit fire and brimstone but between the hum and the fact it is in Hindi, we can't be sure. Many people invite us to seats, which we decline and others, generally ankle biters are keen to say hi, merry christmas, shake hands and then head off.
Make our way through the Lalal bazaar and climb some stairs up to a cyber cafe, where we indulge in our first hamburgers in India. The decision has been made to camp in Almora until we can resolve the spoke issue and avoid any further rim damage. The hamburgers are fantastic, coffee and pizza so so. The computers are in great shape and the setup is quite chilled cafe, so nice Christmas lunch.
Unfortunately the going is slow trying to identify needs and receive confirmation of whether solution possible via Firefox, the main mountain bike chain store in India. Unfortunately it also appears that there is no serious mountain bike club in town.
Make for the post office for the second day in a row only to find it closed. Not sure what the deal is whether Christmas is considered a public service public holiday or.. Advised next open on Monday, feels like home.
Third night in town and the third night at the Glory. Tonight it is pumping and it is only 7pm. Decide to try out Kashmish curry, Dum aloo and Chilli Chicken together with some plain Naan. Again the food is fantastic. We are on a winner.
Back along Lalal we track down a sweet store that is still open. Grab a couple of fudge bars covered in white sugar balls and these little masala balls with cashews.
At the hotel and settle in for a couple of Christmas classics including GI Joe.