9/26
Shopping in Ladakh
Went to town with Dorjay , Yangchan and Sumal for shopping and dinner at Andu's(Dorjay's brother) restaurant (fried momo (khote and thukpa)- jimpo). Actually, Yangchan went to beauty salon to get ready for "His Holiness" tomorrow and I got a lesson in shopping
Rule number 1: buy from Ladakhis not Kashmiris ( the majority of the shops). Kashmiris are sheisters.
Rule number 2: bargain and start at half the price.
Rule number 3: keep checking a bunch of shops because their is going to be a cheaper price somewhere.
Rule number 4: shop with the Kashmiris that are still here at the end of September, because they want to get the hell out of Leh before winter hits and need to get rid of inventory.
Unfortunately I couldn't understand what Dorjay said to the shopkeepers, but it was a lot and it was fast and it worked.
Every shopkeeper says: "For you, a good price!"
Then they pull out their calculator and punch in a bunch of numbers and show you a price- not sure what they are punching in but it is more than just the numbers and it seems to be always about the same. And as they show it they say " Best price, locals price" and the you keep bargaining.
So, I ended up with some really good deals on a few gifts a few items I need. A spare battery for my camera (realized one won't work for a month of trekking in Nepal when I can't count on charging it every few days) for Rs 750 ($13), which I had seen before for 950. Also a pair of fake fleece lined Mammut pants for the climb for Rs1600 ($29) which I had looked at previously for 3900!
Shopping in Ladakh
Went to town with Dorjay , Yangchan and Sumal for shopping and dinner at Andu's(Dorjay's brother) restaurant (fried momo (khote and thukpa)- jimpo). Actually, Yangchan went to beauty salon to get ready for "His Holiness" tomorrow and I got a lesson in shopping
Rule number 1: buy from Ladakhis not Kashmiris ( the majority of the shops). Kashmiris are sheisters.
Rule number 2: bargain and start at half the price.
Rule number 3: keep checking a bunch of shops because their is going to be a cheaper price somewhere.
Rule number 4: shop with the Kashmiris that are still here at the end of September, because they want to get the hell out of Leh before winter hits and need to get rid of inventory.
Unfortunately I couldn't understand what Dorjay said to the shopkeepers, but it was a lot and it was fast and it worked.
Every shopkeeper says: "For you, a good price!"
Then they pull out their calculator and punch in a bunch of numbers and show you a price- not sure what they are punching in but it is more than just the numbers and it seems to be always about the same. And as they show it they say " Best price, locals price" and the you keep bargaining.
So, I ended up with some really good deals on a few gifts a few items I need. A spare battery for my camera (realized one won't work for a month of trekking in Nepal when I can't count on charging it every few days) for Rs 750 ($13), which I had seen before for 950. Also a pair of fake fleece lined Mammut pants for the climb for Rs1600 ($29) which I had looked at previously for 3900!
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