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RE: Asiatic Travels #2: Valley of Zanskar
Those are some amazing pictures!
Were the places that served food along the way traditional restaurants, or more of the sort of places that care for travelers as they pass through?
Good question. Along this particular route, there was a small village roughly every 10 kilometers where one can find a family willing to accommodate for travelers. Traders and shepherds have roamed through these valleys for centuries, so the village people are accustomed to making a little income from lodging. Its lucrative enough now that they generally put up a sign somewhere near the entrances of the village, stating what is available. In other places there may not be anything for more than fifteen or twenty kilometers but an occasional and often abandoned teahouse. There you'll only find Maggi (like cheap ramen noodles) and chompa (a kind of bread or porridge) if you're lucky. On more developed routes such as those that run through Annapurna or the Khumbu in Nepal, you'll find quite lavish teahouses as far as Namche Bazaar. Generally the higher up you go, the lower the chance of getting a good and decently priced meal. Those days of eating nothing but maggi and some peanuts mixed with chicory makes a fella cry when he finally finds a place that serves rice and dal (an Indian lentil soup).
Imagine this, but a couple standard deviations lower in quality, without the cream: