View allAll Photos Tagged LocalShop
The Higashimuki Shotengai covered shopping street in Nara, Japan is packed in parts, and surprisingly relative empty in parts, as seen here. Located just beside Kintetsu Nara Station, the Higashimuki Shotengai Shopping Street measures some 250 mtr in length. I am of course walking in the opposite direction, The covered shopping arcade is lined with shops and restaurants, making it probably the busiest shopping area in Nara. I found a nice eyeglasses store in the Higashimuki Shotengai covered shopping street, and ended up picking up three eyeglass frames here- one a Rayban and two local Japanese makes, which the store assistant assured me were the most popular styles currently in vogue in Japan. (Nara, Japan, Apr/ May 2019)
I strike a pose with my sister in law at the pedestrianized street around the Dharam Singh Market just after the Amritsar Town Hall. We are on our way to Amritsar's attraction numero uno- the Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple. In the background is the Brother's Dhaba, a legendary long standing local diner in Amritsar. There are supposed to be two, one run by the elder brother calling itself Brother's Dhaba # 1 and the other one simply Brother's Dhaba. We ate here one day and the food is pretty good. In fact we liked Brother's better than the even older Keshar da Dhaba which many claim is the best in Amritsar. Your mileage may vary, but I somehow preferred this one, Brother's. (don't know if this is the # 1 or the second newer one though (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
It's a brand new, and breakkie done, the order of business for this morning is a heritage walk into the congested old town district of Amritsar. Our guide will meet us near the Amritsar Town Hall, of which this is one of the portals. This long shot taken by my brother shows my sister and I walking under the portals, accompanied by our Sikh guide. My brother joined us soon after taking this picture. The Amritsar Town Hall was built by the British in 1866, and was the then centre of the Amritsar's local administration. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
With seemingly no prospect of getting a few seconds sans crowds for my own selfie, I decided to spend the waiting time by trying to focus on the bronze statues themselves. Don't you simply love the expressions on the statues! This is a depiction of the Punjab 'bhangra' (also spelt 'bhangda' dance form, for men. Notes about the bhangra dance appear in previous caption. In the background is the newly restored Dharam Singh Market. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Our group got separated as my bro, sis in law and I had to dive into three different shops to let those e-rickshaws (electric tuk tuks) pass. (see notes in previous caption). Our guide who had also dived into one of the stores looks on as he waits for us to join him after the vehicles have passed. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Girl in local shop
Panglao island, Bohol The Philippines
5/08/2009 - # 82/365
© 2009 Patrick Van Vlerken
Linked to 45, the chili pepper. Apparently the numbering on Cowley Road has changed a couple of times and number 171 used to be where this ingot is, but currently number 171 is actually on the other side of the road.
H43
Opposite Tesco's
Our Amritsar heritage walk is now over. I invited our guide for a cup of tea to wind up the walk, and he fortunately accepted. So as we move towards his tea stall (actually tea cart) of choice, we come across another of those push carts selling charcoal baked sweet potato. We had seen a similar cart in another section of the old city quarter just the previous evening. We did not try his wares, not that of the other guy who was calling out to us as my brother is skittish about eating off the oodstreet and that vegetable is not one of my favourites. I was surprised that the jackets of the sweet potato here were black. They are usually red, I've seen beige ones, which look just like regular potatoes, and I've also tasted purple ones in China which are purple inside as well, but this was the first time I am seeing ones with black jackets. Unless the black is from the charcoal. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
But it does have a helmet hanging from the bars...so thats ok....Tesco Yate perform a classic Gaff....support your local bike shop....they may well put the forks on correctly...
The entrance lobby/ main concourse of Amritsar station was surprisingly small. Amritsar is a major railway junction in India with trains running from here to every corner of the country, and even beyond, like the train to Pakistan for instance. Considering the volume of traffic handled, I found Amritsar train station surprisingly very small and almost rural.
The strong military presence around the area would probably explain it.Note the model of the Harmandir Sahib/ Golden Temple in a glass case in the foreground. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
We exit the Quila/ Katra Ahluwalia Ffort Ahluwalia) though this narrow passage going out the other end. This street is lined with cloth merchants- the stores being run by people of the Marwari community. (a community of business people hailing from the town of Marwar in NW India). Probably because it was so early in the day, almost all the shops were closed except for one or two. It was pretty dark in that lane hence a slightly soft photograph. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Two tourists are enjoying their visit in a charming cobblestone alley. One captures photos while the other takes a selfie against the historic backdrop of stone buildings.
Bonding with my brother in the Town Hall Square in the Northern Indian city of Amritsar. The statue in the background is if Ranjit Singh, believed to be largely responsible for what Punjab is today. Detailed notes about Ranjit Singh as well as pictures of the statue by night appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Our guide pointed out to a large bronze bell in a belfry right atop the tall central arch of the Hall Bazaar side entrance to the Town Hall. Ah, so there is a bell in there! Thanks to the sheer height of the belfry, it's very easy to miss the belfry altogether, let alone the bell inside it. The bell is defunct- no one rings it any more now. And considering the height of the dome, I was surprised to see no lightning conductor atop it. Blind faith in god perhaps. I joked light heartedly. My companions did not react at all, probably taking the remark to be not funny enough or being blasphemous! (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Long shot of a rather large 'pagri' or turban store in Hall Bazaar in Amritsasr. The turban (or pagri) is one of the mandatory requirements for followers of the Sikh faith (see previous caption), so pagri or turbans are big business here in Amritsar, which is the holiest place for followers of the Sikh faith. Notes about the five essential 'Ks' in the Sikh faity appear in the previous caption. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Details about the incident and why the Punjabi freedom fighter Madan Lal Dhingra was hanged appear on the pedestal to his statue. Dhingra stood up for racial discrimination against Indian students by a British professor, but then unfortunately ended up killing him in the process. Dhingra was therefore hanged as a result. The text is self explanatory if viewed in full screen mode. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
I am on the long-ish shopping street which runs from the bus stop all the way to the Kiyomizu-dera shrine in the outer suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Apart from cafes and restaurants, there were several mom and shop stores selling mostly traditional Japanese. The shop sold several types of traditional Japanese merchandise like handicrafts, curios, Japanese hand fans (see the extensive display of hand fans in the immediate foreground) and also garments. My niece had specifically asked for a kimono top, something which was surprisingly rare in Japan! I finally did manage to find it here in this store. (see next picture). (Kyoto, Japan, Apr/ May 2019)
Howard Brothers Outdoor Power and Hardware
Several Atlanta area locations. Visit www.HowardBrothers.com for a location near you.
– Guizhou Province, China A vibrant glimpse into the daily rhythm of Guiyang, where modern development meets traditional living. The residential buildings, bustling sidewalks, and storefronts reflect the layered textures of urban life in southwest China. From hanging laundry to passing pedestrians, this scene captures the pulse of a city in transition—rich in culture, movement, and community
Eyeglasses and garment later, I did not linger too long here in the Higashimuki Shotengai covered shopping Street here in Nara, Japan. (see previous pictures earlier in this album for details about these purchases). Beginning next to the Kansai Nara train station, the Higashimuki Shotangai covered shopping street is a little more tourist-oriented than the standard pedestrianized retail district. A good place for arts, crafts, food items and tea accoutrements (Japan’s main tea district is just outside Nara), Higashimuki Shotengai also has a few antique stores, with netsuke (kimono fasteners) and tsuba (sword-handle guards) that can range from cheap to mortgage-the-house expensive. Just as a note: You need special permission in Japan to buy a real sword; they keep close track of such purchases. This shopping street is densely packed in stretches and relatively empty in others- this is one of the more crowded stretches. (Nara, Japan, Apr/ May 2019)
Sports Direct Manchester, Market Street
High Street stores
Stock style photo
This image was taken by Moneybright and released under Creative Commons Attribution licensing. Please feel free to use either commercially or non commercial, but please do credit www.moneybright.co.uk
And this was a pic I took just seconds earlier as we approached the McD golden arches sign up ahead. I was frankly quite taken aback to see the Big Mac in this environment, so close to the Harmandir Sahib with it's free 'langar' (free community dining hall- more on that later) and other local eateries around, especially of the likes of the legendary Brothers' Dhaba. McD on the first floor hence appeared to be totally empty though, probably as a result. But it was the pedestrianized walking street we are on which really surprised me. This is indeed a total transformation from the congested and dusty city streets of Amritsar which I had seen on my last visit here, though that was way back in 1979. Note the stainless steel stumps in the picture, put up to prevent the entry of vehicles. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Another of those truly narrow streets of Amritsar in the old city area. We'd had enough of these uber narrow streets during the course of our Amritsar heritage walk which we had taken earlier in the day. But I still couldn't wrap my hear around how narrow they built these streets! Heck, even two people could not pass each other abreast! The shops and gaily done up embellishments on either side of the alley did make the place look super colourful and exotic though! (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Just before we reach Amritsar's icon the Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple, we come across this roadside Hindu shrine. The temple was quite open to the street with plenty of people around but most appeared to be headed to the Golden Temple. The presiding deities are the Hindu god Krishna and his wife Radha. I found most of the temples around Amritsar pretty colourful with gaily embellished deities. Krishna is known to be quite the playboy amongst Hindu gods, and most places depict him blue or blue-grey in colour.In this case, the white colour here is surprising. Maybe bacause this is a marble statue. His wife Radha is of course denoted generally in the normal skin colour, but again here, the white marble means that she is white too. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
Sugar loading complete, to give us energy for the rest of our trek back into the congested back streets of the Amritsar old town, we spot this corner 'gurudwara' with a stainless steel dome. Our guide mentioned something about it which I do not immediately recall. The stainless steel dome did give the gurudwara a very attractive look, but it's beauty was obscured by the grey plaster of the freshly rebuilt buildings behind it. A gurudwara is a Sikh place of worship. The Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple for instance is one of the largest Gurudwaras in India. Other large gurudwaras in India are one in Delhi and another one in Nanded in Western India. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)