This past weekend, we journeyed north to the city of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama is in exile from Tibet. It was amazingly beautiful, we saw the Himalaya's for the first time, they were everything I though they would be, snow covered and stunning. It wasn't easy to get to Dharamsala though, we really had to work for it. We took an overnight train to a city about four hours outside of Dharamsala, called Pathankot. We got off the train, looking like sitting ducks with our backpacks, at 8:00a.m. We looked around the train station for any sign of a bus station (as we had to take a bus the remaining four hours). There was nothing to be found so we decided to buy breakfast and figure things out. As we stood waiting in line, a man came up to us playing a flute, not with his mouth, but with his nose, rather impressive if I do say so myself, we gave him money for his efforts and left the train station. After being bombarded by taxi drivers charging ridiculous amounts to drive us to Dharamsala and of course telling us no bus station existed, we wandered down an Indian slum, with dirty little children carrying loads far too heavy, and old men far too thin sitting under shelters of tarps held up with sticks. We asked which way the train station was, everyone pointed down the road and flicked their wrist alluding to the fact that it was on the right hand side. Needless to say the directions were vague at best. Nonetheless, we found the bus station and boarded the bus for the long, bumpy, four hour ride to Dharamsala. Upon arriving in Dharamsala, we were all in heaven, there was a brisk chill in the air and a refreshing breeze and the beautiful mountains made us feel right at home. We checked into the OM hostel (only $5 a night) and set off exploring. We first went to the Dalai Lama temple where the Dalai Lama lives (he wasn't home) and we saw many monks praying and meditating, it was lovely. We then walked along a dirt, prayer flag lined, road with many other Tibetans and monks (prayer beads in hand) to a monastery in the hills. There were prayer wheels lining the road and there was the wonderful smell of earth that comes with consistent rain fall and happy trees. There was a light breeze that made the prayer flags wave in the wind all down the pathway, it was truly one of the most peaceful places I've ever been. We reached the monastery, the forest in the background draped with prayer flags and the soaring Himalaya's in the background. We made our way back to town and ran into monks holding candles and framed pictures of the Dalai Lama. We had stumbled upon a peaceful march commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama being in exile in Dharamsala. It was touching to see all of these Tibetans peacefully marching, just wanting their home to be theirs again. The night got cold so we headed back to the OM hostel. The three us of shared two hard beds, but as I said, it was cold so we didn't mind having to be close. The next morning, we awoke to rain! I was thrilled to see green Dharamsala all wet. With rain coats on, we set off for another adventure. This time to a temple and a waterfall in the mountain. As we started our hike, we were almost knocked over by goats, being herded by two women in sari's, we dodged out of the way and let them pass. The walk was gorgeous and when we got to the waterfall, we were surprised to see little shack cafes and tea stalls in the cliffs, but then again heaven forbid anyone go without their tea!
As I have mentioned, we are celebrities here, everyone wants pictures with us and we're not sure why. It is common place to feel someone sidle up to you (male or female) and hear “excuse me madam, can we have a snap?” An Indian family cornered us and took a group shot with us in it, then one on one's with each member of the family and each one of us, we cooperated. We found our way back to the main town, shopped at the Tibetan stores a little and then boarded the 14 hour bus back to Delhi.
I'm not quite sure what we were thinking.. no actually, I do, we were thinking Le Bus, big cushie seats, bathrooms in the back, T.V.'s, air-conditioning!!!!!!! What we got was a bus where the door didn't close, seats that wouldn't stay fully reclined or fully upright, they were like spring boards that sprang at the will of the bus. It was going to be a long night. If I hadn't already been accustomed to the driving in India, I would have kissed life goodbye and come to terms with death but, I knew better, I knew the driver would throw all caution to the wind, barrel down the dirt mountain road at 75 miles per hour, hugging every sharp turn, and passing cars with only a millimeter between them and a sheer cliff. After about four hours of this, a stroke of genius hit and I decided to go to the very back where there was a bench so I could lie down and get some sleep. Well, you know how the back of a roller coasters is always the most fun because you get whipped around the most well, the same physics apply to buses. I was bouncing around like a rag doll, get some serious air over ever bump and violently hurtling onto the sides around every turn. Like I said, it was a long night. We arrived in Delhi at 5a.m. greeted by a gaggle of rickshaws.. we were home! So, we got a good four hours of sleep in before we had to go to work. At work, I have been assigned to create an Annual Report from scratch. When I arrived at work on Monday morning I got a frantic phone call telling me I had to have it complete by the end of the day!! I feverishly worked on it all day and past quitting time just to get it finished. Like a friend of Maxine's said, “after India, everywhere else will be easy.” I love you all and I hope you're all having a good time in life! Namaste!
We took an over night train ride....
As I have mentioned, we are celebrities here, everyone wants pictures with us and we're not sure why. It is common place to feel someone sidle up to you (male or female) and hear “excuse me madam, can we have a snap?” An Indian family cornered us and took a group shot with us in it, then one on one's with each member of the family and each one of us, we cooperated. We found our way back to the main town, shopped at the Tibetan stores a little and then boarded the 14 hour bus back to Delhi.
I'm not quite sure what we were thinking.. no actually, I do, we were thinking Le Bus, big cushie seats, bathrooms in the back, T.V.'s, air-conditioning!!!!!!! What we got was a bus where the door didn't close, seats that wouldn't stay fully reclined or fully upright, they were like spring boards that sprang at the will of the bus. It was going to be a long night. If I hadn't already been accustomed to the driving in India, I would have kissed life goodbye and come to terms with death but, I knew better, I knew the driver would throw all caution to the wind, barrel down the dirt mountain road at 75 miles per hour, hugging every sharp turn, and passing cars with only a millimeter between them and a sheer cliff. After about four hours of this, a stroke of genius hit and I decided to go to the very back where there was a bench so I could lie down and get some sleep. Well, you know how the back of a roller coasters is always the most fun because you get whipped around the most well, the same physics apply to buses. I was bouncing around like a rag doll, get some serious air over ever bump and violently hurtling onto the sides around every turn. Like I said, it was a long night. We arrived in Delhi at 5a.m. greeted by a gaggle of rickshaws.. we were home! So, we got a good four hours of sleep in before we had to go to work. At work, I have been assigned to create an Annual Report from scratch. When I arrived at work on Monday morning I got a frantic phone call telling me I had to have it complete by the end of the day!! I feverishly worked on it all day and past quitting time just to get it finished. Like a friend of Maxine's said, “after India, everywhere else will be easy.” I love you all and I hope you're all having a good time in life! Namaste!
We took an over night train ride....
and then a four hour bus ride...
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