Dharamsala

One hour to spare before heading to the bus station. Just enough time for a blog post. So here's Dharamsala in one shot.

Well, I say Dharamsala, but we haven't set foot there. We refer to this area by the main city name, but in fact, over the past 5 days, we have been in Bhagsu, McLloyd Ganj and Dharamkot. MG is where the residence of the Dalai Lama is located, but unfortunately he is Europe at the moment, so we were not able to see him speak. B and D are a short hike up from MG. 

We left Rishikesh (which I will write about tomorrow, our last day there) late aft on Sunday, taking an overnight bus to MG. The Rishikesh heat was stifling, and the bus had no AC. There were small fans above each set of two seats, none of which worked. And this was a private, "deluxe" bus. Wonder what the regular government bus would have been like. We stopped at 10:30pm for dinner - a very normal dinner time for Indians - and when we set off again 45 minutes later, the heat was still pretty unbearable. The road had been quite nice till then, but from midnight on, it was hot and bumpy. So you can imagine how much sleep we got. We finally started the ascent towards Dharamsala in the wee hours of the morning, and our sweat gradually dried. We were in MG around 7am, thankful for the cool, fresh mountain air.

Got a taxi ride to our guesthouse in Bhagsu, but had to wait a few hours for check-in time. Papa dozed in the resto; I went for a couple walks to explore town. We both rested a bit after check-in, then walked to the nearby waterfalls and hiked up along the path to the top. Great view of the towns below and Dharamsala far down. After dinner that night, I came here to type the conclusion of my trek - 2 hours of writing - and when I clicked on publish, nothing happened. I got worried, clicked save, nothing happened. Blogsite was not responding. Clicked on refresh, and unfortunately, that did work. When the refreshed page appeared, it was blank. Blog post gone. Two hours down the drain. My blogsite usually saves automatically every 30 seconds or so, and I'd never had any problem with it. Until then. I was furious. Stormed out of the web room, but then reminded myself to take a few deep breaths, think yoga thoughts, and relax. Easier said than done. Settled my rage over some banoffee pie at our guesthouse next door, regained my composure, and came back more calmly to the computer, ready to start over. Didn't want to go to bed with the unfinished trek posts on my mind. Rewrote it in about an hour (quicker the 2nd time), and finally went to bed around 11.

Started the next day with tea on the terrasse, then walked down to MG for breakfast at a little cafe in town. Walked further down a winding road to the area where the offices and buildings of the Tibetan government in exile are located. In a nice hall next to the library and public archives, there were free daily lectures on dharma given by Tibetan monks. Great talk, charismatic monk who, like many Buddhist monks and the Dalai Lama himself, are constantly chuckling at the their own jokes. Went for some yummy Tibetan momos and apple cider at the canteen next door, then browsed the library and archives. A short walk away was the museum of Tibetan healing (medicinal plants and practices) as well as the Astro-Medical Institute. All in all, great combo of lecture, food and visits. Mid-aft, walked back up the hill towards MG main town, stopping at a stunning European-owned cafe/bookshop overlooking the mountains and valleys below and playing classical music. Quiet, clean, peaceful... didn't feel like India! Continued our walk up the hill to town, stopping next at the main temple, where I spun my first prayer wheels, repeating the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra. While walking around town, met my first Montrealer since I've been in India, who told us about a talk being given that evening by a Tibetan ex-prisoner. He was on his way there, so we followed. Interesting account of the horrors Tibetans endured in prison-camps at the hands of the Chinese. Glad to be learning more about this cause. Back at our guesthouse, I read a bit from the books I bought at the Euro cafe/bookstore. Yes, more books.

Wednesday morning, papa and I both slept in till 9:30! We were pretty shocked when we saw the time. Guess we both had some sleep to catch up on. Did some yoga that morning after a very long break (since Blaire and Jim were here I think!). Felt great, did a whole set of Trika warm-ups, sun-salutations (with the Himalayan rays beaming down on me), and a final relaxation. Why don't I do this every day?? Went for a breakfast of mango cake and organic green tulsi tea at a nearby cafe, browsing the books on the shelf (which, thankfully, were not for sale), and papa and I shared spiritual passages we liked from what we read. For the rest of that day we decided to do... nothing! When traveling and visiting new places, it's easy to over-pack your days and to forget how important it is to stop and just be. Just breathe. Just take it all in. So we returned to our lovely balcony with a great view and nice table and bench just outside our room, and spent the afternoon reading, chatting, napping, breathing. Our guesthouse is prefect except for the loud music and young, noisy crowd at night. The peaceful day was a little broken, and they made it difficult for us to fall asleep, but we did.

Of course, after a day of doing nothing, we had to make up for it with a jam-packed Thursday schedule. Up at 7, chai on the balcony, then walked up the hill to Dharamkot. Realized this was where peace and quiet were to be found. I even decided on the guesthouse I'd stay at next time I'm here. Stopped at a tiny temple for a morning meditation facing the mountain peaks, then breakfast at the guesthouse I spotted, where we chatted with a traveling family who had been on the road for 3 years. Kids were home-schooled (or should I say travel-schooled), and our time spent interacting with them convinced me that the school of life produces far greater results than our typical educational system. Actually, I've been convinced of this for a very long time; those kids were just proof.

Oh boy, already time to go... so you'll get the Dharamsala conclusion from Rishikesh tomorrow. Off on the overnight bus again for a journey of at least 12 hours. I can hope for maybe a couple hours of sleep. At least the ride will be a little cooler from up here :)