Escape from Delhi

Leaving Delhi for McLeod Gangj
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Hi everyone.  Peter and I have been hanging out here in the mountains for 8 days now, a cool relaxing departure from our mad week in Delhi (no offence to our lovely hosts in Delhi, but it is a demanding city to be in).  It took a bone shaking 12-plus hours bus ride to get here but it was worth it.  This is the home of the Dalai Lama and a large community of exiled Tibetans.  Sometimes we have to remember we are still in India.  The town is interesting because of the Tibetan community as well as all the travellers, workers, Indian tourists, beggars, Saddhus and the inevitable cows.  The central streets of the small town are narrow and dirty (especially first thing in the morning before they've had a chance to get rid of the rotting vegetables and cow shit) and full of cars, buses and motorcycles honking their way through to avoid hitting any pedestrians.

morning in McLeod Ganj
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Aside from some bad smells and ugly new hotels being built into the hillsides, this is a beautiful place to be.  Lots of walks into the forests to discover Tibetan monasteries and pine groves.  Tibetan prayer flags hang everywhere.  We spent 4 days walking with a guide, a cook and a porter up into the moutains, camping for 3 nights at about 3300m.  Peter walked up to the Indrahar Pass (4300m) to see into the Chambar Valley and the ever increasing Indian Himalaya ranging (we are at the lower end of the mountains).

Looking back to the town
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Highlights of the trek included: listening to the last one-day cricket match between India and Australia, crowded around a campfire with a radio and lots of good natured rivalry between Peter and all the Indians there; camping on the side of a mountain sheltered by rocks while our cook prepared our meals in a small cave/shepherd's hut; meeting two lovely Swiss women (Liz and Cathy) and just walking in beautiful clean air, with mountains all around.  Lowlights were: seeing all the rubbish left behind by a big group of campers at Triund (there seems to be little regard for preserving the pristine nature that attracts people here in the first place); blaring static filled Hindi music on our second morning while we ate breakfast and tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery; the walk back down the mountain - about 2km on rocks - and my suffering knees.

Silver monkey on roadside
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We visted the Tibetan Library and Archives today and were fortunate to be shown inside the Archives where we saw original Tibetan manuscripts of the Buddha's teachings.  While we were there, an old bent-over woman was walking up and down the stacks chanting prayers over all the manuscripts (and clutching a mobile phone in one hand).  The Library and Archives are a Tibetan scholar's paradise with many original manuscripts rescued from monasteries destroyed by the Chinese Government and also many reproductions of books in various foreign languages.  Some monks were repainting the outside of the building with colourful and beautiful floral designs - so much nicer than boring concrete facades.

First of many Tibetan prayer flags
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Experience of the day (so far...) - giving money to a begging Saddhu and then being criticised for it not being enough!  He then stood there muttering at us - I am now struck with the curse of guilt.

Sorry no pictures yet, will try and work that out soon.

xoxoxo