Long weekend...

view from bed
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 We happily left Amritsar bright and early on the 9:00am train to Patankot. A nice Sikh gentleman at the platform found us particularly interesting and sat and talked to us about the Sikh religion while we waited for the train. The most amazing thing for me was the emphasis on equality in their teachings. In a country where caste and gender differences are such a prevalent problem, a religion that praises members who have died protecting Hindus, Muslims, or women is pretty amazing. They also believe in only one god and have a holy book given to them by 10 holy men (very similar to the 12 disciples and the bible.)

view from balcony
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The train to Patankot took about 2.5hrs and we met more nice people along the way. One family from Delhi asked us to come over for dinner when we get back. Unfortunately the rest of the afternoon was spent on a crowded bus with some overly talkative Indian teachers that were on vacation.

It wasn't exactly what I had in mind for the weekend...

When we started up the winding mountain road to Dharamsala it was like a full body sigh. I look at this place like the physical reincarnation of a deep breath. The air is tangibly cooler, cleaner, and colder than in Delhi, so just that alone gives it a whole different feeling. Unfortunately, many other people had the same idea as us for the weekend and we spent about an hour looking for an available hotel. We found one eventually then spent the evening shopping and ate at an Italian restaurant.

rainy roofs
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The next day some mild uneasiness I'd been experiancing for a few days turned into full-fledged sickness. I slept the next two days in bed sleeping or in the bathroom (which was luckily near by.) My two friends that were with me were nice enough to make runs to the pharamacy and my cell-phone link to my dad was a true life line to much needed medical advice. The hotel owner and his wife were great too, supplying me with water, and special food requests.

It wasn't exactly what I had in mind for the weekend, but if I had to be sick, I'd rather be sick in the cool mountains than in hot Delhi. I also found-out when I got back that I wasn't alone. Many of the foreign students were sick at the same time as me by coincidence or some common ailment.

mountain market
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At any rate, after starting antibiotics, I felt well enough on our last day there to make it to the temple in the morning for the Dalhi Lama's teaching. You had to go through a bit of security, and the whole place was very full, but I got a good seat next to some monks and turned on my radio for the English translation. He spoke on wisdom and some of the principles of wisdom in the sense of Buddhist teachings. His speaking was the main reason I wanted to go there for the weekend, so I was happy to have just made it to that. The rest of the day I rested in an internet cafe while the girls did some last minute shopping. So, not what I'd imagined, but still a successful weekend for it's main purpuse.

The journey back had to be made by bus because the train was full...again. You all know how I feel about the buses. Need I even elaborate? Ok. My previous theory that they all use "grand theft auto" as a training video has now been elaborated to the fact that I think they have big air contests to see who can ramp their bus into the pot wholes fastest propelling their back seat passengers into the air. If the people around me could have heard the cursing going on in my head I don't think I'd be allowed on public trasnport. My mild vindication was that his crazy driving propmpted my already fragile stomach to empty out onto the side of his bus as we barreled down the mountain side. That was interesting.

So, we're back, safe and sound in Delhi. I took a few more days to recover and am finally feeling better now. It also helps that it's cooled down a bit here in the past few days. The breezes in the city have picked up but still no rain. So, enjoy the few photos from this strange weekend, and I'll maybe have more from more traditional tourist activities next time:)