McLeod Ganj: Tibetans in turmoil

Monks marching for justice and freedom in Tibet
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My bus trip to McLeod Ganj in Northern India was bloody harrowing. I have been on some hairy trips but it was by far the worst. The bus driver (a graduate from the Evil Kineval school of driving), spent most of the trip swerving around mountainous, hairpin turns without braking. I gulped so much air, out of sheer fright that I needed to be burped when I got to McLeod Ganj.

McLeod Ganj (McLo for short) is the Dalai Lama's home in exile.The town is full of Tibetan refugees, that have escaped the oppressive Chinese regime that now exists in their homeland. It's an interesting time to be here. Several days ago demonstrations broke out in Lhasa, Tibet. They are apparently the biggest in twenty years. As a consequence Tibetan communities outside of Tibet, including McLo, are very tense and also conducting demonstrations to highlight the plight of their homeland coming up to the Olympic games in China.

Demonstrations have been ongoing. I visited the main temple complex and it was filled to the rafters with Tibetans praying and chanting. Outside demonstrators were shouting "We want justice. Free Tibet", and hunger strikers were camped out on either side of the entrance.

The small but moving, Tibetan museum, highlights the tragic recent history of Tibet. I was moved to tears by some of the stories and displays. Reading the terrible events that have befallen this peaceful people was crushing. I had seen some beggars around town that looked Tibetan and had assumed that they were missing fingers and toes due to Leprosy, a disease I've seen plenty of since entering India, but I realised that in actual fact some of them may have lost their limbs etc from frostbite while trying to escape over the high Himalayan passes into India. To say that my heart goes out to these people would be an understatement.