May 9th-11th, 2012
The overnight bus to Dharamshala began its slow exit from Delhi’s suburbs. As is usual in this country, I did not get the seat in the bus that I had reserved online but I initially thought I had lucked out and had no one sitting beside me...score. Well that lasted all of 5 minutes as we picked up some more passengers at the Indian Petrol Pump where my tuktuk driver had originally brought me (damn...sadly it would have been a nicer place to wait for the bus than the junction I was at). I was a bit fortunate as it was a cute young woman from France who sat beside me. Julie has been studying in Delhi for the past four months as part of supply chain management Masters Degree she’s working on. We chatted for about half an hour but then a loud Bollywood action movie blasted thoughout the bus so we both plugged into our iPods to try and drown it out.
The bus is called a “semi-sleeper” as the seats recline quite a ways back and a footrest comes up. I think they’re fairly comfortable, better than the sleeper buses where you have no choice but to be lying down the whole time. Around 9pm we stopped at a dabaa (a restaurant at the side of the road) for dinner. After eating the waiter just assumed that my 25 rupees change from my bill was his tip. C’mon buddy. In general people don’t tip in this country but since I come from the big tipping country of Canada, I usually do tip here, but 10 rupees is considered the norm. Still feeling a little sore from all the money grabbing in Delhi, I called the cheeky bugger on it, especially after seeing him return change to all the non-white customers he had and he sheepishly gave me the money back.
At some point in the middle of the night the bus was stopped by the side of the road. I figured it was a bathroom break so I got out but then saw that the hood of the bus was up and the driver was reaching deep into the engine with some tools...uh oh. Speaking with an Indian man standing outside he told me that there was some problem with the accelerometer...okay, sure. I was impressed that within 20 minutes the turban wearing driver had fixed the problem, or at least patched it, and we were on our way again.
Climbing into the hills of Himachal Pradesh, the bus bounced and lurched about as the driver, figuring that he was a professional race driver on the “Dash to Dharamshala Derby”, honked at every slow moving vehicle and overtook them on some dodgy bends in the road. I figured it was better to put my earplugs in and pull my toque over my eyes and ignore what was happening on the road, even if sleep was next to impossible.
We arrived in Dharamshala around 6am and to my surprise, the bus continued up a mountain for 15 minutes to the small Tibetan enclave known as McLeod Ganj, which was my true destination. Dharamshala is a small city down in the valley where tourists just catch buses while McLeod Ganj is in fact the home of the Dalai Lama and the true destination for foreigners. I had already picked out a guesthouse to stay at online before the trip, “The Pink House”, and seeing as I had no idea where exactly it was in McLeod and I had close to 30 kilograms of luggage (my paraglider being the majority of it), I hopped in a taxi to take me there for a mere 100 rupees.
The Pink House lived up to its name, a four storey rectangular building painted bright pink. Thankfully they had some rooms available and sure enough my room was a few different shades of pink...lovely. I settled in, followed by a nap, lunch on the rooftop terrace with its spectacular view and then wandered around the area to get my bearings. It’s a very cute little mountain settlement and I can see why many tourists come here to visit, practice yoga or just read a book.
Knuffly Bunny has arrived in McLeod Ganj:
One of the two main streets in McLeod:
The main area of the monastery...reminded me a bit of Expo '86 in Vancouver:
Wise words...but not sure how you go about it...so is it okay if your shoes are stolen by "anyone"?!?
People busy sweeping up rice:
The main Buddha statue:
Quiet reflection:
Great views from the monastery:
Spinning the prayer wheels:
Monks busy studying in the library:
The dorms:
The footballers:
Gorgeous mountain views:
The next day it was time to head off to Bir, a world famous paragliding spot. I hopped in a taxi and even though Bir is only 40 kilometres away as a crow flies, it takes 3 hours to get there!
What can I say about my visit to the home of the exiled Buddhists of Tibet? Been zen, done that!
The overnight bus to Dharamshala began its slow exit from Delhi’s suburbs. As is usual in this country, I did not get the seat in the bus that I had reserved online but I initially thought I had lucked out and had no one sitting beside me...score. Well that lasted all of 5 minutes as we picked up some more passengers at the Indian Petrol Pump where my tuktuk driver had originally brought me (damn...sadly it would have been a nicer place to wait for the bus than the junction I was at). I was a bit fortunate as it was a cute young woman from France who sat beside me. Julie has been studying in Delhi for the past four months as part of supply chain management Masters Degree she’s working on. We chatted for about half an hour but then a loud Bollywood action movie blasted thoughout the bus so we both plugged into our iPods to try and drown it out.
The bus is called a “semi-sleeper” as the seats recline quite a ways back and a footrest comes up. I think they’re fairly comfortable, better than the sleeper buses where you have no choice but to be lying down the whole time. Around 9pm we stopped at a dabaa (a restaurant at the side of the road) for dinner. After eating the waiter just assumed that my 25 rupees change from my bill was his tip. C’mon buddy. In general people don’t tip in this country but since I come from the big tipping country of Canada, I usually do tip here, but 10 rupees is considered the norm. Still feeling a little sore from all the money grabbing in Delhi, I called the cheeky bugger on it, especially after seeing him return change to all the non-white customers he had and he sheepishly gave me the money back.
At some point in the middle of the night the bus was stopped by the side of the road. I figured it was a bathroom break so I got out but then saw that the hood of the bus was up and the driver was reaching deep into the engine with some tools...uh oh. Speaking with an Indian man standing outside he told me that there was some problem with the accelerometer...okay, sure. I was impressed that within 20 minutes the turban wearing driver had fixed the problem, or at least patched it, and we were on our way again.
Climbing into the hills of Himachal Pradesh, the bus bounced and lurched about as the driver, figuring that he was a professional race driver on the “Dash to Dharamshala Derby”, honked at every slow moving vehicle and overtook them on some dodgy bends in the road. I figured it was better to put my earplugs in and pull my toque over my eyes and ignore what was happening on the road, even if sleep was next to impossible.
We arrived in Dharamshala around 6am and to my surprise, the bus continued up a mountain for 15 minutes to the small Tibetan enclave known as McLeod Ganj, which was my true destination. Dharamshala is a small city down in the valley where tourists just catch buses while McLeod Ganj is in fact the home of the Dalai Lama and the true destination for foreigners. I had already picked out a guesthouse to stay at online before the trip, “The Pink House”, and seeing as I had no idea where exactly it was in McLeod and I had close to 30 kilograms of luggage (my paraglider being the majority of it), I hopped in a taxi to take me there for a mere 100 rupees.
The Pink House lived up to its name, a four storey rectangular building painted bright pink. Thankfully they had some rooms available and sure enough my room was a few different shades of pink...lovely. I settled in, followed by a nap, lunch on the rooftop terrace with its spectacular view and then wandered around the area to get my bearings. It’s a very cute little mountain settlement and I can see why many tourists come here to visit, practice yoga or just read a book.
Knuffly Bunny has arrived in McLeod Ganj:
Looking down towards the valley:
One of the two main streets in McLeod:
The following day I walked up to the Buddhist monastery which is the home of the Tibetan exiled leader, the Dalai Lama. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to be home but many other monks were, with some milling about in the open areas, others sweeping up rice on the floors in the temple (not sure who was throwing the rice around), others studying on computers in the library and some younger guys playing football on a small flat area by the dorms. The views of the nearby mountains were gorgeous and as for a group of exiled people, I think they chose wisely as to where to resettle. I’m sure they’d rather be in their homeland but hey, this isn’t too bad.
A monument dedicated to those who have lost their lives in Tibet's struggle with China:
A monument dedicated to those who have lost their lives in Tibet's struggle with China:
The main area of the monastery...reminded me a bit of Expo '86 in Vancouver:
Wise words...but not sure how you go about it...so is it okay if your shoes are stolen by "anyone"?!?
People busy sweeping up rice:
The main Buddha statue:
Quiet reflection:
Great views from the monastery:
Spinning the prayer wheels:
Monks busy studying in the library:
The dorms:
The footballers:
I sat up on a rooftop pseudo-patio of a restaurant to enjoy views of the mountains basking in the late afternoon sun and was shocked I was the only one there, with many other people downstairs inside. Eventually one other foreigner came upstairs and we soon began to chat. Miha is from Slovenia and he was surprised to hear that I had visited his homeland a few years ago in the first leg of my Wandergliding trip. We chatted for a few hours on a wide variety of topics including the unfortunate political demise of his country. Super nice guy.
Back on the streets:
Back on the streets:
The next day it was time to head off to Bir, a world famous paragliding spot. I hopped in a taxi and even though Bir is only 40 kilometres away as a crow flies, it takes 3 hours to get there!
What can I say about my visit to the home of the exiled Buddhists of Tibet? Been zen, done that!
The Dalai Lama is the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism Gelug sect religious officials. His Holiness is residing in a small mountain village located in the northern India. The place is called Dharamsala. You’ll find the Dalai Lama here Luxury Holiday Destination Dharamshala
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