Vishnu Bhawan McLeod Ganj

... her tries to tell me to sit elsewhere. Then we got the conductor who told me that in no uncertain terms that no one else should be sitting there and that he would make that person move.

He gets on the bus and then yells some Hindi at the son and the mother and finally they move. I don't know if there is such thing as karma, but somehow in India it works out a way to surely suggest it. The old lady then had to move to another seat and sit with her son (i suspect the old lady ...

... is home. I also went to Teibet Museum - the story it tells is very pity. But all the curators express optimism - if not a country, we'll get autonomy they say. It's fine with me, keeping my fingers crossed.
The bus to Amritsar is at 5 from Dharamsala. It's good there is a aux. bus from McLeod to Dharamsala, which leaves at 4.

It's been hectic to say the least since I got to Mcleod Ganj. Today is a local holiday of sorts as it's the anniversary of the Tibetan Children's Village so I get an unexpected bonus day off teaching- a long weekend, excellent!!

leaving Delhi (again!!) was quite an event in itself. I was booked on an overnight bus to Dharamsala, the travel agent took me to a clearing in the woods near the Tibetan colony where I'd been staying. There were 5 buses all going to the ...

After a nice relaxing weekend in Manali, we endured our second 10 hour bus ride to McLeod Ganj. This journey was awful as it was during the night and there wasn't much to look at. We checked in to the grottiest guesthouse so far at 3 in the morning as no where else was open. We woke early next day, paid up and made our way to Kungas Guesthouse. We then had hot shower, balcony etc...

That afternoon we made our way to The Mountaineering Inst. to find out about our ...

... The fact that the Burmese government beat up and tortured Buddhist monks and civilians simply for protesting is disgusting. What is more disgusting is that the rest of the world has stood back and done nothing about it. The same is happening in Zimbabwe and Tibet and Im sure in many other places. Those people that are willing to sacrifice their own safety for the good of others I think really are special people. I hope this ...

... Government in Exile and a vast number of Tibetans that have fled there country for safety, we have experienced the culture and seen the struggle that these people have been enduring for 50 years. It is unbelievable to see first hand how the Tibetan people are suffering due to the Chinese Government's actions over the past 50 years. It is hard to believe that so many people in the world don't know anything about this situation and how the Tibetan culture is on the brink of ...

... but bike-able 80% is "OK", and that's being generous. The road is paved, but this should not in any way be confused with "smooth". They have phenomenally elastic pavement here, so very few potholes, but the pavement is rippled like a bay with a good breeze. We almost never exceeded a measly 30 kph, even on a good downhill for fear of rider and/or bags departing the bicycle The remaining 5%, is excellent - brand new pavement which hasn't had time to ripple yet. And I ...

... we couldn't come in or take photos. Moments later, the goat was sacrificed and one of the men came out with its head dripping with blood. Apparently there was a wedding that afternoon. On our way back down the valley to the Sutlej River, I asked Lara if it was okay to stop and take a picture of the Saddhu. We found out why he is known as the 'Happy Baba'. He and a bunch of Israelis were smoking hashish next to his shrine! Hence his permanent smile! He was as friendly as ever and ...

... a meal that night - everyone chose the thali - more rice, lentils, and chapatis. My visions of paneer were dashed, however, as Mudh is an entirely Tibetan village. The menu was Tibetan with the exception of thali and a few Israeli dishes. We shared few jugs of chang, explained to me as wheat beer, but I think it must be milk based. Anyway - tasty stuff. The three of us turned in and our gang carried on till the wee hours.

... it out. We reached the falls and found it to be more of a sprinkle...just check out the photos. Regardless of the fact that the falls were a bit disappointing, the hike was really great. We had been stuck in cities and dirty areas for so long that it was nice to be out in the wilderness and fresh air. I will say however that at numerous points along the hike there were massive amounts of trash. I've never been to a place where people have such blatant disregard ...