Home of the Dalai Lama

Friday, July 7, 2009--Amritsar to Dharamsala

Most of today was a travel day. But before leaving, I returned to the restaurant where I had lunch yesterday and repeated the same lunch of alou walla kulcha. UMMMMM! I also walked through a park near the restaurant where many Indians were gunned down by the British in the early 1900s while they were protesting a new law. They had been trapped within a small confine and were shot inside and as they tried to escape from the one small passageway that would go there.

I left the hotel at 10:45 and hired a cycle rickshaw to take me and my luggage to the Bus Stand. I felt sorry for the young, skinny guy and he bicycled through town pulling me and my bags in the attached cart. He was pleased and showed a big smile when I paid him a bit more than we had agreed on the price.

It was a HOT day again after the one mild day we had yesterday. Waiting at the platform for the bus was not too bad, but we had to get on the bus early to reserve our preferred seats. And on the bus it was miserably hot. I pulled out my Japanese hand fan which I have carried with me since being given it on the street on my first ATW trip 10 years ago.

There was a nice young Spaniard from Barcelona on the bus who visited with me for a while. There was also a young woman from Hungary who sat with me and visited for about half the trip. It helped pass the time. The 7-hour trip was exhausting, however, with seats that could have used a bit more padding!

I lucked out. The hotel I had chosen (Pink House) in McLeodganj (the upper part of Dharamsala) had a room available that was clean and large with cable TV, hot water, and private balcony overlooking the Himalayas. The price was good, too--$6.27 per day. The only problem is that it is not on a street. It is down a long stairway on the mountainside. I dread carrying my luggage back up that stairway on the day that I leave!

The air here in the mountains is clear and cool. It was already 19:45 when I got checked into my room, so I just went to the rooftop restaurant of my hotel and had a dish of fried rice with vegetables and a lassi to drink for my dinner. A young Korean couple was on the roof and we began visiting. I told them I had been to their country twice.

Saturday, July 11, 2009--Dharamsala

Happy Birthday to me!

I slept late. Even then, I continued to doze off and on throughout the morning. In between, I relaxed and read. Finally, I washed some clothes and got dressed to go out for lunch around 13:00.

I went to a Tibetan restaurant for lunch, since this is the home of the exiled community who followed the Dalai Lama from Tibet after the Chinese invasion. I ate thupka, Tibetan noodle soup with cheese and vegetables. It was hot and delicious with many vegetables still at a crisp-tender stage. I drank a fresh lemon soda with it.

After walking the streets in town to explore some, I went to a dessert place near by hotel to celebrate my birthday. The woman said everything was made with butter, flour, and sugar there, and it was highly recommended in one of the guides I read. After looking over everything, I decided on a slice of walnut-date bread and two chocolate rum balls along with a cup of coffee. I sat on their rooftop terrace with a view of the mountains and enjoyed them while also visiting with the two Koreans I had met the night before and who just happened to already be at this place when I arrived today.

Most of the afternoon, I sat on my balcony and read. When evening came, I went upstairs to eat again. A Canadian woman in her 50s was there eating, and we visited. She has been here at the Pink House for 2 months studying to become certified as a yoga instructor. She is one of those persons who comes to India looking for meaning in life and loves the country. I can tell she is looking for ways to stay here for the rest of her life. I couldn't imagine doing that, myself. The restaurant does not serve beer, but she had bought a big one and shared a glass from it with me to celebrate my birthday.