Let me tell you about my day ....

Well it started early ... left the apt at 4:00 am ... trudged up the steps (394 of them) for the last time and went to the taxi stand and got a taxi down to the bus station in Dharamsala ... the taxi driver had no change - as usual .. change is always a problem in India ... which was solved after we both ran around the bus station asking bleary eyed travellers if they could make change ...

The bus was only 15 mins late ... got into Amritsar 2 chai stops and 5 hours later - the bus didn't go all the way into town so I got a tuk tuk (3 wheeled, fume belching rickshaw) to the train station since the hotel I'd scoped out in the guide was withing walking distance of the station - not a good idea to have a tuk tuk take u to a new hotel .. they will run in and claim commission from the hotel ... jacking up the price!

My first impressions of Amritsar were not good ... very polluted .. congested .. dirty .. lot's of beggers and touts ... a frenetic mess. The hotel was adequate .... so after a quick shower I headed off to see the Golden temple, the Mecca for Sikhs

I was not dissappointed ... it's an amazing sight. Click here for photo

There's a free bus from the station to the temple .. when you get there you check your shoes, wash your feet and walk in ... You have to have your head covered if you're not wearing a turban ... but they provide nice scarves for you to use. I found the place as moving as it was beautiful - a combination of hospitality and mass reverence Super clean, free meals for everyone who wants .. they can feed 10,000 and provide free accomodation for three nights if you want to sty in their hostel. No one asks you for money, and the place is run by volunteers. And all those turbans! very colorful. There's continuous singing coming from inside the temple which, as the name suggests is covered in gold ...

I walked back to the hotel and got back tired, and frazzeled ... and headed over to the train station to see if I could change my ticket to leave a little earlier. The ques were too daunting however, and I decided to stick with what I have. I went back to the hotel planning a shower but found out that you only get hot water once a day ... what time did i want it tomorrow?

After a short nap I went in search of a restaurant from my guide ... given the grubby nature of what I'd seen o far of Amritsar I didn't expect much .... but found myself in a much more upscale part of town and it turned out to be fabulous!

Beggers are one of the hardest things to get used to here. Until this trip I'd been generally reluctant to give to beggers much .. all the guide books talk about giving to organizations that serve the poor as a better strategy ... it reminded me a bit of the campaign the Partnership in saskatoon had to discourage panhandlers ... except that here it's much more heartbreakers. I've been surprised to see quite a lot of lepers ... people withhorrible disfigurements of feet and hands .. and it some cases missing limbs entirely. I thought that leprosy was a thing of the past .. but apparently, while it can be controlled or arrested if caught early ... many in India simple don't have access to treatment. The other difficult sight are mothers, often Dalits (untouchable caste) with babies .. or child beggers who persistently tug at your clothing to get your attention.
I now give whenever I have coins in my pocket ... John, a most interesting chap who lived in my apt building said somethng that stuck with me ..... somethng abt giving without trying to decide who you should give to .. as he put it .. let God decide. Certainly I wouldn't want to trade places with any of the beggers I meet

Well my prepaid hour is up on this thing ... excuse the rant ... stay tuned ...

Well it's my last day in McLeod - hard to believe I've been here two months.
Tomorrow it's off to Amiritsar, home of the Sikh Golden Temple, then on to Rishikish, Varanasi and Bodha Gaya by Dec 12th. Here are a few last photos' around McLeod Ganj

Took a hike yesterday to the pretty village of Naddi near McLeod Ganj ....

















Terraced fields against the magnificant backdrop of the mountains

















Photo of Demonstration to protest visit of Chines Premier to India from last week



















One last sunset photo from the deck of the apartment

Back to Little Lhasa

Well I'm home again to Little Lhasa as McLeod Ganj is often called. It's good to be home, but I have the feeling that if i don't leave soon I never will ... so will probably move on in a week or so.

On the way home I stayed in Chamba one more night - and was tracked down by the Himachal Fire Dept. I was out for a stroll thinking of eating at some food stalls I had seen when I realized the route I was taking would leave me right past the fire station. I walked by, smiled, but thought no one saw/recognized me .. until about five minutes later when a guy ran up to me and told me the chief wanted to see me ... something about dinner and restaurant ... I went back and said hello .. but refused his kind offer

I then found a quiet little restaurant .. or so I thought, to eat .... at the other end of the restaurant some young boys 12 years old or so were celebrating a birthday when they saw me I was mobbed ... all wanted to shake my hand .. questions flew .. where was I from? what was my name? how much money did I make? where was my wife? - the usual sort of Indian questions! Fortuantly their parents dragged them off me and they left ... leaving me a big piece of Birthday cake ... quite sweet really.



When I went up into the town this morning there was a largish sit down demonstration by Tibetans protesting the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India.



















Later there was a candlelight march thru the streets .... all very peaceful.

Well that's all for tonight ... night!

I'm nicely cossetted (love that word) in the Aroma Palace Hotel in Chamba ... one the nicest places yet! Clean, a great view, hot water, tv, towel even toilet paper!!!

I came to Chamba from Dalhousie this morning on a "bus" (if I can call it that) trip that Lonely Planet describes, quite accuratly, as hair-raising. ... a wild mountain road that passes thru a black bear sanctuary and an Indian Swiss style meadow and resort ... bizarre ... The valley is steep, the mountains high and the road very narrow.

Dalhousie was almost deserted ... very much the "off season" and bitterly cold at over 7000ft. It's kept going by the army and a couple of huge "public schools" - a cross between American Military Acadamies and British Public Schools ... boarding schools where priveleged Indians send thier darlings to be educated and moulded. Many of the buildings and hotels reek of Raj Era India Glory ... or ... again to quote Lonely Planet others just reek.

Chamba is relaxed provincial centre in the Valley ... very much a working town .. I havn't seen any other Westerners here yet.

As I was walking around checking the place out this afternoon I saw a bunch of Fireman sitting outside the Himachal Fire Brigade Headquarters beside an ancient fire truck .... I asked if I could take a picture and they were delighted and insisted on posing in front .... before i knew it I was in the Fire Chief's imposing but ancient office having tea with him .. he seated behind his enourmous desk and his men on chairs around the edge of the office - he asked me questions about Canada and I told him my brother is a volunteer fireman - he was delighted .. and kept translating everything I said to the men in Hindi ... He then asked in a quieter tone if I liked whiskey ... at which point I told him I'd been on the wagon for a few years ... discretion seemed to dictate that this was the wisest decision .. and I left .. promising to send him the picture - these sort of things seem to happen a lot here.

Tomorrow it's off to Bharmaur ... right behind the mountains from McLeod Ganj ... and way off the beaten track .. with any luck I'll be back to Chamba in a couple of days ...

Back to Samsara

Well it's been 3 or 4 days since I walked down off the hill from Tushita back to my apartment down here in McLeod Ganj - and what a social whirl it's been.

The retreat was truly excellent .... the first eight days an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism - very well presented ... followed by 2 days of meditation ... three pretty good meals a day ... yoga "talking" in the afternoon and evenings ... and chocolate for sale in the Chai Shop. A meditation retreat with chocolate! ... what a concept! The presentor was a Ozzie monk ... Lama Lobsang Namgyel, warm, compassionate and hilarious!

The course was just what I needed .. a pretty comprehensive introduction to Tibetan Buddhism from a Gulugpa Mahayana perspective. Helped my understand ... and appreciate much of what Namgyal Rinpoche at the Dharma Centre was about. I may attend some more teachings at a related centre in BodhGaya - if I ever get there!

Life in McLeod seems to have been especially sweet the last few days ... I'm getting to know quite a few of the regulars around town, along with the rather interesting - some might say quirky - people in my apartment block. That combined with the 46 or so folks I was with at the Tushita retreat and it's impossible to walk anywhere without meeting someone you know ... and heading off for the subsequent chai, restaurant or coffee house gathering. Fun. I think I could quite enjoy living here for quite a while ... it's one of those villages that is a planetary crossroads. however, a southward move may come as soon as temperatures drop ... an Indian Snowbird!

Tomorrow however, I'm heading off on a adventure up the Chamba Valley - with the goal of seeing how far I get. It's the valley one over, and deeper into the Himalaya than the Kangra Valley which Dharmasala and McLeod Ganj are in. It's actually only a few miles away directly over the mountains from here .. across the Indahaur pass I tried unsucsessfuly to cross when I went trekking - but to get there is going to be a very long bus ride ... the long way around ....

I'm expecting to be gone five or six days .. I'm not sure if I'll find internet or not .. watch the space for the next installment!

Get thee to a Monastry!

Heading home to the apartment after a quiet evening .... tomorrow I head up to Tushita Meditation Centre for a 10 day retreat - I'm looking forward to it. The last few days have been quite social, as I'm getting to know people and what's on. I joined a group last night for a Halloween supper at a Korean restaurant ... followed by desert and singing at Capre Diem. It will be good to have a break!

Tonight I went for my predinner Chai at Sunrise, then walked over to Bhagsu in the moonlight to the German Bakery and Restaurant, which, for some reason has great Indian Food - splurged and stuffed myself on a Kashmiri Vegetable Biryanai and a Malai Kofta, along with Garlic Nan and Chai ... all for the staggering sum of $3.00!

Back in 10 days or so .......