Blogs from Arunachal Pradesh, India, Asia

Hello Everyone, Just a quick message to say that I am still alive and having a ball!!! Teaching Yoga which I am loving and visiting many villages with the children. I am 'OMU' which means big sister in Mompa language (which is the language they speak in Tawang). I am kitting for the children, so that they can keep warm during the 'spring', each night. It is spring time here and it is extremely cold in the morning and night. The internet is really slow and has a mind of it's own so I;m sorry if I haven't been writing as often as you may like. "AHH" There goes another explosion. There are 3 construction sites here at the orphanage and every afternoon / night they put explosives into the rock to break it up to ... read more

Hello my gorgeous friends!!! The orphanage is so amazing!!! The monks and the children totally run the school and you could imagine what a beautiful atmosphere and vibe this place has. They look after me so well and you can contribute is what ever way you want. I have been teaching Maths, English, Art and 2 Yoga classes everyday. My favourite thing that I have just started doing is reading a bedtime story to all the girls (big and small) in the dorm each night. (There are 50 little eyes popping out from their bunk beds watching and listening to me in complete silence). I just love it!!! The children here soak up everything you say and you only have to tell them things once. It is really fun teaching them. I really do feel apart ... read more

Hey everyone, I just arrived in Tawang... It has been an amazing testing time for me and I really impressed myself with my patience. I took a flight from Delhi to Guwahati and then was picked up from the airport by LobSang (secretary from the orphanage). We drove for 7 hours to a town called Tazpur. Stayed the night and got some supplies for our journey the next day. We took a jeep to Tawang the next day on a bumpy dirt road. It took us 18 hours. We had a few flat tyres and snow covered roads that added the length of the journey. I will blog again tomorrow to fill you in with all the funny details of this trip. I'm sure you will enjoy reading about as much as I enjoyed experiencing it. ... read more

Hey, Money goes a long way here. I went crazy at his art supplies shop to take gifts up to the school as I heard that the kids love to do art. I spent $32 AUS and bought art supplies that would last me an entire year back home. Oil pastels, paints, water colours, art paper, paint brushes, crayons of all types the list goes on. Lobsang (orphanage secretary) had to tell me to stop. If any of you know me well, you would know how excited I get in any stationary shop! I'm sure you could imagine. Well enough about that and onto the journey details. So picture this... I arrive at 5.30am in the morning with my lovely travel companion Lobsang, who fetched me from the airport the day before, at the 'jeep station' ... read more

Los gings mit einem gecancelltem Flug und dem Nichtwissen ob wir überhaupt halbwegs rechtzeitig hinkommen werden. Wir sind Tapashi, eine Mitarbeiterin von Helptourism und ich. Umbuchung auf eine andere Airline geht in Indien ratzfatz. Der schuldige Nebel löste sich auch auf und wir flogen nach sechs Stunden warten nach Dibrugarh, einer Stadt in Assam, Nordostindien. Die Strassen sind staubig und von Teeplantagen gesäumt. Die Gesichter der Menschen haben einen südostasiatischen Touch. Langsam tuckern wir mit dem Jeep weiter Richtung Osten an die Grenze zu Arunachal Pradesh. Hier ist der Treffpunkt. Alle Fahrzeuge treffen hier aufeinander und alle wichtigen Personen warten schon, Cameras in Poolposition. Die zweite Car-Bike-Rally seit 1945 befährt die Ledoroad/Stilwellroad auf der indischen Seite bis nach Burma. Eine Ader die von Nordostindien über Burma bis nach Kunming (Süd... read more

I'm running a 5K tomorrow - Saturday, May 9! Won't you join me in helping to change the lives of children throughout Tibet, China, India and beyond? Many of you know how passionate I am about Vision Builders, the organization I worked through in Tibet and India. WELL --- TOMORROW I'm running in a 5K and it's the last day to sponsor me. Won't you please consider a small or large donation? Just think of it, $10 can buy a child's food for nearly a month at our Varanasi, India project. Really, no amount is too small. Please visit my fundraising page at http://www.firstgiving.com/wangmo TODAY! It's the last chance. For ongoing information about the compassionate efforts of Vision Builders, please visit http://www.visionbuilders.org. Thank you for your cons... read more

It was drizzling at Tawang lamasery as in Bomdila. The 400-year-old gompa, surpassed in antiquity only by the temple of Llasa, the heartland of Tibetan Buddhism, is still in slumber. The monks are yet to gather for prayers. The sonorous tune from the gyaling pervades the lamasery. Two young monks shrouded in morning mist blow the short trumpets from a small temple atop an unfinished building in the compound. Neighbourhood Monpa women help monks with their daily chores. The monastic musicians enter the gompa past ferocious chimandas who guard the pantheon of Vajrayana deities. They stow away their gyalings inside a box between the rows of cushions. Presiding over the pantheon of deities and fairies is a mammoth idol of the Buddha in a yellow robe. The gompa is huge compared to the one in Bomdila. ... read more