The Great Retreat to the North

I escaped.

From the cities, that is. I basically did a hairpin turn, dumped my plans, and headed north. Away from the cities and pollution and chaos - to the home of the exiled Tibetan government, Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj.

My arrival in Delhi was overwhelming, to say the least. I was talking to Mr. Singh, my lovely hostel host in Jaipur about it. The backpacker district is pretty much the sketchiest place in Delhi, and compound that reality with July heat and aggressive touts, and it is enough to make a girl want to whip out her credit card and check into the Shangri-La.

Jaipur was interesting, but I didn't particularly take a strong liking to it. I got along well with Marcela, who met me there, and we toured the city. We saw the city palace and a flower market and had some great food. The highlight was the Monkey Temple - the place is teeming with monkeys aching to pluck a peanut from your palm. The view was impressive and we had a good conversation with some locals and a pair of Canadian girls we met at the top while we waited for the sunset.

Travelling alone... is the best of times, and the worst of times. Sometimes I am lonely and shake my head at the folly of this decision. Sometimes I am amazed and utterly convinced that there is no where else I would rather be, and I marvel at my surroundings and thank my lucky stars. The rest of the time I am probably sitting on a bus, zoning out, not really having strong feelings one way or the other.

This place is just what I needed. It is small, sort of like a ghetto Invermere. The locals are mostly Tibetan. Reminds me of my Sichuan trip last year. They are polite, respectful, warm. The other tourists are either in the same boat as me or they are well-to-do residents of the nearby Punjab region. They too leave me alone and I am thoroughly enjoying not being harassed or interrogated.

Not really sure what my plans are from here. I figure that I will stick around until I can't stand being in one place anymore. Given the rate I have been going, I think I need a small injection of regularity.

Today I arrived after 6 hours on a Jaipur-Delhi bus, 4 hours killing time in Delhi, and a 12 hour overnight bus ride from Delhi to Dharamsala. I walked around a bit, discovered the adjacent village and waterfall, looked into some shops. I then took a desperately needed shower (my first truly cold one of the trip - and certainly not the last) and then wandered around some more, getting my bearings about me. There are adverts for yoga, massage, cooking, meditation, fortune-telling etc EVERYWHERE and after reading them all day I am still not sure where I should go to do any of these activities. The directions say "Above the old German bakery" and "Behind Sweet Dreams Hostel, 300 m" - if only I knew where the landmarks were!

This evening I stumbled upon the ultimate stereotypical Dharamsala event - a discussion led by a Tibetan activist. I just listened. I didn't really feel qualified to add much. I mean, he has been jailed. He has travelled the world giving lectures. Also, the debate was more or less led by a South African who lived in China for 3 years and has a Han Chinese girlfriend, and a Kiwi teacher who taught English in China. The activist said some interesting things. One argument he made was that the Chinese people are actually more repressed than the Tibetans. Food for thought.

Well I am off, there is a strict curfew here of midnight. If I don't get to the right side of the gate by then I "sleep on the street". Not much of a party scene here, but I really don't mind in the slightest.

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Part of trip: The India Chronicles

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