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Published: June 14th 2010
We probably should have know better that to board a night bus which had 'Oh God Save Me' written on the front, skull and crossbones on the rear brake lights and a driver with a truly manic glint in his eye. But board the bus we did and were duly rewarded with one the the most arse-spankingly, bone-shakingly exhausting AND expensive journeys that we've had in two years of travelling. So that's one for the books (funny that it was the first bus journey we've had with not one Indian on board - it was 7 of us westerners and about 2000 Tibetan school children and monks).
But oh it was worth it to arrive in Ganj Mcleod. We were pretty tired after nearly 4 months of the noise, heat and dirt in India and Mcleod with its Tibetan population, prayer flags fluttering in the cool breeze and surrounding pine forests and snowcapped peaks couldn't have been more welcome. We've been loving our time in India but were sorely in need of a break, particularly from the heat.
McLeodGanj is a suburb of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and is the seat of Tibetan Government in Exile and the place where Dalai
Lama settled after fleeing Tibet in 1959. On our second day we were lucky enough to see His holiness being driven past beaming and waving on his way to hold prayers for those killed in the earthquake in April. The town is really traveller friendly and we soon ran into many people we'd met in the south, many of whom had been here for quite a while, some over a month. Loads of great cafes, coffee shops with wifi, projects involving the local environment or Tibetan refugee population to get involved in. There's even a little cinema showing the latest hollywood hits like sex and the city 2. The surrounding area is great for hiking and we ended up spending just over two weeks after finding a wonderful room with a big balcony overlooking the town and the mountains.
On our first morning we were approached by a monk wanting to practice his English - despite lacking a few of the basics of the language he had learnt 'nuclear power' and 'atom' and managed to get a fellow tibetan to translate - explaining that the Dalai Lama has told the monks to learn english in order to be able to
discuss such important world issues as nuclear power. We saw the monks debating in the temple complex with much hand clapping and foot stamping as they made a point and it was quite an lively spectacle. Our room was tucked just around the corner from the LIT meeting points where travellers and tibetans get together for conversational english classes and to hear Tibetan political prisoners speaking. The LIT (www.learningandideasfortibet.org) is just one of many great initiatives around town. We were frequently to be found stuffing our faces at the fantastic, non-profit Japanese restaurant - all proceeds went to support Tibetan political prisoners - so virtuous..and so tasty!
A real high point (literally) was our hike up to Triund with our trusty tent, where we camped out under the stars. There are loads of lovely walks around the area to waterfalls or just through nearby villages. Fully refreshed we are now heading onwards and upwards - briefly to Manali and the hopefully straight on up to Leh. After our last 'tourist' bus experience we are going to take the local bus - 11 hours but a quarter of the other price. We only hope it will be a bit more comfortable
than the last journey!
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