Blogs from Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 104

As my 12-hour bumpy bus ride from Delhi to Mcleod Ganj came to its gradual end, winding its way up the steep mountain road that was about half as wide as the bus was (you figure it out...), I couldn't help but hear the theme music from "Jurassic Park" playing in my head. Watching the surrounding countryside pass by in the early morning light gave me that familiar feeling of unfamiliarity which I've come to enjoy from traveling. Mountains, canyons, lush greenery, waterfalls, soaring falcons... yup, I was in a very different place from Boston. The glow cast by the rising sun helped to amplify this sense of awe and wonderment, and I half expected a herd of brachiasaurus to appear around the next corner, craning their long necks to reach the overhanging foliage. Mcleod Ganj ... read more

this is all a bunch of nonsense really.... i have been away from the travel blog for awhile due to technical difficulties but i think it is all worked out.... so we return to our regularly scheduled programming. this blog is in response to my daily life and what it is like here and what i do...etc...etc.... at the time that i wished to originally post this...i was reading a book entitled Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Suzuki Roshi... i have since finished the book but i still gt up every morning and eat oatmeal (thank you gannon) or museli and bananas and a french press of coffee (shout out to mark and the coffee house in lincoln, NE) and i go to the roof or to my balcony and stare at mountains. the rest of ... read more

Here we are at the bar with some of the first Tibeten friends that we met here in McLeod Ganj. I first noticed Shamba on the streets on his motorcyle. He stood out to me because of his dreadlocks (or crude attempt thereof). One night we were at the local tourist bar and Shamba and his friends came in. He and I made eye contact and I gave him the slight upward head nod to signal my solidarity as a fellow person with locks. He later came over to our table and we started a conversation from there. We learned a bit about their history, having arrived in India from Tibet a few years ago. They travelled on foot with a group of about 40 others. They walked through several feet of snow, and travelled mostly ... read more

Our tenth week began with an overnight train ride from Agra to Amritsar. We had a very comfortable trip in a 2AC 'side upper/lower'. As the sun rose on the punjanb, the green fields spread out in front of us like Saskatchewan - this is truly the breadbasket of India. Arriving in Amritsar - home of the most holy Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple - we found the city to be especially clean. Somehow the Sikhs have conquered that unfortunate urge most Indians have to just 'throw it away' and the usual mounds of garbage are simply not there. We dropped out bags in the hotel and jumped on a bicycle rickshaw for the trip downtown to the Golden Temple in the middle of this raucous, bustling city. The Golden Remple is situated in the middle ... read more

so i went to triund last weekend with the crew. it was wicked cool. and really steep. and really beautiful and really a long time ago but i have had the electricity...the internet...the computer...the ipod and any other technology just ignore my pleas to work since so...and niraj left yesterday so we all had to party to send him off proper. so we just hiked to the base of triund...or rather the opposite plateau near the base of the snow line, we all made it with little problem although it took all day...we left at 8:30am and got to the plateau at ...1-2 or something and did not make it back until well after dark. it was really fun to hang out with everyone and it is just one more of those "really good bonding.... laughing... ... read more