Blogs from Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 20

Lots of Apples, tangy red Cherries and the smell of pine and conifers in the cool refreshing mountain air welcomes you to Thanedhar. Thanedar is located approximately 80Kms from shimla,the nearest town is Narkanda which is 14kms away. Apple cultivation was pioneered here by Samuel Stokes a social worker,who saw the abject poverty among people. All throughout this beautiful hamlet you will find apple trees with their boughs heavy with the bountiful fruit.You can drive around 68Kms from Shimla crossing Dhalli ,Kufri, Fagu, Theog, Matiana then to Narkanda. Thanedar is around 16 Kms from Narkanda. From Narkanda you can visit the famous Hatu Peak (7Kms)and the famous Hatu temple.The Hatu trek is a relatively easier on those not divulging in the more rigorous and difficult ones.All throughout the habitation is different conifers forest.You can find beautiful ... read more

I am falling in love with this place. Totally and utterly head over heels. Why do I have to come home? How will I ever leave these beautiful people behind? The last two days have been emotional, fun, tiring and taught me a lot. So let me tell you about them… On Friday I spent the evening at the LIT centre, my new second home it seems, watching some documentaries on the issues in China and Tibet. We saw three in total, the first being ‘China, from the inside’. If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend it. I’m learning a lot here about the situation in China and it’s extremely interesting. The last two were tearjerkers for me though. The second being ‘torture in Tibet’. Just a short documentary showing footage of recent happenings in Tibet. ... read more

As I’m in the Tibetan colony of India I couldn’t possibly ignore learning more about the troubles that Tibetans are facing with regards to the Chinese occupation of their territory. After learning just one mans story, I feel a real sadness in my heart for these people. I decided to attend the Tibetan talk at the LIT, which is a volunteer based school for Tibetans to be given the chance to learn English and spread their message and stories in order to keep the Tibetan issue alive. I was shocked by some of the details he gave us and I’m sure he was toning them down to a degree. His name is Sonam and he was a political prisoner for 13 years before finally being set free. 12 of these years he didn’t have a shower ... read more

Set in the Outer Himalayan mountain range lies what i have come to call "little Tibet". Dharamsala - more precisely the upper town of McLeod Ganj, a former British Hill station - is wonderful change from the dusty, hot plains of Delhi and Punjab. The temperature rarely hits 30, it rains (heavily, with lightning and prolonged power cuts that simply don't matter) and all around are 4000m rocky peaks, towering over forested mountains and river valleys. In short Dharamsala is beautiful and a perfect change from the past month of heat and sickness. Sadly though, in the week i have been here, i've successfully managed to get ill again, and spend a great deal of time making frequent toilet trips interspersed with long periods playing Football manager with my travelling buddy Ali, eating nothing but Dal ... read more

Apologies for the delay between my last post and this one. Much time and many events have come to pass in the time since I last wrote anything, but the pace of traveling has certainly slowed down considerably. My first impressions upon arriving in Mcleod Ganj we of how different it was compared to Amritsar and the rest of India generally, for Mcleod Ganj is where the Dalai Lama holds his Tibetan government in exhile. Its almost like a small part of Tibet in India as Tibetan handicrafts and restaurants adorn the streets and Buddhist monks clothed in purple robes walk to a fro. From the town itself you can see the foothills of the Himalayas, with the mountains that tower above the town reaching heights of 4500m, which is tiny by the standard of the ... read more

Apres Manali, comme annonce, nous avons debarque a Mc Leod Ganj...pour aussitot suivre les conseil de Shawn, sympathique Anglais rencontre sur le bus, qui nous suggere de pousser encore un peu afin de rejoindre Bhagsu, petit village a flan de montagne peuple par une communaute de voyageur a grande tendance hippie. L'endroit se revele en effet tres acceuillant et meme si cette fois on a presque l'impression de ne plus etre en Inde, cela fait vraiment du bien de pouvoir converser un peu avec des camarades de voyage...mais celui qui de retour au pays vous raconte combien l'Inde c'est genial apres avoir passe un mois a Mc Leod Ganj et l'autre a Goa, vous pouvez lui mettre trois taloches avant de le mettre dans le premier avion a destination de Kolkatta, Varanasi, Koraput, bref l'Inde. Neanmoins, ... read more

Apres l'experience du Taj Bouuuuhal, c'est sans demander notre reste que nous avons vite quitte Agra...Pour une montee memorable vers le nord de l'Inde. A la gare, muni de notre ticket seconde classe, nous sommes monte dans le premier train en direction de Delhi sans savoir que celui-ci avait deja 4h de retard sur son horaire et s'appretait a en rajouter 2 supplementaires pour notre plus gand bonheur. C'est donc en 4h au lieu des 2 prevues que nous avons rallie Delhi. Une fois descendu du train, pas le temps de flaner au alentour, la fin de journee approchant dangereusement, si on ne veut pas devoir se mettre a chercher un hotel pour la nuit, il est plus que temps de reserver un siege sur le bus pour Manali. Nous avons traverse la ville en compagnie ... read more