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Published: September 22nd 2006
day34
Apologies for the intermittant blogging...
Some killer drugs sorted out our tummy troubles (norfloxacin and tinazole combo for the Drs amongst you). So it was with fingers crossed for a healthy journey that we left Ladakh. We shared a jeep with 2 Israeli guys and an older Canadian lady, who was a bit of a wheeler dealer and carrying 40kgs of stone statues etc to sell back home. We took the scenic, 3-day route back to Manali, via Tso Moriri. The lake is sacred to the Ladakhis and beautifully reflects the colours of the mountains surrounding it. Next morning we woke up to a light dusting of snow. Ladakh has 8-month winters (down -40C), so we were pretty glad to leave before winter hit properly.
Had a day rock climbing under the instruction of a French-Swiss guy, who runs heliskiing and ski-touring trips in the Manali area in Jan (so that's one for the 'to do' list!). Dan whizzed up 6 routes, sacrificing a few forearm muscles and grazing elbows and knees. Soph had a gentler time of it, and decided to quit while ahead after struggling to the top of 1 climb - but has less grazing!
Onto Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj, where we were disappointed not to see the Dalai Lama (he was someplace else, doing more important stuff). We did however, get a peak at his pad. The town is full of Tibetan refugees (with incredible stories of capture and torture by the Chinese, and escape on foot across the Himalaya - hard to believe it's still going on today); volunteers, helping the Tibetans; tourists; and people doing yoga and massage courses. We tried our hand at a Momo-making class (Tibetan stuffed dumpling-esque things) - Dan showed his skills, Soph's all fell apart in the steamer.
Next stop was Amritsar, on the Pakistani border, which is famed for its Golden Temple. In contrast to the noisey, hustley-bustley, grimey city, the Temple is beautiful and tranquil, despite the thousands of pilgrims milling around. All Sikhs should visit this incredible institution once in their life, and accordingly the Temple is set up to receive hundreds of thousands of pilgrims a day. We joined them, stayed a night there and ate in the largest, most efficient dining hall ever. Hundreds of people at a time sat in rows on the floor, food was slopped out of buckets, and water out of watering cans. It serves 50 000 meals a day and is open 24/7. Volunteers prepare the food and wash up (we did our bit). They also have a chapati machine that works 5am - 3pm - an absolute beast! Our sleep wasn't the most restful - the 4.30am loudspeaker call to prayer wasn't welcome.
We spent the evening at the Pakistan border with a brightly coloured, hyperactive Indian crowd. Apparently they were chanting something along the lines of "India's the best, Pakistan's the worst" - Good for international relations! Dan put himself forward to run the flag up and down in front of the spectators, but ended up joining a wild disco party on the street instead. The guards performed a ludicrous, high kick, quick march ritual to close the border for the night and lower the flags. The equivalent happens on the Pakistani side but with a smaller, far inferior crowd.
We took our 1st overnight sleeper train here to Rishikesh - "yoga capital of the world" according to the guidebook. We've signed up for a 10-sesh course... we'll keep you posted!
Lots of love to you all. Sorry to be missing the british autumn, it's baking out here!
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JImJimsalabim
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Dans a hero
Hello lovely people who are missed so greatly!! Your not missing much over here..sept has been quite hot though. It sounds amazing and Im super jealous about the climbing thats sounds wicked...although i think sophs needs to step up to the plate a bit more!! I'm getting hyped up for last year at uni and am doing a load of reading for the diss...and have found a great flat with Victoria in Edinburger...you are both more than welcome to stay when ever you want..doors always open (I may have said this b4 but no harm in telling you again!) Love you very much and hope you work out how to get photos on you thickies!! Hxx