Tale of Two Indias: From Agra to Dharamsala

Welcome back....the world's attention turned to India last week, and not in a good way. Thanks to everyone who wrote and thought of us. Rest assured, we were far away from the horrible events at Mumbai (more on that later). At the same, we realize that security is a state of mind, whether you live in Mumbai, New York, London or anywhere really. To travel is to live life. No terrorist attack can change that.

Ater one last weekend in Ludhiana with Babloo and old school friends, we travelled to Delhi with Jaspreet's mom and Babloo. We said our goodbyes to Jaspreet's mom, who arrived safely back in the States after taking such good care of us. Then it was off to Ruby Tuesday to toast drinks and part ways with Babloo. Three hours' sleep in a dingy motel, and it was Agra time.

Agra is home to India's most famous moment, the Taj Mahal. It is also home to legions of tourists and aggressive hawks. Not a minute goes by without someone blocking your way and insisting that you buy whatever trinket they're selling. Luckily, we found refuge at the lovely Maya Hotel, just 15 minutes walk from the main attraction. In between the sightseeing at Agra Fort and the Taj, we enjoyed the most lavish dinner we've had in India at Amar Vilas, an Oberoi-owned hotel. To capture the Taj in all its glory, we lined up with at least 200 souls to enter at sunrise. Well worth the wait.

From Agra to Dharamsala, a 24-hour journey beckoned. We woke up 5:00 am on November 27th and found out the shocking news when we turned on CNN. The events at Mumbai were only 6 hours old, but there was nothing we could do except pack and head to the Agra train station. We travelled by train through Delhi, dined with Preeti's parents for lunch (thanks again!) and took another train to Chandigarh in the afternoon. That's where Pooja and Ashish picked us up and treated us to Thanksgiving dinner at an Italian restaurant. Bellies full, we packed in a car for the overnight trip to Dharamsala.

We finally arrived in Dharamsala at 5:30 Friday morning and made our way to Macleodganj, 9 km above and home to the Dalai Lama and countless Tibetan refugees. It was surreal to hear of the terrible news in Mumbai in such a peaceful place.

Our first day, we explored the town and monastery, home to Tibetan life since the Dalai Lama's escape in 1959. We hiked into the hills our second day, stopping for waterfall breaks and pizza, with a surprise wedding party visit along the way. We explored the surrounding valley on the third day and returned just in time for a folk music concert at our guest house (Richard Gere's preferred accomodations too). Pooja and Ashish departed Monday, and we had two days to enjoy the calm and serenity of Buddhist living, with the prayer wheels and nature walks and incense all around. Ommmmmmmm.

On our way back to Punjab, we stopped in the Kangra valley and walked around its namesake town's fort. Quite an impressive place, and home to Jain and Hindu temples. We managed one last rendezvous with Beeji in Patiala (with drinks at Colonel Uncle's of course) before a weekend stay with Pooja's family in Gobindguhr. Suffice it to say, Pooja and family have treated us like the royalty we so are not.

We head back to Delhi tonight, and tommorow it's off to Goa in South India for one last week of glory. It's time to soak all the sun we can get before returning to Chicago!

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