Foothills of the Himalaya - a 6-week trip.

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Monday 8th June.
I am hopelessly mixed up with the dates, so if I am wrong, I apologise!
We had a dreadful thunderstorm last night, and the pounding of the rain was made a lot worse by the tin roof on the White Haven. But this place is a dream. The surroundings could not be more beautiful, and the views of the Eastern Himalayas are superb. This morning however, a mist came down, and obliterated everything when I went out for a stroll at 7.30 am. After brekky, the sun tried to come out, and by the time we joined our lovely Guide, Jane, it was becoming sunny.
We were to meet Jane at her road-end but in the event the road was closed; the Dalai Lama was coming down in a motorcade, so we stopped and waited. In the event, the procession went passed so quickly, we didn't even get a glimpse of the old bugger! Anyway, Jane, who knows him, had a good butchess, AND got a wave!
We then went onto Kangra about 18ks down the road. Went up to yet another blooming temple Traipsed round being gawked at by Indians who had never apparently seen a good-looking white man before! The atmosphere was lovely despite my sarcasm!
Then went onto Kangra Fort, and even our Gurkha Driver, Dal, who comes from Manili fairly nearby, got lost. Anyway, we eventually found it. It was great - mind you cost us 100 roops each, and 25 for a blooming camera! Well worth it though, and I got a good dose of UV! We also saw some posh old bag being transported up to the top in a hammock between 2 porters. She must have weighed a ton, as they dropped her to the ground when they met us. I'm sure one of them was in the throes of having a heart-attack! Jane, who is even more bloody cheeky than me - can you believe that? - asked how much she was paying for the privilege. The answer was 1000 roops ie. about 12 quid! I reckon, she should have been paid the 12 quid by the Porters as she looked so embarrassed when Jane had her personal chat with her!
The views of the Western Himalayas from the top of the castle were stupendous - I hope to show these later!
A lot of the guys with white or grey hair, dye it with senna - or should that be, henna? Anyway, instead of having white hair, it becomes orange, and that is supposed to fool you into thinking it's not dyed! Come to think of it, I have quite a few Hawaain and Indian shirts that would be superbly complemented by that subtle hint of orange hair. Perhaps I should start using henna!
I had an e-mail from a lovely sounding lass, Patricia, wanting my views on a forthcoming holiday she is embarking-on on the 26th. I'm afraid, I was not much help but she will get back to me if she wants to, and my wife will provide her with the feminine side of India I learnt today that it is not advisable for 1 or 2 single ladies to travel round India unescorted. I couldn't believe that myself but it seems to be a fact according to our Guide.
If anyone does want to come to the Dharamsala area, I must highly recommend that they use the services of our Guide, Jane Perkins, if she is available; she is a fountain of local knowledge, and our trip here has been all the more enjoyable because of her.

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