Blogs from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 3

Monday 18th November We woke at 6.30am to clear blue skies. After a quick shower, final pack and check of bags, we went down to breakfast. It was very good, porridge, pancakes, fresh fruit, omelettes and toast. Kate had been passed fit by the Doctor so was ver happy to be coming with us. Taxis took us all to the starting point and met with our ponies and guides. And off we went! The sun was shining and the sky was a lovely blue. The path was very good to start, but as we started downhill, the path changed more rocky. As the sun heated up, bottoms of trousers were being unzipped and layers were being stripped off. We continued downhill for the while of the morning. The views were spectacular and had glimpses of the ... read more

Indian TV is hilarious. On our first day in India, while taking a break from the hectic streets of New Delhi, we turned on the TV in our hotel and surfed the channels. Indian TV is so busy! Meg and I are that couple who will tell you about how we don't own a TV in our house because if we did, we wouldn't be able to help ourselves from watching it all the time. And I'm that guy who, while out at a bar or restaurant with a TV (or 12) on, ignores everything and everyone around him, staring vacantly at the flashing lights and pretty colors while absentmindedly sipping my beer. It doesn't matter what's on - Nascar, the evening news, plotless movies withs lots of explosions, golf - the TV always commands my ... read more

India 8 - 'Into thin Air' Mumbai-Udaipur-Ranakpur-Jodhpur-Nagaur-Roopangarh-Jaipur-Ranthambore-Keoladeo-Fatehpur Sikri-Chambal Agra-Delhi-Shimla-Dharamsala-Pong-Amritsar Shimla and Dharamsala 11th March 2013 'Into thin Air' I guess we don't talk about class these days. It's not considered politically correct to think of others as second class citizens or upper class snobs, is it? As it happens there's only one class; 'Chair Class', on the Himalayan Queen, the five-hour train journey north from Delhi to Kalka where we transfer to the narrow-guage 'Toy Train' on its way up to Shimla. The fertile plains of the lowlands give way to shallow hills, rising to sharp-sided mountains where green hillsides turn to brown as the train winds its way through a hundred dark ... read more

Leg one of India has been as fantastic as we knew it would be. It's strange to think that we have already been here for ten days. We have done some hiking and volunteering- we would have liked to do more of both, but the monsoon has arrived and it's time to go north. There are many interesting sights, smells, and tastes here: Bhuddist monks shouting at each other, nuns on cell phones, cows just relaxing wherever they please, monkeys jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Enjoy the photos- we love and miss you all!... read more

Hier soir nous nous sommes endormis berces par les chants des krisnas. C'était tres reposant. Ce matin, premier reveil brusque a 5 h avec les aboiements furieux des chiens vagabonds (j'avais oublie de mentionner qu'a part les vaches sacres qui se trouvent partout, il y a aussi un nombre incroyable de chiens vagabons! Aussi partout) Bouchons d'oreille et 2 h plus tard, reveil enchateur avec vue impregnable sur les montagnes devant nous! Quel merveille. Nous avons pris un petit dej sur "notre terrasse" yoghurt et pain tibetain. The plus tard dans la rue, avec des moines tibetains qui nous ont offert le the et nous ont conduit jusqu'aux escaliers (300 marches) qui descendaient vers un autre monastere moin connu mais tellement paisible (du a l'acces relativement difficile). Au fait on aurait aime dormir la depuis le ... read more