Blogs from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 8

Geo: 32.2207, 76.3188I took an overnight bus from Delhi to Dharmsala last night. It wasn't comfortable. The flights between these two places are routinely canceled because of too few passengers, and there isn't a train. The bus was really my only option. I tried a bunch of different travel agents to try to book the most expensive/luxury bus I could. I've yet to meet a travel agent in Delhi who hasn't looked me in the eye and told a HUGE lie. I don't trust a one of them. So I bought my ticket from the least seedy agent I could find, paid twice what my guide book said to, and got on an old busted up bus for 14 hours. Not fun, the windows rattled all the way, there were no lights, so once the sun ... read more

I arrived in McLeod Ganj at about 6 am yesterday after an long and bumpy night, driving from Delhi. Delhi was, as it usually is - awful! I can't cope with that place. If it's all the people, me being alone, the heat or just me recovering from being on a plane for too long I don't know, but something about it makes my brain stop functioning properly. I must say, Douglas Adams wasn't making stuff up when he said all you need is a towel. The bedsheets in Delhi didn't convince me much, so I was very happy too use my (a very nice fiber one my father gave me for my birthday) towel. Also it made a great blanket on my ride to Dharamsala. I'm thinking of naming it.. Anyway, I'm now safe and ... read more

Tuesday 10 June Pleasant drive to the Norblinka Institute where traditional Tibetan Artistry is still being taught. It has pretty gardens in the Japanese style with little waterways; water trickling out of mouths of stone lions' heads; trees & fluttering prayers flags. We watched woodcarvers cutting intircate designs out of wood for furniture in both the old fashioned way with a large hand-held fret saw & the modern way using a machine fret saw. Both workers were very skilled. We also saw young men hand carving delicate designs & one was even kind enough to give us a sample of his practise work. Metal workers were creating different parts of goddess statues which would eventually all be fitted together. Some were hammering pieces into shape; others were filing down pieces for an exact fit; some were ... read more

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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 ... read more