Blogs from Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia - page 4

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley November 24th 2006

ManaliCouple of things to report on this time. Firstly, last weekend we went to Manali - which is just under 2000m above sea level (and therefore higher than Palampur and McLeod, though not quite as high as the night we spent camping on the mountain) and therefore absolutely freezing. Much time went on purchasing wooly hats, scarves and gloves… The mountains were stunning though - they’re all about 6000-6500m (a good 2000m higher than most of the mountains around here. Manali is the start of the Manali-Leh road, which is meant to be stunning - takes 2 days, the highest pass is 3,950m. But its only open for a few months in the summer, as the snow makes it impassable from around Sept/Oct. We discovered a very cool temple, which looked strangely Tudor - all wooden ... read more

one month down, 5 to go.

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley November 16th 2006

justmakebelieve

Just a quick one - I've been here a month now, really strange to think that. 1/6 of the way! Decided I've clearly been in India too long when I was reading a book, and the character was sweeping the floor, and the picture in my head was of a hand-held twig brush (as we have here) rather than an English-style broom..... I sent some letters today....addressed them to the UK and they were about to be sent to the Ukraine before I noticed my reciept..... Hope you're all doing well. Keep up the emails!!... read more

Happy Birthday Nehru

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley November 14th 2006

Tea pickers in Palampur

justmakebelieve

Well due to complaints re my lack of blogging I feel I should get going again…Please ingore spelling mistakes and typos...typing at camp is something of a race to finish before the computer crashes. Last weekend we went trekking in the Himalayas (so much cooler than just ‘mountains’). Started by getting a bus to McLeod - as there were 25 of us idex hired a normal state bus to take us all there…. Several people sat on the roof for some time, those of us in the safety of the inside could just hear “DUCK” yelled every ten seconds…. Power cables run about 3ft above the top of buses here.. Having safely not lost anyone off the edge we arrived in McLeod, met our guides, checked into our hotel and did the compulsory wandering and shopping. ... read more

Mcleod Ganj

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley October 31st 2006

At school

justmakebelieve

Hello again faithful readership... Well teaching has started. Morning are a bit insane, as Laura and I have 21 5-10yr olds. We've started them on verbs, so had a lesson of 'sit' 'stand' 'run' 'jump' 'sleep'...which was predictably chaos. Afternoons are great - Lea and I have a class of 7 8-15yr olds, who come after school voluntarily, so they're really into learning, which is nice. We've been teaching them how to tell the time. Had never occured to me that knowing that quarter to twelve and 11.45 are the sam was so hard... Did Mcleod Ganj this weekend - amazing place, I might head back there to do a bit of teaching at some point in the next few months. We missed the Dalai Lama by half an hour :( Spent much of the weekend ... read more

Elephants and Mountains...

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley October 22nd 2006

Me with a baby elephant!

justmakebelieve

Hey all! Well, Jaipur has been done, and am now in Palampur :) Its an amazing place - right in the base of the Himalayas, so I'm currently waking up to amazing mountain views. (photos will appear... but XP is needed, and thats not easy to find...) So - last week I was in Jaipur, mainly to go to various talks about the work that we'll be doing, and about India in general. Stayed with a local family for three nights, which was really interesting - many discussions on arranged marriage, Hinduism, Diwali (which was yesterday) and other such things - all things I've spent three years learning about, really good to hear it all from an insider perspective. Went to see a Bollywood film! We went to the Raj Mandir, which claims to be the ... read more

A cool place and no tourists!

Asia » India » Himachal Pradesh » Kangra Valley September 19th 2006

Old fort in Kangra Valley

anneswart

After visting Dharamsala, the next day we drove to Kangra Valley so that Neelam could visit her family. While she was visiting, Dharamvir and I visited this really cool fort. It was fairly well preserved, but for some reason it hasn't been made into a prime tourist destination. Which was great for me, because we could wander around and take pictures without being annoyed by pesky foreigners. Inside the fort was a Hindu temple that has some famous, "original" statue of one of the Gods. I didn't quite understand the story, but it's supposed to have some great spiritual significance. I especially liked the stoic priest-type guy who followed us up into the alter area where the state was and gave us blessed food and water. I really appreciated getting a chance to visit this area, ... read more

Another shot of the old fort in Kangra Valley

Brief history of India

The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab in...more history

Forum Topics for Kangra Valley

Car/Driver hirePosts: 4

''Why is Mumbai being t...Posts: 2

Information needed for ...Posts: 11

Hotels in Jaipur - Warm...Posts: 1

Travelling in Northern ...Posts: 21

Yoga and 3 Month travel...Posts: 1

NEED INFO ABOUT NORTHEA...Posts: 6

North India Round Trip ...Posts: 22

Rich and Unique Indian ...Posts: 1

gangotri glacierPosts: 1

Reliable driver in Indi...Posts: 9