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Published: December 27th 2006
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veiw from our balcony
one of the reasons we love it here.. those white flags are bleached (by the sun) tibetan prayer flags... well... no, in fact its a family of monkeys running and jumping first to our balcony rail, then against our door, and then yes, to the *tin* roof. it didn't happen the first couple of nights, but then when we heard it in the p.m. we first looked at each other and then shrugged it off. once again, i am amazed at how nonchalant we become about monkeys tearng off over the roof, or walking by them on the street-not to say i STILL don't stop everytime to take a picture-but i don't think i ever imagined a time in my life when it wouldn't seem a big deal to hear the monkeys on the roof.... or to hear the words: it must be a family of monkeys. i love them. i am totally fascinated by them.
in other news... the day after christmas we wandered around mcleod ganj trying to fit in some of the sights/things to do. we went to the compound where the monks live/study/practice debate, where there is also a Tibet Museum which offers short documentaries and other information about the fleeing of tibetans from their home country and the invasion of china-it was closed. apparently
michael on our balcony
we love this place...pema thang guest house... AWESOME. it was "The Day of Nine Bad Omens" so most tibetan places of business were shut down. Today was "The Day of 10 Good Omens..." and so things were open. SO, we went to the Norbulingka Complex, half expecting it to be closed, but it was open. Here is a center dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture - costumes, wood carving, painting, and clothing. beautiful place. it is set amongst a japanese style garden... i don't understand the connection, but i can just add that to the list of questions i acrue daily. it was great. the whole day was raining like crazy. but it was great. a great day for rain.
today we hiked up to triund. well, about half way up - 14 km which is somewhere between 6-7 miles ( i think + that is round trip)... straight UP. omg. it was a really hard hike. perfect for you guys - jason + michika. we stopped at the 60% point and looked at the amazing mountain peak in front of us (and the clouds rolling over it) and decided that we had had enough. our training has consisted of sitting and riding in trains, more
nine bad omens day...
posted in a store window. sitting riding in taxi cabs, and MORE sitting in airplane seats. not to mention that we have spent all but the past 4-5 days at sea level. so we had a few things working against us and didn't want to over do it. regardless of our fatigue the veiws were amazng. and our guide was great. we were adopted by one of the stray dogs in the town who came with us. he wasn't super dirty at all... in fact i kind of figured he belonged to someone (sometimes its hard to distinguish strays from pets) but our guide said no. it was really fun to have a hiking buddy. we stopped, and he stopped with us. we walked, he walked with us. on the way back down, we ran into another duo who had apparently also been adopted by a dog from town... only our dog and that dog had to have a little "conversation" about who was the big dog in charge. it was short, sweet, and fierce. it was amazing to me how calm i was with the fight... i could feel the adrenaline rise from the fight in the rest of us... our guide picked up
michael
at the norbulingka institute... a rock and was about to huck it and i said... naaa... its ok... their just working it out. then they finished and we resumed... them up the hill, us down. cesar milan (the dog whisperer) would be so proud.
so tomorrow we are leaving here. we decided that maybe we could fit in another city before we head out... one that i really had wanted to see and just figured we'd get to it next time... but we're going this time - rishikesh/haridwar. they preform nightly rituals where hundreds of people come out to the ganges and in banana leaf boats with candle and an offering to the gods, they light the candle and set it afloat on the holiest river in india - the ganges. i think this might be a reallya mazing thing to witness/participate in. there is more about this place, but i will write about it when we're there. its a VERY holy city.
so we leave lovely mcleod tomorrow - HAHA that same dog that went with us on the trip just wandered into the internet lab and sat down right next to me!!!! AHAHAHAH i love it!
anyhoo... we leave
tomorrow by bus and then i am sure the next entry from michael will be just full of colorful lang about the ride. hopefully it won't be to bad. its about 14 hours... through the night.
on a side note... i am suprised to realize how intense the tibet/china "issue" is... and that this is the first time i have really understood the severity of it. i wouldn't feel right without saying that its worth looking into... i will be posting more information about it when i get back... sending out an email... so if you're interested you can pay more attention later... i am eager to share info for those who want to know more. i am totally inspired by the dalai lama... and the people of tibet... for their determination and non-violence. we watched kundun last night and a particular phrase has stuck with me... that this kind of resistance takes a long time... and certainly it has. this is a new, but not so different, kind of faith-one that comes through solidarity... and i am proud to participate in the small ways that i can. first and foremost by learning more (which as mentioned, i will share when i get back). one more time i am inspired by smiles in the face of sadness. i am sure it won't be the last time here.
much love to everyone!!!
ade
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