not quite dead

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okay, so we're no longer dying. went out for a bit of an excursion today and walked down to the main temple. walked around, listened to some monks chant, and then watched them have debate/arguments in the courtyard. they pair up, one standing and the other sitting, and yell and laugh and as they make important points in the argument, they slap their hands together in a very dramatic clapping style while their buddhist rosary beads fly everywhere and clack alongside them. amusing to watch, would be better if we could actually understand what they're saying. the monks are an interesting lot. i'd like to talk to some of them.

dharamsala is so different from amritsar. in amritsar we stood out like whoa because there were very few foreigners. here, like 1/3 of the people seem to be tourists, lured by the tibetan government in exile. in amritsar we were so aware of what we were wearing and how we were acting because we were always being scrutinized. here no one takes a second glance because we're just another couple of westerners. the golden temple was so immense and peaceful and awe inspiring, even if the streets were hell to walk down. here, the temples lack ... lack something. perhaps immensity and intensity would best describe it. the view here is gorgeous with the mountains reaching into the clouds behind us, the foothills of the himalayas, and the vast stretches of land in front of us... but that is all that is awe inspiring here, is nature. and it's hard to see for all of the tourists.

our hotel owner and his manager are quite the interesting pair. the hotel is rather small, only 10 rooms, and they are very good to us. when we were sick they didn't make us leave our room (as we were planning to move to a cheaper one downstairs --- this room is 300 rupees - we wanted the 200 RS one. 43 RS to a dollar. so really, we were each paying 150, which is like $4 each. for a full hotel room with TV, double bed, bathroom with hot water, and balcony.) they invited us to dinner with them last night and we spent hours playing cards. they've invited us again tonight. i think i'll go up for a bit. got a free back massage out of the deal yesterday. ha. yes yes, i know, a massage whore, even in l'india.

the dalai lama is supposed to make an appearance tomorrow morning at the bookstore down the street from the hotel. he's supposed to be there around 10am. we will be hanging out around 8:00. dalai lama lo!

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