Dharamshala - The night is darkest before the dawn or some phony shit like that...

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Got to Dharamshala or Mcleod Ganj this morning after that bus ride.

I am happy to say that I will not be verbally eating-my-hat but instead will be doing the opposite whatever that may be (regurgitation?). The bus was not at 4:30 as advertised. The bus was not in the location advertised (5mins away from guesthouse). The police did not allow the bus 'in' or thats what they told us; we had to get on the packed metro (8 of us) with our backpacker bags at rush hour. Not a pleasant experience. The bus left at 7. One hour and a half into the ride the bus almost skidded off the road at high speed and I suspect that if there had been another vehicle (godd forbid a motorbike) in the lane adjacent to us then it certainly would have been crushed. Flat tire. The most ghetto removal of a tire I have ever seen involving a brick and alot of maneuvering. Air con no longer works. Stop at restaurant to change tire again. The next several hours involved sweat, some sort of liquid dripping onto my head from the ceiling and absolutely no sleep. I would compare it to trying to sleep on a comfy bob-sleigh race as the driver clearly had in mind to make up for the time lost repairing the tire etc and no amount of steep turns or bumby terrain could deter him from that goal.

But hey! Bitching aside we made it to Dharamshala in one piece! It is absolutely beautiful; probably my favourite place in the entire of India so far (except maybe for Varanasi). Staying at Kurga's guesthouse for 175, the room smells stale and shared bathroom but the view from the terrace is amazing and the restaurant is good also.

Went around the Temple Complex of which I will upload photos eventually, it was breathtaking.

Anyone who has the chance should visit Dharamshala!

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