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July 17th 2006

Published: July 17th 2006

Well, folks, after a long and ridiculous journey, Brian and I arrived in McLeod Ganj late last night. Our Saturday morning began by visiting Brian's office, where he finally got paid (in full!) without any hassle. One of the unfortunate things about India is that stuff often only gets done when one drops names, and calling the president of AIESEC was just what was needed. After that we ran a few errands and had lunch at our beloved Pizza Hut one last time before heading to the train station several hours early to book our tickets. We thought we'd just book them and head out to say goodby to Jaipur, but alas, that was not to be. We asked a business man in the train station where we should be buying tickets, and he asked where we were going. We said Amritsar, since that's where we needed to take our train to. He was going to Pathankot (which is also where we were going, but he didn't tell us that until later), but instantly changed his plans, and said he was going to Amristar as well, and proceeded to help us place a reservation. We then had to wait a couple hours for the reservation to be confirmed, which also involved a Rs 100 bribe to get good seats, and going to about five different ticket counters. I don't know how we would have done it if we hadn't met him. He was a real life saver. Turns out there was a much shorter train directly from Jaipur to Pathankot, which I hadn't known about, and which he was going to try to get on, but when we said we were going to Amristar, he changed his plans just for us. He stuck with us the entire way, and was just wonderful.

Many girls my age in Jaipur have a practice of wrapping a scarf around their head so that only their eyes are showing (bank-robber style) in order to preserve their hairstyles and keep the dust out. Brian and I decided that in order to divert some attention away from me in the Jaipur train station, where we've had problems before, I would cover up like that, and it worked like a dream. No one stared anymore. I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable with the idea of covering myself completely because men here are sleezy (it just sounds too Saudi Arabia for me), but I guess it works.

So after two long train rides (the second train was an hour and a half late, but then again the first train was thirty five minutes late, so if the second train hadn't been late we wouldn't have made it), which somehow didn't seem as unbearable as the six hour ride from Delhi to Jaipur we made when we first got here, we arrived in Pathankot, where we said goodby to our friend and made for the bus station. We caught a bus to Gaggal, which is about 15 km from Dharmsala. The bus itself was not looking so good, and after our hair raising ride to Pushkar, Brian and I were a little nervous. For the first half hour or so, the road was nice and straight, headed across the plains for the Himalayas. Then we were crossing a narrow bridge, when we heard a crunch on the side of the bus. All of a sudden there was yelling and pounding on the side of the bus, and everybody stood up to get a look. Brian and I still aren't sure what happened, although we weren't moving that fast, so I think we just scraped someone's car. Everybody got so excited, especially the guy who'd gotten hit, and there was yelling, and I think he pulled the driver out of the bus and they started fighting. We were so worried there was going to be a riot. Luckily the police showed up quickly, and the bus beat a hasty retreat. Then we began to head into the mountians.

I'm sure I've been on worse bus rides in my life, but none are coming to mind right now. Luckily the guy gave the edge a pretty wide berth, and there were concrete barriers at every curve. Nonetheless, the guy had a serious lead foot, and night fell when we were still about an hour from our destination. We ended up in Gaggal just fine, but not before the bus almost hit a pedestrian crossing the road, and not before we had loaded the bus up to the gills (including filling the roof with people) and then unloaded it as we climbed higher into the mountains. Brian and I were so lucky to have seats. From Gaggal we took an overpriced taxi up to Dharmsala with two Indian guys, and from there 10 km straight up into McLeod Ganj. The road to McLoed was one of the steepest I've ever been on, but I was happy for the driver to take the hairpin turns quickly, because if he'd stalled the taxi, I don't know how we would have gone forward again, since the roads were so steep, and manual cars roll backwards.

Anyway, about McLeod. There are a TON of foreign tourists here (mostly European hippies), which is kind of nice because there were lots of people to ask for hotel recommendations and that kind of thing last night. We're staying in a great place called the Green Hotel. Our room last night cost Rs 300 (six bucks) and had its own bathroom with a sit toilet, and HOT WATER!!! It was so nice to finally feel clean again. McLeod is quite cool (I'd say low seventies), so hot water is more relevant here than it was in Jaipur. The beds were so comfortable, and came with thick duvets to keep out the Himalayan chill. Now that we've used our nice bathroom, we're going to switch to a shared bathroom room tonight, since those are only Rs 100, and we're both on a budget.

McLeod Ganj is almost Indian-free. It's quite odd. Most are ethnically Tibetan, or they're white foreigners. There are tons of Tibetan monks in red robes with shaved heads around. As a result of the high foreign population (amny come for extended stays to do volunteer work in the refugee community here), there are lots of good, cheap places to stay, and many affordable restaurants. There are lots of Israelis that come here as well, so almost every menu has hummus and pita bread. It's great. There are also a few movie halls that show Tibetan and Hollywood films. One near the bus stand shows the new Pirates of the Carribean movie every night at 7:15....I'm really wanting to see it as I hear it's quite good.

Anyway, I have a few pictures, but we're up in the clouds today, which doesn't make for expert photography. Everything comes out looking like cotton. I'll post a few when I get better ones. I think we're going to head down to the Tibetan government in exile's complex, which has some great buildings, and also posts when the Dalai Lama will be making appearances. Maybe we'll meet him.

Anyway, Brian and I are both really loving McLeod Ganj so far. I think the next time I come back to India, I'm definitely headed here. It's so relaxed, the weather is great, and it's quite affordable. I'm already not looking forward to leaving. On the other hand, what little we saw of Punjab looks promising as well. Both places seem so much nicer than Jaipur, to tell you the truth. Punjabis seem better educated, and there's not as much poverty. The land is fertile and green, and there are lots of brick houses and very few slums. And in neither place do they stare the same way they do in Jaipur. I think we're going to have a great time with these last two and a half weeks, and I'm really looking forward to it.

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