mcleodganj

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well i have left delhi and am in mcleodganj! my last few days in delhi were nice. i spent them with sandy walking around, doing some shopping and of course eating 😊 i bought a yoga rug that doesn't work because i go slipping and sliding all over the floor with it 😞 i wish i had brought my yoga sticky mat! and i got a punjabi outfit- a long tunic over pants. i spent 300rs on it ($6) but found out later i got ripped off! in mcleodganj you can get one custom made for 180rs! so i am going to get a few here.

my last day i had lunch with my friend brian who i had met on an india forum. he was in mcleodganj this whole past month and was flying out of delhi so we met up before i left. he had come to india on his asia trip- and was only spending a month here. he headed up to mcleodganj first and ended up staying the whole time up there! that is how much he loved it 😊 he told me i was going to love it, too. ironically- or rather synchronistically- when sandy and i were having tea she saw a guy she knew walk by and she ran after him. she walked back to the table with him and said 'i just found your lunch date!' apparently she met him in thailand! they both are traveling all over asia right now- something i wish i could do, too 😊

so i left delhi at 9:30pm and took an overnight train to pathankot. that was an experience! even in 3rd a/c class (middle to upper class indians take the a/c classes) it seemed kind of run down to me. i slept on an upper berth- and was the only westerner that i saw on my train. we got into the pathankot station at 9am and i had no idea where i was supposed to go to get my bus to dharamsala! and no one spoke english! finally a rickshaw driver heard me say dharamsala and he took me to the bus station where my bus was about to leave and i had to run to catch it!

the bus ride was a 5 hour ride 😞 but as soon as i got on this kindly, older indian man started talking to me and we ended up talking the whole way! he asked me where i was from and when i said america we ended up having a fascinating talk about america versus india. i asked him how he veiwed our country and he said he thought that many of us were very selfish and materialistic. haha- right on the nose 😉 he said in india when a group went out to eat they did not sit and pick at the bill saying 'i had this- you had that'. that when one invited someone to dinner one expected that he would pay the bill. he said it was so funny to see americans go out for a smoke and each would take a cigarette from his own box- rather than sharing and offering to eachother. he also said that we were very materialistic- seeing life as a journey to amass possessions and money. he said that india is poor for many reasons- but some of the poverty is by choice. he said that there are many intelligent people here who could be very successful but instead of choosing to attain knowledge of the world to become richer and more powerful- they choose to attain wisdom of the spiritual realm. i said i wished america was more like india. he told me that india had much to learn from america- but so does america have much to learn from india. i totally agree- but i don't think many americans see it that way. many of the people i told that i was coming here wondered why. they reminded me of the poverty and the filth. they couldn't see a reason why one would want to come here for 6 months! i think it might be good if we were all required to come here for 6 months. haha. that would be interesting. i told my new friend this and he laughed and said it would be nice. then he told me it was so refreshing to meet such a young girl who was from america that was going to all the trouble to make this trip to india to learn about their culture as well as for my personal growth. he said he really made him happy 😊

so we parted ways in dharamsala-and then i had another 20 minute bus ride up ideeper into the foothills of the himalayas- to mcleodganj.

I LOVE IT HERE!!!! it is so beautiful- and clean. nothing like delhi. and the tibetans are so nice! they are so smiley and they exude this compassionate kindness. i have only been here for not even one full day- and already i know i am going to love my stay here 😊

i met a friend today from san francisco as well! his name is jonathon- and he is traveling india for 2 years! he is affiliated with the vipassana meditation course- the one i was planning on taking from 11/15-27. it's a 10 day course of intense meditation. if one is having a problem getting disciplined in their meditation practice- this is the course for them! apparently there is an earlier course from 11/1-12- and jonathon said there may be openings. so i am going to try to get into that one instead. if i get in (i will find out tomorrow) you won't be hearing from me for the entire time- as all we do is meditate, sleep and eat. my blog after that should be an interesting one 😊

well i guess that is about it for now. i am sure i will have tons to say about mcleodganj after i have been around for a few days. so i will tell you about it then.

until then...

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Comments

[anonymous]

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So good to hear from you, Harm! Fascinating conversation with the Indian gentleman. I've often tried to get lunch partners to just split a bill only to have them count up every penny. It's sad. Interesting how you keep running into people you know! Ian says hello. Love you! Aunt Caryl