Blogs from National Capital Territory, India, Asia - page 156

I am writing this at about 6 p.m. on Christmas Day here in Delhi. It was a beautiful day here, warm, sunny a light wind. The air seemed cleaner and clearer today ... and I can't tell if it's true, or perhaps I am getting used to the air ... I am still unwell, but starting to feel better. I went to the doctor yesterday and she said I have either the flu or I ate something bad (probably on the train from Hardiwar to Delhi) or some combination of both. So she gave me five medications (every time I go to the doctor here I get five medications!) and told me to eat bland food for a few days. Apparently, you're not supposed to eat on the train, or even drink the sealed, bottled water ... read more

Who am I to pretend to understand impermanence? I am the most sentimental, backward-looking fool, despite years of goodbyes. Less than a day away from boarding a flight to return home, I thought I'd take a bit of time to summarize some of the nice aspects of my time in McLeod Ganj during the past couple of months. My initial goal in going was to learn a bit about the Tibetan exile community, to contrast it with what I saw in Tibet and in Nepal, to get an idea of where Tibetans stand on independence and what they are doing to achieve their dreams. My secondary goal was to learn a bit of Tibetan, aside from my traveller's speak. And my usual, continuing goal was to just explore and indulge in the different ways of life. ... read more

We travelled to India for a week for the wedding of Simon's friend Ash to his lovely new bride, Shweta. We also got to catch up with some old friends from home. After the wedding Ash and Shweta treated the guests to a tour of Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. Over the week we consumed a life-time's quota of curry - buffet style, including for breakfast!... read more

After having spent two months in Tibet (that is including the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai), over a month in Nepali Tibetan areas, and another 2 months in Tibet-in-exile, I have had a chance to see different forms of Tibetan life. I'm still learning, don't have the answers to the problems, can't predict the future or even the best way to continue. What I have seen in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala is a mixture of continuing efforts at changing the system from within and outside. There are 7 or 8 established NGOs in McLeod Ganj, including the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), GU Chu Sum, Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet, Tibetan Woman's Association, and others. From their titles, one can guess what aspect of society they are directed towards and ... read more

Our tour has now started, and the feel of the holiday is different- an element of "if you look to your left, you can see..." has crept in. Two-minute photo stops for the less important monuments; everyone shuffles off the bus, braves the hordes of hawkers and takes an identical photo. But I complain to much- we're certainly packing in the sights, and covering a lot more ground than we would on our own. The group we're with (13 people) is nice, and bizarrely includes the sister of one of Linda's colleagues (Hi Bela!). It would be tedious to list all the things we've seen, but that's not stopped us so far, so here goes: Humayan's tomb in Delhi (Taj Mahal Lite- one of the highlights of Delhi), Qutab Minar (75m high ornately carved tower- possibly ... read more