Arrived in Dharamsala after a bumpy but uneventful 10 hour journey through the night. I sat next to an Indian man who was about to finish his Phd in education and we spoke for about half an hour before i made my jumper into a pillow and tried to get some sleep. I woke up every now and then and at one point the driver stopped and revved the engine for about 10 minutes (i know nothing about cars so i don't have the slightest idea why he did this). I arrived in Dharamsala at about 6.30am and jumped into a taxi for the ride up to Mcleod Ganj, the main tourist area and the place where the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government reside. I found the hotel i was looking at in the ... read more

Got up early(ish) as planned and went into town to find breakfast. Found a nice looking place, one of the nicest looking places ive been, the staff were wearing uniform suits with bow ties and there were old ships wheels and paintings decorating the walls. The food was good, i went foreggs, chips and more mystery meat sausages. After breakfast i decided to explore another part of Shimla called MIddle Bazzar, a jumble of winding streets working their way down the hill and jam packed with shops and stalls selling just about everything. I took the oppertunity to buy a few bits and after a few hours i worked my way back to the hotel. Soon after i got in it started to pour with rain (it rains at least once a day here but rarely ... read more

Got up at 6.40am today, 40 minutes later than intended. I headed straigt to the bus station, deciding to hail an autorickshaw. We sped doen the road towards the bus station, me in the back with 4 school children, they got out at the bottom of the hill and paid the driver the 8 rupees for the ride, when i handed over my 8 rupees and he realised he wasnt going to be able to charge me extra he pointed towards the bus station and told me to walk accross the road to it. I didnt see it but i jumped out anyway and headed over the road. As it turns out he had pointed me down the wrong road, but i was only a few minutes away when i realised . The next task was ... read more

Another relaxing day today. Chilled and chatted for most of the day and went to another yoga class in the afternoon. This one seemed much less strenuous. After yoga i went with Sarah, Rachel, Steve, Lyn and Ilona to a small resturant on the other side of the Ganges called The little Buddha. The food was great but as rachel had warned it took FOREVER to come. Luckily we were in no rush but there was a good 3 hour gap between arriving and leaving although this was good as it gave us all time to talk. We headed back to the hotel and i went off to bed. Getting to sleep took a long time however. At one point i have just started to properly drop off when i moved mt hand onto my chest ... read more

Woak up late today. i had planned on going to see the waterfalls but after i had breakfast and used the internet for a few hours it was getting too late to go without it interfering with my other plans. The hotel I'm in (and almost every hotel in Richikesh) run yoga lasses every morning and evening. It wasn't something i had planned to do but other people in the hotel rave about it so i thought id give it a go at some point. The plan for later today is top go to one of the large suspension bridges that go over the river Ganges to look over the town and the many ashrams. The view at sunset is supposed to be pretty good so ill be heading down there later, after my yoga class. ... read more