No, I'm not going all political, I'm just quoting the signs, shirts, etc that are everywhere in McLeod Ganj. Seriously, I have seen more Free Tibet paraphernalia here than I have seen the rest of my life combined (and remember, I lived in Portland AND San Francisco). The reason for this is that McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala have a large Tibetan refugee community and are home to the Dali Lama as well as the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. Pretty interesting stuff as I've bever been exposed to a population and governemnt in exile.
Giong to take a moment to voice my frustration that once again there is an issue with my card, reader or this computer so I cannot upload my India pictures. Will try another cybercafe later. Grr.
Right. Well more about McLeod Ganj. Its a big traveler town with lots of yoga and meditation and buddhism classes. I may have touched on that in my last post. I didn't partake in any of this but it is interesting to be surrounded by it. For me, the highlight of my time in McLeod was the day hike I did to Triund. Triund is 9 km from Mcleod pretty much straight up. It was quite a hike but at the end you come over a ridge and there is a lovely meadow with colorful tents set up surrounded by loads of snowy mountain peaks that look close enough to touch. Totally worth the climb! I'd show you a picture but... OK letting that go. Also near McLeod I walked 2 km to Bhagsu and the waterfall and temple there. The waterfall is really a trickle at the moment but the people watching on the walk there was worthwhile. I also walked up 3 km a few times to the little village of Dharamkot which is smaller and more picturesque than McLeod and has a great vibe. It is also a haven for Israelis (all the restaurants serve Israeli food and there are loads of them there).
I decided to head north to the hill station of Dalhousie in the Chamba Valley instead of going to Shimla or Manali. It was fairly quiet and had some nice scenery but overall I wasn't that impressed. I had some issues with my guesthouse and kind of got ripped off on a day tour and just spent a day there before coming back to McLeod. Basically, if you get the choice, I say skip it and go to Manali. The one impressive thing about Dalhousie was the gigantic monkeys that were everywhere. Big white ones with black faces that were about the size of a human teenager. Pretty crazy. There are also many monkeys in McLeod but they are more your run of the mill little brown fellas.
Not much else to report at the moment. I've been catching up on movies here are they show them at a few makeshift cinemas in town. The momos here aren't as good as in West Bengal and Sikkim but there is lots of other good Indian and Tibetan food. Tonight I take an overnight bus to Delhi and Monday morning I fly out to Kenya. I'm hoping Kara's firm will figure out when she can meet me in Tanzania for Kilimanjaro. Its been pushed back 3 times now. Everyone cross your fingers for her as I really am excited to do that!
Got the pics up! Here is the link:
Giong to take a moment to voice my frustration that once again there is an issue with my card, reader or this computer so I cannot upload my India pictures. Will try another cybercafe later. Grr.
Right. Well more about McLeod Ganj. Its a big traveler town with lots of yoga and meditation and buddhism classes. I may have touched on that in my last post. I didn't partake in any of this but it is interesting to be surrounded by it. For me, the highlight of my time in McLeod was the day hike I did to Triund. Triund is 9 km from Mcleod pretty much straight up. It was quite a hike but at the end you come over a ridge and there is a lovely meadow with colorful tents set up surrounded by loads of snowy mountain peaks that look close enough to touch. Totally worth the climb! I'd show you a picture but... OK letting that go. Also near McLeod I walked 2 km to Bhagsu and the waterfall and temple there. The waterfall is really a trickle at the moment but the people watching on the walk there was worthwhile. I also walked up 3 km a few times to the little village of Dharamkot which is smaller and more picturesque than McLeod and has a great vibe. It is also a haven for Israelis (all the restaurants serve Israeli food and there are loads of them there).
I decided to head north to the hill station of Dalhousie in the Chamba Valley instead of going to Shimla or Manali. It was fairly quiet and had some nice scenery but overall I wasn't that impressed. I had some issues with my guesthouse and kind of got ripped off on a day tour and just spent a day there before coming back to McLeod. Basically, if you get the choice, I say skip it and go to Manali. The one impressive thing about Dalhousie was the gigantic monkeys that were everywhere. Big white ones with black faces that were about the size of a human teenager. Pretty crazy. There are also many monkeys in McLeod but they are more your run of the mill little brown fellas.
Not much else to report at the moment. I've been catching up on movies here are they show them at a few makeshift cinemas in town. The momos here aren't as good as in West Bengal and Sikkim but there is lots of other good Indian and Tibetan food. Tonight I take an overnight bus to Delhi and Monday morning I fly out to Kenya. I'm hoping Kara's firm will figure out when she can meet me in Tanzania for Kilimanjaro. Its been pushed back 3 times now. Everyone cross your fingers for her as I really am excited to do that!
Got the pics up! Here is the link:
2 comments:
I love the fact that you are so well traveled that you think certain monkeys are "run of the mill." You go girl. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Kara (talked to her the other day).
Great pictures. I can't wait to see the ones from the Safari.
Natalie
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