McCleod Ganj

Five days ago we escaped the miserably hot state of Rajasthan and began our way North to McCleod Ganj, (Hippies raise your hands), in the state of Himachel Pradesh. In order to get here we first took an overnight, 10 hour train back to Delhi. We arrived around 6 a.m., caught a rickshaw to the main bazaar and bought tickets for another overnight 12 hour train that left the station at 9 o'clock that night. When we hit whatever town we hit, we then caught a 4 hour bus up steep narrow mountain roads to Dharamsala. Where we then caught another 30 minute bus to McCleod Ganj. I had sea legs (or train legs?) for the next day. I constantly felt that the ground I was walking on was incredibly unstable, swaying in the breeze, and doomed to collapse at any moment. It didn't.

It is so pleasant here. It's home to the Dalai Lama and serves as a refugee city for fleeing Tibetans. There is a peace here that we hadn't encountered elsewhere. It's mostly filled with Buddhist Monks and western tourists. The food is Delicious and the air clean. The city is built on the side of a mountain and the clouds drift in throughout the day, sweeping up and covering our view of the Himalayan foothills. Our room is centrally located, looks over the valley below and to the granite peaks above.

There is a small moviehouse that seats maybe twelve people to watch films on a big screen T.V. which is propped up on a two foot high table. So far we've seen 7 years in Tibet and a shitty bootleg copy of Pirates of the Carribean 3.