So I stalked the American girls from the bus to the hotel where they had reserved a room. I, of course, hadn't reserved anything so the first thing to do is find a room. None available at their hotel and since it's the Dalai Lama's Birthday I am a little concerned with general vacancy in the town. Figuring I'd take the lesser road traveled, I continue climbing a mountain road up and away from the girl's hotel. May be nothing up there at all, but if there is there is a much better chance of securing a vacant room.
After a while things looked very bleek and I was just turning around when I met Vinoed. A young man of twenty-one who said he had a room available. It's just 1 km further. I'm a little dubious of the offer, especially since it requires a further steep ascent in the thin mountain air lugging my backpack. But I go with it and after 2km we arrive. Vinoed shows me a decent enough room with a shared outdoor bathroom and shower and small kitchen in which the guests constantly serve up various teas and Chais. I agree to stay at the Shanti Guest House for $2/day and after finding a bit of a short cut into Mcleod Ganj I decide that it really is a nice place to stay. Its quiet peace is a welcome respite from the horns and bustle of "normal India". The time passes easily here sitting on the terrace staring out at the lush green mountains which attract clouds like magnets to iron filings that flow into or creep over the mountains with remarkable speed.
Dharamcot is the name of the village and you would never guess what nationality dominates the landscape here. Indian? No. Tibetan? Lots of them, but No again. Israelis? Ding,ding,ding, we have a winner!! It's more Israeli here than in Israel. That's there assesment, not mine. Apparently most Israelis like to travel once they get out of the army (3yrs) and India is the most popular destination. Due to the low cost of living it makes it easy to live simply and happily for extended periods of time. In addition to Dharamcot I'm told they are taking over Manali and Leh also!
The family and the guests are all very nice. The guests include 6 Israelis and 1 Korean. After talk and Chai I went down to one of the numerous restaraunts which offer a full array of worldly dishes. Then had dinner and a movie. Pizza and Swordfish (the movie). There was slight rain today, the monsoon is on its way!
The next morning I took a walk down a steep path to Mcleod to explore its offerings. Took a stroll down "Temple Road" and took my turn spinning the 100 Tibetan Mani (prayer) wheels. Spun my way to the temple and after a thorough pat down I was in the temple courtyard poised to watch His Holiness, the Dalai Lama pass through.A veggie burger and a Dosa (Indian crepe with spicy dip and soup) for lunch fueled my tank nicely. I began the climb back to the guest house when a Bikshuni (nun) asked me to deliver a note to the Tushita retreat office on my way. Tibetan monks seem very relaxed in their merlot colored robes. I thought it an odd site when I noticed one wearing an expensive looking gold watch (probably fake) and talking on his cell phone! I wonder who he was talking too. I hope it wasn't a girl friend:)
In the morning I went to where I'd wind up eating most of my breakfasts, The Sunflower Cafe. Lovely Rita and her little helper, Mantoo serve up a mean omelette sandwich. Fellow guests Song Mi and Atun took a richshaw down to Mcleod while Amos and I hoofed it down in the rain. Which quickly brought to my attention that my waterproof boots were in fact not waterproof at all! We entered the temple where they were having performances of song and dance in honor of His Holiess. We saw a couple of acts and then it ended. Rejoining with Song Mi we decided to get some food, but our timing was poor. The eateries were all packed or closed for HH's birthday. After a hour of walking in the rain we finally got into a Korean restaurant where Song Mi ordered us in her native tongue sushi and two other delicious dinners which we all shared. Spent the evening playing a popular card game with the Israelis called Wist.
No rain in the morning which afforded us the opportunity to learn yoga from Song Mi. Gill, who does about 4 hours of yoga a day even set up a hanging belt in her room. It's nice to hang and stretch out the back for a swift 10 minutes that flies by. In the afternoon I took a short hike alone to check out some waterfalls created earlier by falling water:)
Another session of yoga in the morning and off to a late breakfast. I had forgotten that Gill offered to make us lunch and so within an hour of finishing breakfast I was enjoying a fine salad and a very tasty dish whose name escaped me (veggies, cheese, egg and sauch pie thingy).
It's Sunday and Shanti, it's his house, has offered to make us all dinner. So we make it three days in a row of yoga, which really does make you feel good, and spend a lazy day working up our appetites. A tasty classic Indian meal of rice, dal (sauce), aloo (potato), goopy (cauliflower) and bread was enjoyed by all. Followed by our contribution, a local famous dessert called Bhagsu cake which can only be procured in the neighboring village of Bhagsu. With evening faded away to the sounds of Yoli and Jonathon playing Metallica, G&R and various Israeli songs.
We take a rest from yoga today. I help Enzo, a German guest, by speaking to his credit card company for him. His goods were stolen on a bus and since his English isn't strong I provide some translation. Afterwards I take a seat at the Trek & Dine restaurant where I will be spending much of time in the near future. There I'm cornered by Omar who is desperete to talk to someone in English, not Hebrew! It's tough being a minority! During the afternoon I took another hike up towards Triund and Snowline which indeed does still have a snowline on it. I pass a tiny Hindu temple whose remoteness must make it a seldom visited place and wind up on a ridge which provides a wonderful view of the Dharmasala Valley opened wide before ones eyes. Unfortunately, the skys also opened up and caught unprepared, I headed back.
Today I signed up for the 10 day Vipassana meditation retreat. I'm 52 on the waiting list, but I'm told I still have a 70-80% chance of getting in because many people never show up. I'll have to wait and see.The next morning was spent lsitening to an exotic beauty, half Indian, half English who entertained us with her tales of her past lives always escaping some kind of oppression or another. Her Reiki powers and metamorphosous massage sound equally enticing. The most strenuous activity of the day is watching "Ray" (Charles) and good, but long movie.
In the morning we opted for the "End of the World" to recieve breakfast. They made some room for us as we removed our shoes and we filled our bellies while it rained cats and dogs outside. There I started reading a very ominous book on climate change, but quickly erased the gloom with card games and chai. That night we said goodbye to Amos who was headed home to pack up for a short work stint in Boston. That night I also beat Yoli at chess a couple of times followed by cards with a guy who told us to call him either Moses or Dr. Evil! Go figure! Enzo got his replacement credit card today and I go to bed wondering if tomorrow I'll be in Vipassana??
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