McLeod Ganj

Wednesday 9th February

Couldn't be bothered to go see the sunrise, too much hassle at that time of day. Got porridge and coffee for breakfast then a tuk-tuk to Agra Canton station. 2nd class ticket, not too busy, I sat on the luggage rack above the seats, out of the way, as many Indian guys also do. Finished my book. 3 hours to Delhi, arrived at 2pm.

Went to a few travel agents, wanting to come to McLeod Ganj, in Himachal Pradesh state, ASAP. Direct bus fully booked for tonight, so they gave me a ticket to Pathankot (never heard of it before) which is 2.5 hours from McLeod by local bus. Got a cycle rickshaw across to Old Delhi to the bus, via some back streets and markets which I am now inspired to check out properly when I go back through Delhi. But the bus wasn't there and I had to share a 2-seater cycle rickshaw with two friendly Kashmiri guys down a bumpy backroad to an underpass where the bus was waiting. Only had half a bum cheek on the rickshaw seat and trying to hold on to my bag too.

It still took another hour of chaos before the bus left. The ticket has a seat number but the bus seats and sleeping cabins are not numbered so the bus 'conductor' spent ages moving people around, he moved me twice. Then there are people coming in selling drinks and chips etc and they just get in the way as the aisle is very narrow. And my seat didnt go back.

It took a while to get out of Delhi but after that the roads were pretty clear and we also went round some country towns.



Thursday 10th February

Not a bad night on the bus, wrapped up in sleeping bag. Around 8am I started to ask people whether we had reached Pathankot yet; a few understood but couldn't agree whether we had already passed it or not yet reached it. Eventually there was consensus that we had passed it half an hour ago and so I rushed to get off the bus. My own fault really for not checking sooner.

So I found myself in Sarkaghat, which I think is just inside Kashmir, on a cold and misty morning, not sure how things would turn out. (Being in Kashmir is not really a problem, lots of travellers go there safely, the biggest danger is vehicles going off the side of a mountain). Luckily there were plenty of people around and the first person I asked directed me to the right bus. The bus conductor was also helpful. It looked like a pretty hard place to live, with not much in the way of entertainment. A few military installations and tanks.

So, the bus took me back to Pathankot, in Punjab state, where we waited for half an hour before continuing on to Gaggal for a couple of hours. The scenery was great, snow-capped mountains a wide, dry river and small bustling market towns stocked with lots of fruit and vegies.

At Gaggal, the bus driver dropped me off and pointed at the next bus; the bus made its way uphill and after half an hour we arrived in Dharmasala. From there I easily got the bus, slowly, upto McLeod Ganj, 1770m above sea level. So although it took longer than normal to get here from Delhi, it was an adventure and I saw some parts I wouldn't otherwise have seen.

Had a walk around the small town. There are lots of Tibetans living here and lots of Tibetan clothes and restaurants and 'Free Tibet' signs.

Its quite mild during the day but the nighttime is very cold.


Friday 11th February

Got up early and switched to a cheaper hotel. And now I have a room with a fantastic view across the valley, parts of it look like it is from another planet. Tibetan porridge for breakfast.

Today's mission was to check out the sights related to Tibet; there are many Tibetan refugees here, more than Indians. At the end of town a road continues down to the Tsuglagkhang Complex which includes some Tibetan temples and statues and the Tibet museum. I met an older Indian tourist, Prakash, who speaks perfect English and he was a good companion for the afternoon.

The Tibet museum has photos and text about the Tibetan's plight and the exodus from Tibet to India. One of the stories was about a man who managed to escape to India, getting frostbite along the way and having his legs amputated. And about women being detained and tortured for not rejecting the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader. The next Panchen Lama (the second highest-ranking spiritual leader for Tibetans) was six years old when the Chinese took him away 15 years ago and he has not been seen since.

So the Tibetan Goverment is in exile and their parliament is here in McLeod Ganj. Its a good half hour walk downhill from the town, with mountain views along the way. A guide took us into the small parliament building where they have a seat for the speaker and 30 or 40 seats for the members who represent the regions of Tibet, so it is still an active working government. The members are elected by Tibetans outside Tibet and they meet in March and September.

We also went to the nearby Library of Tibetan works which has old religious artifacts that were smuggled out of Tibet, saved from the Chinese Cultural Revolution. We walked slowly back up the hill, Prakash is quite a bit older than me. We had fried veggie momo on the street. Momo is a small Tibetan dumpling, like a Japanese gyoza, very tasty. And we had chai.


Saturday 12th February

Tsampa (Tibetan) porridge with banana, honey and sugar for breakfast. Walked around to Bhagsu temple and then uphill to Dharamkot, got a bit lost for a bit. Then it started spitting so I didnt hang around, down the other side of the hill, on a path through the pine trees back to McLeod Ganj. It stopped raining but grabbed my rain jacket in case and walked along the hillside to Dal Lake. Well, its a ake with no water alongside the pine forest. Found a freezing cold metal bench and read for a while.

Back in McLeod Ganj I went to the place where there is a sign asking for volunteers to have conversation classes with Tibetan refugees and former political prisoners; I feel a bit bad that I haven't volunteered at all in India. But it is the second weekend of the month so the place is shut, as was the other voluinteer centre. Had momos again, read my book at a lookout and had chai; this is the good life!

And the footy was on in a restaurant, big plasma screen. A few locals came and went but I was the only one watching, until cheeky monks came in and switched channels to another game wihout asking, but they left at half time. Had Tibetan tomato and egg drop soup, delicious, some Tibetan noodles which were ok, and four cups of tea.


Sunday 13th February

Rain last night and this morning. Tempted to stay in bed as its cold and wet but after late breakfast I took  a stroll down the mountain to Dhramasala, it only rained a bit. There is not much to see in the town so walked back up the main road and caught the bus back to McLeod Ganj, and the rain started again. Later walked down to the Church of St John in the Wilderness. It is in a small clearing in the forest and it looked stark and cold on the outside, on this grey sunday afternoon. I couldnt go inside but peeked inside and imagined those English folk in the 1850's coming from around and about here, freezing cold and it feeling like home. The graveyard includes places for those killed here in the 1905 earthquake. I wonder whether their present-day descendents know of them and that they are buried here, and if they have visited their gravestones.