A cold wet Tuesday

Last night it rained. A lot. Its also VERY cold again. So we didn't exactly wake feeling genki (to use a japanese phrase)...for the rest of you that's energetic/enthusiastic/raring to go!


Anyhow, we went back to Geden Choling to find they'd done all their spring cleaning and didn't need our services today. However, we've been invited back to help out and attend a number of ceremonies later in the week, (including their Losar ceremony which is very special and lasts about 4 hours.)

Still cant get my pics uploaded. But trying so come back in a few days and hopefully they'll be here!

Day 3 Monday 28th February

Last night i slept very soundly (in my bed, inside my sleeping bag, with the quilt on top) irrespective of the bhangra music, the sound of what sounded like walls being moved, and occasional explosions from the nearby quarry...until 11.30 when my body thought it was morning.

It wasn't. I then slept until 2.30, and it still wasn't morning. Then the dog chorus started.

All across the valley dogs howled in tormented harmony followed by the crying and howling of something very large and probably feline (though i really cant be sure) and i thought: yep, i'm in Dharamshala!

I played Jimi Hendrix on my mp3 player for an hour or so, just to quiet things down, then tried again to sleep. 8am and i'm up and about and feeling finally something like alive we went for a very tasty breakfast lemon/banana pancake and black tea!

View of the Kangra Valley from McLeod Ganj.

After getting ourselves sorted we made our way downhill to the Dalai Lamas temple via Geden Choeling Nunnery to see some of Diane's friends. The nunnery fell victim to a landslide last year and the nuns are currently trying to rebuild, adding accomodation for the older nuns and create a space for debate. Debating is very important for both Buddhist nuns and monks as everyday they learn various topics of philosophy and then in the evening working in pairs they debate to proove that they have understood what they were taught earlier in the day. (Its very entertaining to watch as debates can often get quite heated!) At present they have nowhere to debate and are having to do it on cold concrete floors which is creating quite serious health problems for many. We met Seldon, the nunnery secretary who is about 4 foot high and very very cheery, offering us Tibetan tea while explaining that the nuns are currently (aside from being engaged in building work) preparing for Losar/New Year and so EVERYTHING is being dusted down, cleaned and washed in preparation for the celebrations and ceremonies. Tomorrow we're going to go back and give them a hand.

Building work at Geden Choling Nunnery.

We eventually visit the Dalai Lamas temple, this is kind of like the Tibetan equivalent of a village hall in some ways, besides teachings and ceremonies the local community use it for exhibitions, films on the evening, pretty much all sorts!

Days 1 & 2 Sat/Sun (26/27th Feb)

Ok, so here we go:

The Flight 1. Newcastle to Dubai.
My first flight with Air Emirates went very smoothly. The crew were helpful, attentive and the food was suprisingly edible....apart from the main course ('chicken') which i ate around. Sat next to me was a retired dinner lady who had been told the previous day by her doctor NOT to fly due to her kidney problem (dialysis 3 times a week cant be much fun), who'd had a funny turn the night before, and hated flying - so good company. She also wasn't supposed to eat sweets but clearly liked them a lot... and by the end of the flight half a packet of mints had been poured into my hands!

Dubai
Landing at Dubai was fantastic. 28 degrees at midnight and the camera in the nose of the plane showed a sea of lights for miles. A very impressive airport, i've never seen so many private jets parked outside of anywhere. I'd arranged to meet Diane in McDonalds and having asked the lady at the information desk for directions i walked to the end of the terminal and waited. And waited.

Meanwhile Diane at the opposite end of the terminal on the floor below waited at the other branch of McDonalds. Anyhow an hour before take off we met up and compared notes so far.

Day 2 Sunday 27th Feb - and Flight 2 - Dubai to Delhi 4am
This time the company for my flight was on one side a tiny Hindu grandmother (think Kumars) constanly clutching her handbag for dear life and a muslim Indian to the right with a seriously large beard and a copy of the koran on his iphone, which he chanted from for the first 30 mins or so of the flight. It was a short flight im pleased to say but i still hadnt had any sleep since 6am on Saturday and my insides were starting to not know where they were..so i passed on curry for breakfast.

Finally we arrived in Delhi.

You know you're in Delhi airport when every other person is a soldier carrying a machine gun and the majority of men over 50 have dyed their hair rust red....no, dont ask my why...they just do.

Thanks to the wonderful organisation that is Indian immigration we arrive at the Kingfisher Air desk for the flight to Dharamshala with only 30 mins to spare....so it wasn't looking good! However, we manage to flag down an official, explain our predicament and they very nicely let us jump the mile long queue, and with
only minutes to spare and the final, FINAL! call being shouted energetically down the tannoy we board the bus to the plane. Its has propellors.

Flight 3. Delhi to Dharamshala.
The flight to Dharamshala a 'kingfisher experience' apparently, goes well with a nice view of the Himalayan foothills which are still pretty much snow covered and we arrive on time, about 1pm at Kangra 'airport'. Not that its small....but I've been in bigger car parks.

Taxi ride to town.
We were met by Dawa; a Tibetan friend of Diane who owns a shop in Mcleod Ganj, who after exchanging tradional white scarves (khattas) took us to a taxi for the half hour ride uphill to Mcleod Ganj. Never seen so many monkeys so close to town and i'd forgotten how exciting taxi rides can be! Its at moments like this that im reminded of an official road sign i noticed on the last Indian trip: '"better to be Mr Late than the late Mr...REDUCE SPEED!"

Still, our driver skillfully navigated his way around all traffic (on both sides of the road), cows, people, and anything else in his path to deposit safely at Hotel Tibet.

The bathroom.

The view from the bedroom.

McLeod Ganj
Its almost Losar, Tibetan new year (March the 5th this year) otherwise known as the year of the iron female rabbit, and McLeod Ganj has noticeably more Tibetan people in the streets than in 2009 and yes, the western hippy contigent in capes and things are still very much in evidence.

Er.....This is the bus station

And its cold! Very cold. In the space of 1 hour we have snow, rain and sun and later on a power cut. Somewhat zonked out by our travels we head for something to eat: Tibetan Thaltuk a hearty, warming and very filling soup of seasonal vegetables and steamed momos (dumplings)

Bed by 7.45 and straight off to sleep!

How, when and where?

In case you want to know, here's the rough diary of events:

Saturday 26th of February:
I fly from Newcastle to Dubai where i'll hopefully find Diane somewhere near McDonalds.
We fly from Dubai to Delhi.

Sunday 27th of February:
We arrive in Delhi then fly up to Dharamshala.
We are met by Dawa (local Tibetan) who will drive us to Hotel Tibet in Mcleod Ganj.
http://hoteltibetdhasa.com/

Saturday 5th of March:
Losar Celebrations - Tibetan New Year!

Thursday 10th of March:
Public talk by the Dalai Lama on the 52nd Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_Tibetan_uprising
Paul's Birthday (yes, i know - I've missed it again!)

Monday 14th/Tuesday 15th of March:
Join a group of Thai monks at a 2 day teaching from the Dalai Lama.

Thursday 17th of March:
We fly from Dharamshala to Delhi then Delhi to Dubai.

Friday 18th of March:
Diane flies back to Heathrow and i fly to Newcastle.

Saturday 19th of March:
Either in bed or 22s.

Who is the Dalai Lama?

No blog on Dharamshala can go without mentioning the Dalai Lama, but who is he?

Maybe you know of him as that rather jolly old monk interviewed by Michael Palin, or maybe you saw him in the Simpsons but either way, here's a quick overview:


The Dalai Lama as figurehead.
As His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso is loved and worshipped by the Tibetan people. There is no direct comparison in British culture (or western culture in general) as to what he repesents.

He is spiritual, political, and national figurehead for Tibet its people and beliefs.

(Imagine if you can someone who could encapsulate the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Pope, the Prime Minister and the mythical figurehead Britannia all in one and maybe you get close.)


The Dalai Lama as a man. 
Imagine being born in 1935 in one of the more emptier parts of Tibet.

Your father is a horse trader and your mother bore 15 other children apart from yourself - and only 6 survived.

At the age of 2 you meet a party of monks and dignitaries who decide that you are the reincarnation of the leader of your country.

At the age of 4 you have to leave your home and travel for weeks across wilderness to Lhasa the capitol of Tibet to live away from your family in the Potala Palace - one of the largest buildings in the world at the time.

At the age of 7 you become a monk.

At the age of 15 you become the leader of your nation. Then your country is invaded by China. You dont have an army to speak of so you write to the leaders of the western world for help - including America and Great Britain. You are ignored.

China then 'liberates' Tibet, over 100,000 Tibetans die and over 6000 monasteries and nunneries are destroyed. Thousands of your people are imprisoned and tortured as part of their 'liberation'.

What do you do next?

For more information go here:
http://www.freetibet.org/about/10-facts-about-tibet

http://www.dalailama.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama

Where is Dharamshala?

So i guess the first thing I should do on this blog is tell you a little about Dharamshala.

Dharamshala is located in the north of India in a region known as Himachal Pradesh. It's name is derived from Hindi/Sanskrit and is a compound of the words 'Dharma' and 'Shala'. While shala is easily translated into 'resting place' or 'sanctuary' dharma is a little more tricky to translate as it is a word with many meanings depending on your beliefs (Hindu/Buddhist) but essentially 'dharma' for a western audience translates into something like 'spiritual belief/law'.

So Dharamshala is the shelter or sanctuary for spiritual pilgrims.

Which is kind of appropriate as since 1959 Dharamshala has been the home to HH the 14th Dalai Lama (and the Tibetan Government in exile) since he fled Tibet following invasion by the Peoples Republic of China in 1950.

Since the Dalai Lama's arrival many Tibetans have followed to escape the harsh conditions in their occupied homeland, and currently of the 19,200 people living in Dharamshala over 5000 of these are Tibetan refugees.

For further information have a look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharamsala