Dharamasala: freezing my nuts off!

Hello from up in the mountains!

It is bloody freezing here. India has cold winters just like the UK! I'm in Dharamasala (close to the Tibetan border), having braved an overnight bus journey from Delhi in what must surely be the draughtiest bus on the planet. I'm lucky I made it here. Me and another guy got stranded on a roadside in the middle of bloody nowhere during a midnight toilet stop. Thankfully a bright spark on the bus (Tanuj) alerted the driver to come back for us!

But boy, the difficult journey was worth it. This is an isolated mountain paradise. The air is so clean compared to Delhi! The scenery is stunning; wooded ravines, winding mountian roads, and rolling mist. Snow-capped mountain peaks roll up and away into the unfathomable distance, giving the impression Everest is in our own back yard. (That's actually very far away, in Nepal.)

We're staying in the town of McLeod-Ganj, a short vertical drive up the hill from Dharamsala. My volunteer group and I have accomodation at a chilly but welcoming guest house, run by a very jolly man who is friends with our project leader Daya. I visited the Dalai Lama's temple and the Tibetan Museum today. These were both amazing experiences; the latter was incredibly moving and haunting.

I'm wearing all my clothing (including two pairs of trousers) to combat the chill - the temperature has not risen above 5C all day. With impeccably bad timing, my camera chose to stop working just as we were about to embark on these once-in-a-lifetime sightseeing opportunities. Bastard!!! I took dozens of fuzzy pics on my phone camera in a vain attempt to capture the memories.

We spent the remainder of the day warming ourselves by a brazier, gulping down piping hot chai. I was wowed speechless by the awesome surroundings as much as the intense cold. Heat insulation is a rare luxury in the Indian hills. The cold gets in everywhere, through the windows and doors, so you lie in bed with the blankets wrapped round you, still shivering. (I imagine winters would have once felt like this in the UK before the advent of central heating. No wonder people in Victorian pictures look so tired and bloody miserable!)

In many senses Tibet has been all but wiped out, but it's heartening to see the exiled people continuing to survive in isolated pockets in neighbouring countries. Here in Dharamasala there is a large Tibetan community. Everywhere there are pictures of the Dalai Lama decorated with blue ribbons - the hero of the people. Buddhist monks in maroon and orange robes flock round the town. Also there are monkeys scampering between the roof-tops. Monkeys seem to thrive everywhere in India! It's surreal in a way.

I'm about to walk back to the guest house, down a steep hill, in the pitch black night. One step in the wrong direction and I'll be sent plunging down a steep drop. Thank God my Auntie Margaret bought me that travel torch for crimbo! Tonight I want to party with my group and enjoy some beers. It's been a while since I had a proper drink and boy am I ready for one!

Tata for now!