We came back from the trek on a Sunday, the boys had then gone to Dharamsala and my mother said she would very much like to go as well. So Monday morning at 8 o’clock she and I are sitting on the local bus to Dharamsala, or more specifically to McLeod Ganj because that is where the Dalai Lama is in exile.
The bus is no better than any of the other local buses; it drives really fast and the roads are horrible so you get car sick very easily in India. My mother was as unfortunate as to throw up after about 2 hours and we were to sit on the bus for 8 hours. She told me she was feeling car sick and I had to break it to her that the system here is like this: if you need to throw up you open the window and stick out your head. About 10 minutes went by and then she asked if I could open the window. Leaning over me and out of the window she throws up several times. I couldn’t help but laughing because I found it such a memorable experience. However, when she put her head back inside and I saw how pale she was I stopped. Then she put it out the window again. Fortunately she didn’t get more ill after that.
After a really long bus ride we finally arrive in McLeod Ganj and Alf meets us at the bus stand. The boys met a monk who got us really good seats at a teaching the Dalai Lama was giving because the Russian Buddhist Community had arranged a session as the Dalai Lama could not come to Russia. So we check in at the hotel, go for dinner and then my mother and I go for a short walk as we have been sitting on the bus the whole day.
The next day we get up early to make sure that no one takes our seats at the Dalai Lama teaching. I tell you, if we had not had that monk with us, we wouldn’t be so lucky. Some were acting ridiculously because someone else had taken their seat. The thing is there are no reserved seats, you just put your pillow and leave it there, but if you don’t show up in time, you have a problem. It was very funny as well because many of the ones causing a small scene were Buddhists. Here you have the people of harmony arguing like crazy over a small spot on a carpet.
We sit and wait for a bit, find a good position to sit in and stuff, when it goes quiet. Then a powerful voice, but what must be many men, utters the word OM. And they keep on chanting it until the Dalai Lama has taken his seat. Everyone stretches their head, I search and search, and when everyone has gotten a look at him and sits back in normal position; I see him. I have a clear view straight at him. His first teaching is in English and he talks very much about how in the modern world technologies and political systems have developed in a good way, but what it is lacking is a certain type of compassion. This, however, the modern world has realized and has started looking for it and try to understand it. And one of its focal points when searching for this is in the Buddhist beliefs. The type of compassion is a genuine, selfless compassion. When he was talking he would very often laugh at his own jokes. My mother and I found it very amusing and concluded that he reminded us of Santa Claus, but not the commercialized one, the proper one.
During the afternoon we went to an English Church in McLeod Ganj. It is very special as it is from the colonial times, and the glass in the church window by the altar is actually Belgian. Imagine that! The church is called St. John’s Church in the Wilderness. Quite the catchy name, ey? After that my mother and I had an Ayurvedic massage. This was really nice and soothing. Then, we went to have something to eat before my mother was to take the bus to Delhi as she was going to visit Taj Mahal. It was really nice that she came to visit, we had a great time.
(My mother also got her eyebrows done with a thread)
Next morning, we go to our second teaching where he speaks in Tibetan, but we had bought radios where some of the channels had an interpreter translating for us. This day he talked about Buddhism and how to reach Nirvana. He used many terms from Buddhism that I recognized from the Bhagavad Gita. If we had not studied this piece from Hinduism in philosophy; I would be completely lost.
On the way back we take a taxi since none of us really wants to take the local bus. The boys had eaten some chicken so I decided to try the same one since they didn’t get ill from it. I ordered and I got a different type. I couldn’t finish half of it before I felt sick. In the taxi I managed to hold it for 2 hours and then I threw up. Coming back I wasn’t able to eat anything, so on Friday (2days after) Panki’s wife puts me on this cure where I drank some herbal tea in the morning, and got a special mix together with rice for lunch and dinner. The day after I was perfectly normal again; natural medicine is the best medicine.
But McLeod Ganj is definitively a place worth visiting if you are going to India. You don’t have to stay longer than 3-4 days, but you ought to visit. Here you get to see some of the Tibetan culture, left over from the colonial times, Buddhist community, and Indian community. A wonderful place with a beautiful view.
The bus is no better than any of the other local buses; it drives really fast and the roads are horrible so you get car sick very easily in India. My mother was as unfortunate as to throw up after about 2 hours and we were to sit on the bus for 8 hours. She told me she was feeling car sick and I had to break it to her that the system here is like this: if you need to throw up you open the window and stick out your head. About 10 minutes went by and then she asked if I could open the window. Leaning over me and out of the window she throws up several times. I couldn’t help but laughing because I found it such a memorable experience. However, when she put her head back inside and I saw how pale she was I stopped. Then she put it out the window again. Fortunately she didn’t get more ill after that.
After a really long bus ride we finally arrive in McLeod Ganj and Alf meets us at the bus stand. The boys met a monk who got us really good seats at a teaching the Dalai Lama was giving because the Russian Buddhist Community had arranged a session as the Dalai Lama could not come to Russia. So we check in at the hotel, go for dinner and then my mother and I go for a short walk as we have been sitting on the bus the whole day.
The next day we get up early to make sure that no one takes our seats at the Dalai Lama teaching. I tell you, if we had not had that monk with us, we wouldn’t be so lucky. Some were acting ridiculously because someone else had taken their seat. The thing is there are no reserved seats, you just put your pillow and leave it there, but if you don’t show up in time, you have a problem. It was very funny as well because many of the ones causing a small scene were Buddhists. Here you have the people of harmony arguing like crazy over a small spot on a carpet.
We sit and wait for a bit, find a good position to sit in and stuff, when it goes quiet. Then a powerful voice, but what must be many men, utters the word OM. And they keep on chanting it until the Dalai Lama has taken his seat. Everyone stretches their head, I search and search, and when everyone has gotten a look at him and sits back in normal position; I see him. I have a clear view straight at him. His first teaching is in English and he talks very much about how in the modern world technologies and political systems have developed in a good way, but what it is lacking is a certain type of compassion. This, however, the modern world has realized and has started looking for it and try to understand it. And one of its focal points when searching for this is in the Buddhist beliefs. The type of compassion is a genuine, selfless compassion. When he was talking he would very often laugh at his own jokes. My mother and I found it very amusing and concluded that he reminded us of Santa Claus, but not the commercialized one, the proper one.
During the afternoon we went to an English Church in McLeod Ganj. It is very special as it is from the colonial times, and the glass in the church window by the altar is actually Belgian. Imagine that! The church is called St. John’s Church in the Wilderness. Quite the catchy name, ey? After that my mother and I had an Ayurvedic massage. This was really nice and soothing. Then, we went to have something to eat before my mother was to take the bus to Delhi as she was going to visit Taj Mahal. It was really nice that she came to visit, we had a great time.
(My mother also got her eyebrows done with a thread)Next morning, we go to our second teaching where he speaks in Tibetan, but we had bought radios where some of the channels had an interpreter translating for us. This day he talked about Buddhism and how to reach Nirvana. He used many terms from Buddhism that I recognized from the Bhagavad Gita. If we had not studied this piece from Hinduism in philosophy; I would be completely lost.
On the way back we take a taxi since none of us really wants to take the local bus. The boys had eaten some chicken so I decided to try the same one since they didn’t get ill from it. I ordered and I got a different type. I couldn’t finish half of it before I felt sick. In the taxi I managed to hold it for 2 hours and then I threw up. Coming back I wasn’t able to eat anything, so on Friday (2days after) Panki’s wife puts me on this cure where I drank some herbal tea in the morning, and got a special mix together with rice for lunch and dinner. The day after I was perfectly normal again; natural medicine is the best medicine.
But McLeod Ganj is definitively a place worth visiting if you are going to India. You don’t have to stay longer than 3-4 days, but you ought to visit. Here you get to see some of the Tibetan culture, left over from the colonial times, Buddhist community, and Indian community. A wonderful place with a beautiful view.
Nice post on dharamshala mcleod ganj. Dharamshala is situated in Himachal pradesh. One of the beautiful place to visit. Himachal Tourism is the best place for tourism in India.
ReplyDeleteNice Blog
ReplyDeleteManali Hotels