A Change of Pace, the City of Le Corbusier, and Chillin' with the Tibetans

Hello and greetings from Dharamsala!

It's been a while since my last posting, and that's because, I'm happy to say, not too much has happened since. Rishikesh was a great change of pace from the crazy and hectic cities we previously visited. There was one day where I literally did nothing other than eat, drink, take a nap, and read. It was awesome! Did I feel guilty about not utilizing my time a little more efficiently while on the other side of the globe? Nope. I'm on vacation, so I shall treat it as such.

Not every day was spent in such a sedentary manner, however.

The first full day there we hiked down to the main village and wandered through the local shops, which sold pretty much what every other shop in India sold: jewelry, clothes, souveniers, and toiletries. But these stores also sold literature about yoga and spiritualism in the Buddhist and Hindu fashion, as well as CDs used for meditation. We walked down to one temple on the bank of the Ganges river and witnessed the Ganga-arti, which is a religious ceremony performed every night at sunset where hundreds of Hindus gather on the river's edge and sing devotional songs to the all-mighty Shiva. There's a fire pit, and at one point plates of fire are passed around and everyone grips the plate and shakes it in a circular motion. There are also small rafts made of flowers and leaves that you can buy, and in the raft there is a candle which you light and set adrift down the Ganges, along with a wish or devotion to Lord Shiva. It was cool to see, but sitting amongst so many people got rather hot and uncomfortable, and since I was sitting on marble steps, certain parts of my body got "un"comfortably numb after a while. Still, the tunes were pretty cool.

Another day was spent walking in search of "the waterfall" which we had heard other hotel guests mention. The info about the waterfall, however, was mixed. Specifically the distance it was from the hotel. The main source we talked to said "a few kilometers." Hey, that's not that far at all! I could even wear my flip flops for this hike :) So off we go, chasing waterfalls. For some of the time I did have TLC in my brain, warning me against the journey upon which I was embarking. So we walk...and walk...and walk some more. We walked through the main village, then another village, and pretty soon we were walking on a road with nothing but trees and monkeys around us. After a while, we started asking anyone we passed on the road if they know where the waterfall was, and every one assured us it was "just a little ways down further." So, after about two and half hours of walking, topped off with twenty minutes of climbing a rather steep mountain, we found THE WATERFALL. To be honest, it really wasn't that impressive. Sure, it was pretty, but nothing to write home in a blog about. But I decided to make the best of it and even showered off a bit in the falls, which were freezing cold and very refreshing. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was dark and my legs and feet were on fire, but at least the monkeys didn't attack us. All in all, I guess we hiked about 12-14 kilometers for this journey. A little further than we thought, but at least we got some great cardio!

The next day I did something I had never before done in my life: yoga. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but to sum it up, it was about an hour and a half of stretching. Not to say that it was boring or slow. There were times when I was really feelin' the burn and stretching muscles I didn't even know I had. And the poses really did wonders for my aching calves and quads. Our instructor was a delightful Indian guy about my age who pronounced the number 13 like "t-HAR-teeen." It was pretty funny. Every time I would get in a pose and stretch myself to the point of near agony, he would come along and gently position me right into agony. Thanks, dude!

On our last full day there, I walked down to the bank of the Ganges, because during our long waterfall hike I saw many pristine beaches which I wanted to further investigate. I brought along my bathing suit and a good book, ready to relax for a few hours. For a few minutes, it was pure tranquility. Nothing but the sounds the Ganges and a few birds here and there. I sat in the freezing waters (it was really hot outside, so this contrast of temperatures was great) and let my mind wander.

Then I noticed two Indian guys about my age wading in their underwear nearby, and sure enough, they made their way towards me and started asking me all sorts of questions about my home country and how I like India. I didn't mind much, they were very friendly and curious. We spoke for quite a while about Rishikesh and India in general, and they were even kind enough to tell me all sorts of curse words in Hindi, as well as the various slang terms for both male and female reproductive organs. What nice fellas :) They then told me where in Rishikesh I could find the best hashish as well as the cleanest prostitutes. Awesome. I then said, "So, what do you guys do?" They replied, "We're police officers." At first I laughed, certain they were joking. But a few minutes later, they emerged from behind some nearby rocks, fully dressed in their Indian Police Force uniforms, saying it was "time to get back to work." I guess they do it a little differently here in Rishikesh, haha.

Since the travel time from Rishikesh to Dharamsala, our next destination, was 15 hours by bus, we decided to split the journey in half and stay for one day in Chandigarh. This city, located in the state of Punjab and mostly populated by Sikhs, is significant because it was planned out by the famous Swiss-born architect LeCorbusier. Unlike any other city in India, this one is laid out in a very rigid and organized grid system and the entire city is divided into "sectors." This made traffic slightly less chaotic and certainly gave the city a greater feeling of organization and control. I foolishly thought that since we were so much further north than Rishikesh, it would be cooler. WRONG. Holy crap I don't know how these folks do it. We did go see this amazing sculpture garden made entirely of recycled glass and ceramic (www.nekchand.com), but after that, we had to get indoors. I was excited to see Chandigarh's Museum of Architecture featuring the planning process of the city and plenty of models and drawings outlining the city's evolution, but no, all city buildings are closed on Monday. Crap! I napped instead.

The next day was spent on what was probably the most uncomfortable bus ride of my life. We sat about eight-and-a-half hours in seats built for children tolerating dusty, bumpy roads, hairpin turns, and constant honking from a horn that I swear was an air-raid siren in its past life. But then I reminded myself how much worse this whole experience would be if I had traveler's diarrhea, and suddenly life wasn't so bad. We made it to Dharamsala in the late evening and if the direct views of the Himalayas weren't enough, the air was cool and the roads were clean! It was like we had reached Nirvana.

So Dharamsala is the home of the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government. There are many many Buddhist monks roaming the streets here and today we took a tour of the main temple and discovered a juicy bit of info: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet will be here TOMORROW!!! He will be at the Temple and will deliver a speech and with any luck, I'll be able to see him speak. Wow, what luck! The entire time in India everyone had told us "That's cool you're going to Dharamsala, too bad the Dalai Lama's never there."

Well, I'll let you folks know tomorrow if I saw him or not...wish me luck!

Thanks for reading,

Matan