Seeing The Dalai Lama

OH. MY. GOD. I can barely contain my excitement. Today I saw the His Holiness The Dalai Lama. It was completely unexpected (like most things wonderful) and I was totally elated afterwards.

Someone who shall remain nameless had suggested to me that I wouldn't get to see him as was busy drinking cocktails with Richard Gere in America. Outrageous I know! However despite the cynicism of some friends I had actually already heard on the grapevine that HH (His Holiness) the Dalai Lama was returning from American. Word was that he would drive through McLeod on the way to his residence in the village.

I didn't really think that much of it. The thought on standing around at the side of the street waiting all day for a glimpse of him didn't really appeal to me. Besides I assumed the streets would be packed. So I went to yoga instead. Obviously two hours of Hatha Yoga one of the best instructors in the world, Vijay (FYI!!), gave me more karma points than I'd anticipated. I strolled out afterwards, noticed the streets were deserted and asked one of the shop owners, who I'm now friendly with, what was going on. He stared at me like I was mad (a look I've come to know and love!) and told me HH was driving through and were I should stand so I can get a good look at him. I nearly screamed. And then sprinted up a steep hill to secure a place.

Fortunately for me my new friend and Tibetan Buddhist Monk, Tezin, was waiting in the crowd. Next think I know I'm standing with a couple of Monks with burning incense in my hand waiting for the Dalai Lama to drive past. How surreal and frankly how brilliant. If someone had told me this time last year - while I was slaving away in PR, loathing every single minute of it then drinking myself into oblivion each Friday to try and forget about my week - that I'd be chatting with monks while waiting to see the Dalai Lama I would've roared with laughter as a mask to hide the fact I secretly hoped they were right!!

The build up to the drive thru was pretty impressive. Days before the Tibetan prayer flags (five colourful flags: red, yellow, green, white and blue which represent the five elements: earth, water, fire, cloud, sky) had been positioned all the road to the Temple where the DL lives. Images of the Buddhist/Tibetan endless knot (based on cause and effect ie karma as it all links up) had been painted all away along the road leading to the temple. It wasn't overly busy. Maybe a few hundred people (mostly Tibetans) lined the streets holding burning incense and praying. The atmosphere was very peaceful.

We knew his was coming when the security guards started to walk down the street asking people to move back. As soon as he car approached the monks I was with and many of the people around me started to bend down, lower their heads and pray. It was an amazing sight. And then there he was. I got a clear view of His Holiness, all smiley and cute bowing his head with his hands in pray position. I swear he gave me a knowing look and a nod!!!

At home in McLeod Ganj

I spent just over two weeks in McLeod and I have to admit if it wasn't for the fact it was beginning to get so cold in the evenings - my hands nearly dropped off with frost bite when I was in bed trying to read my book - then I would've stayed longer. It's the only place to date I've felt at home. I loved it.

McLeod is home to thousands of Tibetan refugees. So it's really not India at all, more like a mini Tibet. At least without the Chinese breathing down their necks. People mainly talk Tibetan or Hindi. The Tibetan way of life and customs are clearly evident around the village. From the elderly women who wear traditional head dresses, the prayer wheels that people hold as they walk around the village mumbling their mantras to the turquoise jewellery on stalls, to the momos sold by street vendors. The Tibetan way of life is very strong. And there's a real village/community feel to McLeod too which is rather nice. A breath of fresh air in fact from the hecticness of dirty Delhi.

McLeod is set in a valley. The mountains are the backdrop for the small village which is set on both sides of the valley. It's busy, lots of shops which obviously I like but not too hectic. The temple is one of the most important to Tibetan Buddhists outside of Tibet plus it's the home of the Dalai Lama and certain areas of the surrounding area of the temple are really beautiful.

The sun shines brightly during the day and the sky is a crystal blue. It's quite surreal sometimes. For example you'll be sitting on the veranda at Nick's drinking a lassi and overlooking the valley when an eagle will swoop past. Then you look at the roof tops and a few monkeys will run across!

At night it's freezing which has naturally meant I had to go shopping for the must-have wrap. I also had to have a strong word with myself in order to avoid going for the ultimate traveller look of a hooded multi coloured yak wool jacket. Seriously, I brought a copy of Vogue (admittedly 3 months out of date but who cares) to sort myself out. It's actually frightening how if you see something enough it starts to grow on you. I wouldn't mind if it was a Marni jacket but I was starting to eye up some seriously tree-hugger esq items. Please forgive me.

McLeod has everything I like to do on offer. I practiced yoga daily with the world renowned Vijay, meditated, hiked (well, okay I walked up to a waterfall in a near by village called Bagsu and nearly lacerated my feet. It took longer than 30 mins which in my book qualifies as a trek!), there are a few movie houses with some of the latest releases, you can teach conversational English to Nun's and Monks (which I did - see pic!). And there's the temple which is really peaceful. Most importantly McLeod allows you to take chilling out on to another level. Plus it's really friendly.

The hub of the activity happened at a vegetarian Tibetan cafe called Gakyi - home of the best veg curry and brown rice. I virtually set-up home there. I met a ton of people from all walks of life: Swiss, German, Brazilian, Canadian, Scottish, Norwegian, Austrian, American and Australian. Each evening we'd all meet up, take over the small cafe and tell jokes. Well, they did. Jokes aren't really my thing. The only ones I do know tend offend people so for the benefit of world relations and for the first time in a long time I thought it best not to share my humour - I was trying to make friends after all!

Overall the pace of life in McLeod is so much more relaxed. I ended up chatting to all manner of people be it monks, nuns, travellers, locals. And some of the stories I heard were definitely eye openers. From local Tibetan guys who 'pray' on young innocent western woman to monks that de-robe for their lovers to the best skin care treatment (yep, I think I may have found the best anti-wrinkle cream to date!). It was fantastic. I could've stayed there for a very long time. But I had to leave. Someone 'kindly' introduced me to the Tibetan Bakery. It was there that I experienced chocolate balls for the first time. Amazing. Too good in fact. I had to leave to save my waistline!

I'm not finding myself....

Day two in McLeod in Northern India and home of his Holiness the Dalia Lama. To say I'm over excited and utterly thrilled to be here would be a massive understatement. I've planned this particular part of my travels with military prescion. I've dreamt of being here and now I am it's everything I expected it to be and more.

The contrast from here to Delhi is unimaginable and a huge relief. Chris decided to join me on this leg and I think he's pretty taken by it too. It's very peaceful. The backdrop for the little village are the mountains, the sky is a beautiful clear blue and the people are lovely. Real mix of Tibetans and Indians which seems to work well.

Thankfully Chris is more than happy to leave me to my own devices and go off trekking while I fully immerse myself in everything I promised myself I would do ie. yoga, meditation, astrology predictions by a Tibetan monk, gening up on DL and Buddhism.

I'm staying at OM guest house which makes me smile every time I think about it. Oh the irony. It's a friendly family run hotel, clean, good food and the veranda overlooks the valley. Perfect.

It's not too touristy here either. Admittedly there are a few people who are clearly embracing the look and are in danger of perhaps staying here rather longer than they should but all in all it's pretty chilled. I love it.

I've been deliberating whether to do the 10 day SILENT meditation retreat at the monastery. I've been really debating whether to do it and have decided not to for a number of reasons:

1.) I'm not looking to find myself. I've already found myself - I'm now accessorizing.
2.) I'd have to share a room with someone and not speak to them. I'd have to remain in complete silence which I would find rude and irritating...if not a bit boring.
3.) I have a massive problem with rules and/or strict programmes where I'm told what to do - it brings out the worst in me
4.) I like this characteristic and fear 10 days in silence under a strict programme may ruin this characteristic I've grown to like about myself - despite the fact it often gets me in trouble i.e. disapproving looks from the monks in Chiang Mai when they found out I'd absconded one evening and fraternized with the outside world!
5.) I like to talk a lot.

So I've decided to stay put for a while. I've befriended a yoga master so I'm practising yoga and meditation on a daily basis, reading virtually every book I can get my hand on about DL and also hanging out with a rather cute Tibetan guy who trekked across the Himalayas for a month to get here to escape the Chinese authorities - all in the name of research of course!

This is my kind of accessorizing!

Dirty Delhi

I never thought I'd say this about anywhere I would visit but I have to say Delhi is the worst place on earth. I think I'm in hell. I can't wait to leave.

They say that Delhi is an assult on all your senses - this actually a phrase which immediately makes me roll my eyes and urges me to contain a snort of distgust as, having read it in the LP guide, virtually every traveller I've met to date has tried to pass it off as their own opinon of the city.

Delhi doesn't just assult you though, it attacks you. It violates you. If Dehli were a man it would be the type of guy women run from. They kind of guy who uses the same underpants for a week, expects his mum to do his washing even though he's lived alone for a number of years, gobs on the floor and expects you to buy him a drink for the pleasure of experiencing all his disgusting ways. In a nutshell it's a filthy, dirty shit hole. Never ever come here. It's vile. The pollution is out of control, something I've never experienced before. As you head towards the city you can see the smog sitting virtually above the buildings. You can barely see the sky. The atmosphere is thick with dirt and yellow smog. You instantly start coughing when you arrive and your eyes sting too.

I'm really struggling to find anything positive to say about this place. Even walking up the road is a hassle. If you try and go anywhere via a tuk tuk it's stressful. First the driver pretends to know where he's going, then when he realises you don't want to go to an emporium shopping he ups the previously agreed price. Then you have to go through the whole negotiation again pulled up on the side of a busy main road, horns beeping, dirty gushing in your face. Failing that, you have the pleasure of being driven around in the dirty smog for at least an hour while the driver pretends to know where he's going. It's vile. Normally these little 'challenges' don't both me but when it's stifling hot and your eyes are stinging....let's just say I've been very close to screaming a number of times.

Travelling to Old Dehli train station in the back of a tuk tuk was yet another gloryfing experience - I actually tried to take a photo of the market we drove through but the polution is so bad the picture was specaled. VILE.

I was already feeling pretty emotinal having just said goodbye to Brooke and Kylie who I'd been travelling with for the past two months. I was gutted saying good bye to them both and had to hold back the tears. Unbeknown to me I would shortly have a perfect situation to unleash my emotions.

I nearly lost it at the tuk tuk driver when we pulled up at New Dehli train station rather than OLD Dehli train station and was told it was going to cost us double what we'd been previously told to get there. I was seriously seething about it though, in fact raging would be a better way to describe my reaction. Chris - guy I meet on the way to Agra who decided for some unknown reason that he'd like to travel around north India with me...a decision I suspect he's now regretting - bore an expression of fear as I ranted about how we were being ripped off, how I hate tuk tuk drivers and I couldn't wait to leave Delhi. Thankfully he calmed me down and therefore ensured us and our luggage being thrown out on to the street. I had to have yet another word with myself because at the end of the day we needed the driver more than he needed us and frankly for the pricely additional cost if a pound it really didn't matter. This added to the fact the tuk tuk driver has a crap job and has to endure the polutin and general madness on a daily basis. I could leave, he couldn't. So basically shut up neen!

There's light at the end of the tunnel though - I leave tonight on a train heading for Dharamsala, home of the Daili Lama. I intend to meditate, maybe go on a 10 day meditation/yoga retreat, make friends with the DL's secretary (already developed an email friendship - in my mind anyway!) and hopefully get to meet his Holiness too. Rock and roll.

One of the wonders of the world

The Taj Mahal was utterly impressive. More so than I thought. The architecture and the fact everything in its grounds is completely symmetrical was, in the flesh, awe inspiring. I literally stood and stared at it in amazement for few minutes when I first saw it. It's beautiful. Stunning. In fact I can't really find the words to justify how utterly gorgeous it is.

There was a professinal photographer lurking around so I seized the opportunity to have my picture taken on the very same bench as Diana Princess of Wales. I tried to emulate the wimsical look she did so well but sadly couldn't. It was more a cheesy tourist pose. Still I'm expecting the picture to have pride of place on my parents mantle piece!!

Any how there I was gazzing at the Taj trying to avoid the lingering starres and giggles of prepubesent Indian boys when who shoud I literally bump into but Mick Jagger. Hilar. Surprisingly he went compeletly un noticed aside from a few westerners gorping at him. His assistant got a bit jumpy when he clocked us taking pic of him which I rather enjoyed watching.

I had a bit of a celeb moment myself. It was probably one of the most funniest moments of my life. There I was standing there, doing some serious people watching when I noticed a young lad of about seven sitting with his family pointing a camera in my direction. Naturally I assumed I was in his way so I moved. Suddenly he and his family are shouting 'no, no we want take picture of you'...I was more than happy to oblige. On went my celeb esq sunnies, my wrap was thrown causually over my shoulder and I assumed pose position, taking great care to ensure my chin was dipped down. Before I knew it I was having my picture taken with the little boys sister, father, mother, then the whole family. It was hilarous. (see pic above!) I didn't have heart to ask why they wanted a photo of me - in fact I shudder to think...I told myself that they didn't look like the kind of family to collect pictures of dog like looking foreigners - the truth is often over rated!!

Saving souls in Varanasi

To be honest I didn't really have a massive expectation about Varanasi. I obviously wanted to go there, it's the mecca for Hindu's, one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the most spiritual too - the holy city of India. That said watching families cremate their loved ones on the banks of the Ganges seemed slightly strange to me. Almost vauyeristic. I didn't really know what to expect or more to the point how I'd feel about it. Not sure how I would've felt if 50 or so tourists started taking photos of my grandmothers funeral!

According to the Hindu mythology, Varanasi liberates soul from human body to the ultimate. It is the Ganga Ghats of Varanasi that complement the concept of divinity. Ghats of Ganga are perhaps the holiest spots of Varanasi. The Ganga Ghats at Varanasi are full of pilgrims who flock to the place to take a dip in the holy Ganges, which is believed to absolve one from all sins.

The whole dipping in the Ganges completely freaked me out. My sides nearly split with laughter when a guy told me he was going to bath in the Ganges as another guy he'd met previously had boasted about how he'd done it. 'LIAR' I roared at the poor unsuspecting guy. He was only telling me what he was thinking of doing poor man. Bathing in the Ganges isn't the wisest thing to do seeing as the water is sepetic but hey it wasn't as though he was about to committ murder!! I naturally took great delight in telling the wannabe bathing Ganges man that he would probably end up in hospital for many, many months if he even so much as dipped his toe in the water. He looked horrified. I inwardly applauded myself at saving a soul!!

Sun rise and sun set floating down a the Ganges in a wooden fishing boat was breath taking. Dare I say a real moment. For me watching the sun set over the Ganges was most memorable. We sailed down the Ganges as a sitar (classical Indian guitar) played classical Indian music. Very sereen and peaceful and definately out of the norm in terms of how I usually would spend a Friday night - which would normally include a large amount of vodka, a few packets of Marly's and telling someone how they should live their life and/or offering relationship advice of which I know so much about!!

Travelling through Nepal into India

Travelling down from Kathmandu to Lumbini on the boarder of Nepal and India was fabulous. I stopped off along the way at Chitwan National Park. It was amazing. Vast scenery, with a real local feel to it, like going back in time.

I went on an elephant ride and saw six wild Rhinos - very 'out of Africa' moment - fantastic. I also visited a local tribal village - Thuru - and met some of the local children. A very humbling experience. The families don't live in brick houses but huts made out of mud and ox manure - all the children wanted were pens and for me to take their photo - which they loved. These people have so little. No running water directly into their homes, electricity. On one hand you I wished I could change their situation but on the other I couldn't help thinking that sometimes you just can't change things. They are what they are and if even if you did makes changes would it necessarily make it any better?

Lumbini is the birth place of Buddha so for me was a fabulous experience and definitely a highlight. The area itself was very peaceful and there was a temple next to ruins which I popped into. As luck would have it sitting in the temple was a Buddhist Monk - BINGO. He wanted to bless me. DING, DING, DING, JACKPOT! I was in awe. Totally overwhelmed as not only had I visited the birth place of Buddha I was also blessed by a Buddhist Monk in the temple next to where Buddha was born. Just put this into context for you - for me it really doesn't get any better than that. I literally ticked a zillion boxes on my 'things I have to do before I die' list. I was elated. See pic above to see just how much!! FYI it's me and my healing hands (due to a reiki course) at the birth place of Buddha.

The journey from Lumini to Varanasi was long - over 10 hours, how nice - but the scenery more than made up for it. That and the 80's music which me, Kylie and Brooke insisted on playing on my ipod speakers (best leaving present ever!). Phil Collins singing 'you can't hurry love' rang through my ears as I lay my eyes on the Ganges for the first time! God love Phil.

Crossing over the boarder from one country to the next is always a bit of an eye opener as the atmosphere and the scenery almost changes immediately. You know as soon a you enter India. Different smells, mainly sandalwood burning, sounds - more honking of the horn and the enormous variety of colours ranging from the Saree's to the shop fronts. You also notice the stares. And I mean goorping stares from the men. It's really odd as you'd think they'd never seen a western woman before but nevertheless their jaws virtually drop to the floor when they see you and their gaze follows you for what seems like forever. Dark glasses help and the ability to shut yourself off from it. You get stared at no matter what so you have to get used to it. At least I definitely will as I intend to stay in India for a few months!!