Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dharamsala, aka heaven


Well I've officially died and gone to heaven. We've left Delhi.... but not without our fair share of adventures. We were stranded in this dirty train station CRAMMED with hot sweaty smelly people. I think all the foreigners got the memo about not taking Indian trains, but we didn't, so we sat in this train station for THREE HOURS. As I sat on this box on the side of the tracks, I had to stop myself from counting the number of rats and cockroaches I saw to refrain from throwing up. It really was like a scene from a movie, a horror movie. But alas I was saved. The train arrived and we got on. We had this compartment all to ourselves, with bunkbeds and AC!!!!! Again with the movie thing, except for now I felt like I was in an old classic like North by Northwest. I took a sleeping pill and woke up 10 hours later, it was amazing. Then a drive on one lane roads with two way traffic, some of the road wasn't even completed and it was definitely an adventure. "Adventure" is my word for when something was intense, horrible, and miserable, but I'm trying to be optimistic. Anyways, we finally made it to Dharamsala home to thousands of Tibetans in refuge. It's this city on the very top of this mountain in the foothills of the Himalyas. Sooo pretty and about 30 degrees cooler than Delhi!!! There are Tibetan prayer flags everywhere, and the streets are full of Tibetan monks and tibetan people. It's got this awesome vibe. I seriously could live here the rest of my life!!! We ate lunch at the Dali Lhama's palace/temple where the monks practice cooking and man are they good at cooking pizza!
So my previous post was pretty negative, and I'm blaming the heat, Delhi, and my illness. Delhi was actually a really big learning experience and I'm glad we went there!
Ah, but I've reached paradise, so if I never come home, you'll know where I am!

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