Everyone was busy preparing the day the Dalai Lama came home. The streets were painted, banners were hung and the streets were lined with Tibetan flags. We waited all day as no one knew the exact time he was coming. 
The moment was brief, but worth the wait, he was smiling as always and had his hands clasped. There were about 20 cars in his brigade and they took him straight to his home at the monastery.
He is speaking on November 9th and 10th and we’ve already secured our passes to see him. We’ve been meeting with Nagwon, the monk who has been teaching us Buddhist philosophy and enjoying our time in McLeod Ganj. We will be volunteering to teach English and starting a meditation course soon. Matthew is planning on volunteering time at a local animal shelter while I plan on starting a Reiki course. 
We’ve found our favorite restaurants (Tibetan food is so good!!!) and met some friends in town. There is a sweet Tibetan woman that sits on the corner almost every day selling homemade momos, steamed dumplings stuffed with potatoes or spinach, with chilly sauce (5 momos for 10 rupees or 25 cents).
We caught a documentary last night “Escape from Tibet”, which gives you a good idea of what Tibetan refugees have to go through to get to this area of India to escape religious and political persecution. Most of the people here have made the long and dangerous trek for over 30 days through the Himalayas (very close to Mt. Everest) with out maps, supplies, or guides. They trek with their day-to-day clothes on in layers and all of their possessions strapped to their backs. Thousands of people do not make it. In fact we spoke with Nagwon today about his trek and he mentioned that a 26 year old woman died during his journey. Many people lose fingers and toes due to frostbite or become snow blind just to gain their freedom and even once they arrive, they could still be sent back to China. Many people have made the trek more than once.
We took a walk to Bhagsu today, a small town about 2km away with a waterfall. It was a nice walk with beautiful views over McLeod Ganj and the countryside.
Tomorrow we will be changing hotels, moving to the center of town. We are only a short walk as it is but the people from our hotel are constantly pressuring us to book a travel package to Kashmir and we’re a bit tired of dealing with it. The place we found is half the price (about $7/night) and much nicer.
The moment was brief, but worth the wait, he was smiling as always and had his hands clasped. There were about 20 cars in his brigade and they took him straight to his home at the monastery. 
He is speaking on November 9th and 10th and we’ve already secured our passes to see him. We’ve been meeting with Nagwon, the monk who has been teaching us Buddhist philosophy and enjoying our time in McLeod Ganj. We will be volunteering to teach English and starting a meditation course soon. Matthew is planning on volunteering time at a local animal shelter while I plan on starting a Reiki course. 
We’ve found our favorite restaurants (Tibetan food is so good!!!) and met some friends in town. There is a sweet Tibetan woman that sits on the corner almost every day selling homemade momos, steamed dumplings stuffed with potatoes or spinach, with chilly sauce (5 momos for 10 rupees or 25 cents).
We caught a documentary last night “Escape from Tibet”, which gives you a good idea of what Tibetan refugees have to go through to get to this area of India to escape religious and political persecution. Most of the people here have made the long and dangerous trek for over 30 days through the Himalayas (very close to Mt. Everest) with out maps, supplies, or guides. They trek with their day-to-day clothes on in layers and all of their possessions strapped to their backs. Thousands of people do not make it. In fact we spoke with Nagwon today about his trek and he mentioned that a 26 year old woman died during his journey. Many people lose fingers and toes due to frostbite or become snow blind just to gain their freedom and even once they arrive, they could still be sent back to China. Many people have made the trek more than once.
We took a walk to Bhagsu today, a small town about 2km away with a waterfall. It was a nice walk with beautiful views over McLeod Ganj and the countryside. Tomorrow we will be changing hotels, moving to the center of town. We are only a short walk as it is but the people from our hotel are constantly pressuring us to book a travel package to Kashmir and we’re a bit tired of dealing with it. The place we found is half the price (about $7/night) and much nicer.
2 comments:
the Dali Lama himself. The twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes; the grace; bald; striking...So, we finish the 18, and he's going to stiff me. And I say, 'Hey. Lama, hey. How about a little something for, you know, the effort, you know?' And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won't be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.'...So I've got that going for me...which is nice.
HAHA,"big hitter, the Lama". I had a feeling you might quote caddyshack. Once again I busting up at a random internet cafe and people are looking at me like im crazy. Thanks man. Give Shity Pants an "atta boy" when you see him.
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