Himachal Pradesh

Ok, our third blog comes from the North of India. As before, there are a couple of stories first followed by general photos etc. Hope you enjoy ...

Our Northern adventure started with an eventful journey to Dharamsala via a sleeper train and 'toy' train. The toy train followed a narrow track high into the foothills of the Himalayas where normal rules do not apply! First, out of the forest, 50 sardhus (spiritual men) joined our cramped tiny carriage. Then at least another 200 people desperately tryed to cram on at the next stop! Sam was convinced there had been some kind of natural disaster, but it turns out there was a religious festival at our destination! We both had several children and babies flung upon us, and India being India, the entrance was not only by door but by window!

Having missed our stop because we literally could not get off the train, we somehow managed to get to the Mcleod Ganj region of Dharamsala. This has the largest population of Tibetan refuges and hosts the official residence of the Dalai Lama. We loved the place, which was very atmospheric.

The next stop was Manali, where we managed to see the big man himself and attend 2 of his teachings. We had amazing seats, only 10 ft away from him and next to the english translator. A great experience :-)

Meeting other travellers in Manali, we decided to head to the Spiti Valley with some of them to experience the most sparsely populated region of India. The only way however was over the Rothang Pass!!! This is a 10 hour journey on a local bus (imagine an old British bus which has been sitting in a lock up for about 20 years) over a 4500m high mountain! The road zig zags at an alarming rate with only a few inches between tyres and the edge of the mountain, aggh! Very scary, but we were able to enjoy the incredible views of snow capped mountains, deep rocky valleys and Nomadic shepherds with their flocks.

In Spiti we stayed with a family in a traditional Tibetan house where the cattle sleep underneath and the loo is a hole in the ground, literally! It was fascinating to watch the locals cook, farm and go about their daily life. Jo helped cook authentic meals and we ate the freshest snow peas in the world :-) A 6 hour trek the next day took us to Komic, the highest village in Asia, where we sipped Chai and watched monks chant mantras.

The North of India has been amazing and we highly recommend it to anyone who wants to witness the most beautiful panoramic views and stunning people. Next we move to Varanasi, Bodhgaya and then Nepal.

Our stomaches have been good for 3 weeks now so hopefully we've fully aclimatised. We still get pangs of missing home and friends, but are thoroughly enjoying our travels and are meeting some lovely people along the way :-)

More photos below ...

We met some interesting characters on the toy train!

Dharamsala was a beautiful place covered with Tibetan prayer flags

Walking around the Dalai Lama's residence in Mcleod Ganj was misty and atmospheric!

With loads of Tibetan inscriptions on rocks ...

And monks circuiting the prayer wheels and gompas

The soups and momos were a refreshing (healthy) alternative to curries!

Watching the nuns debating arounds the gompas was great. They clap their hands with vigour to make each point!

Crowds of Tibetans came to see the Dalai Lama in Manali

Chai and butter tea was served half way through the teachings

But the 4 hour teachings were just too much for some people!

We saw so many distinctive faces.

Some of the views from the cafes were amazing!

And we even went scrumping for apples!

 

The Rothang Pass from Manali to Spiti snaked around the mountain (look hard and you'll see the road)!

We stopped for Chai in one of the mountain top cafe's... it was so cold at altitude!

But the views from the bus made it all worth while :-)

 

The village we stayed in was so picturesque ...

Our room in the beautiful homestay was above the pile of yak dung on the left!

The doors were tiny...

And the main room acted as a bedroom, kitchen, lounge and bathroom....

The toilet was..erm..traditional!!

The views on our trek were stunning

And we came across lots of spiritual happenings ...

 

The children were adorable :-)

We witnessed monks singning mantras in the highest gompa in India!

And celebrated reaching the dizzy heights with our trekking buddies!