Leaving Pushkar - travel to Dharamshala
After our morning hike we stopped at our favorite coffee shop to enjoy a small espresso before taking the bus to Ajmer. We met another couple traveling around India while enjoying our cup of joe. Below is our favorite coffee shop, and my new scaled friend. The charmer allowed my to photo and pet the cobra, for 25 rupee.
Then we headed to the bus stand and got on our bus right away. We arrived in Ajmer a couple hours before our train was to depart so we had a snack or two at the station. Our train departed at 14:15 with a scheduled arrival time of 06:30 the next morning. Once again the train ride was great, this train must have been newer because everything was quite clean. Once we got moving, we got to know our berth mate for a while. Eventually we all got tired and went to sleep on our own cozy beds. Heidi and I woke up around 0600 to faint foggy daylight coming in the window. Another 45 minutes or so went by and we made it to our stop, Chakki Bank.
At the taxi stand we had an interesting incident. An Indian man asked us if we’d like to share a taxi to Dharamshala, of course we said we would to save money. We all got in the cab to go then we got stopped before leaving the station. The taxi union boss stopped us, he would not allow us to share a cab because he knew the three of us weren’t traveling together. They argued for a while and told us we’d have to pay an extra 500 rupee to travel together. We told him we’d rather take a bus. We got out of the taxi and walked to a rickshaw and paid 80 rupee to take us to the bus station. As we were leaving the union boss walked up and offered us the taxi ride for 1000 rupee. We said no, and so in the end he lost out on 750 rupee when he wouldn’t let us share the cab. Then he lost out on 1000 rupee when we didn’t take his offer for a single cab. This is what happens when greed takes over…you lose! On another note, the taxi guys said the bus would take 6hrs to get to Dharamshala, we made it in 3.5hrs :) and for only 270 rupee.
Dharamshala was a nice little village, lots of shops and café’s everywhere. We walked around for a while then decided to go up the mountain a little further to McLeod Ganj, a northern suberb. A taxi to McLeod Ganj cost us 180 rupee. The road was a twisty, rough, winding road with amazing views. The ride was only 15 minutes. We stepped out of the cab and immediately felt like we’d want to stay for a few days. The main market street was packed with shops and restaurants. The whole village was so clean compared to the places we’ve been before in India. The whole community seems to have an increased awareness of cleanliness and recycling. For example, yesterday’s newspaper gets stapled in such a way to create a small bag for today’s fruit, etc.
For the past three days the Dalai Lama has been speaking here, unfortunately we were not able to attend. McLeod Ganj is the official headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, as well as the home of the Dalai Lama.
Our first day we walked around trying a lot of the street food, our favorites so far are the whole grain bread, potato momo, corn, and fruit beer. We’ve eaten at a couple restaurants too, and I’m beginning to like Tibetan food as much as Indian food.
The second day we decided to go for a hike up the mountain a bit to Bhagsu. This is also considered a suburb of Dharamshala. The walk was only about 15-20 minutes and the scenery was beautiful. We arrived at the village and saw a sign pointing toward the Bhagsu waterfall. Another mile walk up the mountain and we came upon the trail to the waterfall. We’ll let the pics do the rest of the talking/typing :)
After the waterfall, we headed back to McLeod Ganj to take a shower at our hotel (Loling Monastery, $3 per night). There is only one hot shower on each floor, and everyone has to wait their turn to use it. The tap water here is ice cold coming directly from the Himalayan springs above. The hot shower is a much appreciated luxury.
After cleaning up we walked around town for a while, had some tea and updated our blog. Then went to dinner at the Tibetan Kitchen and had some very spicy food, it was great! Also by this time, all the locals were celebrating Diwali, which is one of the most important holidays celebrated in India. It is a celebration of your inner light, and goodness. The lights represent a triumph of good over evil. The evening was filled with very powerful fireworks and music. The fireworks lasted well into the night. Eventually they quieted down and we were able to get to sleep. We were thankful to the local people here for sharing the celebration with us.
Tomorrow we will trek further up the mountain to another village called Dharamkot, we hope to find cheap accommodation there and stay for at least a week or maybe two! Nite :)
After our morning hike we stopped at our favorite coffee shop to enjoy a small espresso before taking the bus to Ajmer. We met another couple traveling around India while enjoying our cup of joe. Below is our favorite coffee shop, and my new scaled friend. The charmer allowed my to photo and pet the cobra, for 25 rupee.
Then we headed to the bus stand and got on our bus right away. We arrived in Ajmer a couple hours before our train was to depart so we had a snack or two at the station. Our train departed at 14:15 with a scheduled arrival time of 06:30 the next morning. Once again the train ride was great, this train must have been newer because everything was quite clean. Once we got moving, we got to know our berth mate for a while. Eventually we all got tired and went to sleep on our own cozy beds. Heidi and I woke up around 0600 to faint foggy daylight coming in the window. Another 45 minutes or so went by and we made it to our stop, Chakki Bank.
At the taxi stand we had an interesting incident. An Indian man asked us if we’d like to share a taxi to Dharamshala, of course we said we would to save money. We all got in the cab to go then we got stopped before leaving the station. The taxi union boss stopped us, he would not allow us to share a cab because he knew the three of us weren’t traveling together. They argued for a while and told us we’d have to pay an extra 500 rupee to travel together. We told him we’d rather take a bus. We got out of the taxi and walked to a rickshaw and paid 80 rupee to take us to the bus station. As we were leaving the union boss walked up and offered us the taxi ride for 1000 rupee. We said no, and so in the end he lost out on 750 rupee when he wouldn’t let us share the cab. Then he lost out on 1000 rupee when we didn’t take his offer for a single cab. This is what happens when greed takes over…you lose! On another note, the taxi guys said the bus would take 6hrs to get to Dharamshala, we made it in 3.5hrs :) and for only 270 rupee.
The Magic Bus
Arrival in Dharmashala
McLeod Ganj arrival and pics
For the past three days the Dalai Lama has been speaking here, unfortunately we were not able to attend. McLeod Ganj is the official headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, as well as the home of the Dalai Lama.
Our first day we walked around trying a lot of the street food, our favorites so far are the whole grain bread, potato momo, corn, and fruit beer. We’ve eaten at a couple restaurants too, and I’m beginning to like Tibetan food as much as Indian food.
The second day we decided to go for a hike up the mountain a bit to Bhagsu. This is also considered a suburb of Dharamshala. The walk was only about 15-20 minutes and the scenery was beautiful. We arrived at the village and saw a sign pointing toward the Bhagsu waterfall. Another mile walk up the mountain and we came upon the trail to the waterfall. We’ll let the pics do the rest of the talking/typing :)
After the waterfall, we headed back to McLeod Ganj to take a shower at our hotel (Loling Monastery, $3 per night). There is only one hot shower on each floor, and everyone has to wait their turn to use it. The tap water here is ice cold coming directly from the Himalayan springs above. The hot shower is a much appreciated luxury.
After cleaning up we walked around town for a while, had some tea and updated our blog. Then went to dinner at the Tibetan Kitchen and had some very spicy food, it was great! Also by this time, all the locals were celebrating Diwali, which is one of the most important holidays celebrated in India. It is a celebration of your inner light, and goodness. The lights represent a triumph of good over evil. The evening was filled with very powerful fireworks and music. The fireworks lasted well into the night. Eventually they quieted down and we were able to get to sleep. We were thankful to the local people here for sharing the celebration with us.
Tomorrow we will trek further up the mountain to another village called Dharamkot, we hope to find cheap accommodation there and stay for at least a week or maybe two! Nite :)
Hey Heidi and Kale!!
ReplyDeleteWell, I took what you said seriously, and looked into the Rishikesh Yog Peeth TTC whilst I ws in Rihiskesh...and have signed up for the 5th December course!! looking forward to catching up with you both again, and enjoying a yogi christmas!! Olivia