Dharamsala

Our last major stop in India was Dharamsala, best known as the home of the Dalai Lama. I was very excited that Doris included Dharamsala on our agenda as I had read "The Open Road - The Fourteen Dalai Lama" and really admire this wise man. Unfortunately he was in Delhai celebrating his 80th birthday, but his picture was everywhere!

We stayed in McLeod Ganj which is the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile and a centre for the study of Buddhism and Tibetan culture. The view was spectacular - magnificent pine forests set against a backdrop of the Himalayan peaks rising to over 15 600 feet on three sides.

We visited a Tibetan Children's Village. Thousands of children flee Tibet each year and arrive often without their parents. Their parents see no hope for them in Chinese-occupied Tibet and smuggle them with guides over the Himilayan Mountains to arrive in Dharamsala so their Tibetan culture will not be lost and they will receive an education. Over 3000 children are housed in this village. The day we arrived, they were having a fair and it was fun to see all their different activities. I gave the rest of the Keatsway Student letters to the students.

I like their slogan: My Religion is Simple. Kindness is My Religion

Playing Pin the Tail on the Yak!

Beds for the Toddlers

Hiking in the Himalayas was fun but a little challenging in my Birkenstocks. Our guide was quite chatty and entertained the whole way up the mountain with his political views on India's Prime Minister, Modi. He feels that Mr. Modi is helping India by supporting a "Made in India" policy, keeping out big business like Walmart, helping to clean and green India, and getting rid of corruption in the government. 

We had a peaceful walk through the traditional tribal village of Naddi and then we walked through a forest of cedar, oak, and rhododenron to the retreat huts of Tibetan monks. It was magical walking in silence, watching the Tibetan prayer flags blowing in the breeze, and hearing the soft chanting of the monks.

We took the overnight sleeper train back to Delhai.