Tibet away from Tibet - Dharamsala (McLeod)

My college buddy from Carleton, Hudson, is doing some legal/humanitarian work with Tiebetan refugees in Upper Dharamsala (aka McLeod Ganj of MLG), so I decided this week was as good a time as any to see this beautiful Tibetan refuge and home to the Dalai Lama. I was definitely looking forward to escapting the heat and pollution of Delhi, and I was definitely treated to quite a bit.

After arriving on Friday afternoon while Hudson was still at work, I took a little hike by myself to the Bhagsu waterfall, which was really nice. Later that night we had the standard Tibetan fare with a side of momos. McLeod Ganj is largely comprised of Tibetans with monks and nuns everywhere, it feels very un-India.

We took to the trail the next day and hikes for a solid 5 hours up to Triund, where Hudson said there were some caves we could sleep. To our dismay, we found a father, his two sons, and their entire heard of goat were inhabiting the cave for the summer and after some broken Hindi conversation, were led to two other caves which were wet, filled with animal waste, and old bottles of liquor. We opted to stay in a guest house - no electricity of enclosed rooms, just a tin roof over our heads and some blankets. Before nightfall, however, we hiked to the Triund glacier which was awesome.

The next morning, we woke up at dawn and made our way back down to Dharamsala to relax, have some lunch, and walk around the Dalai Lama's temple and residence. McLeod is an amazingly green and laid-back place and a great weekend getaway from Delhi...

That is until the only daily flight back to Delhi gets cancelled because of bad weather. I immediately took the bus station to grab the luxury bus back to Delhi, an overnight leaving around 9pm. I made myself comfortable in the small town of Kangra, passing about 5 hour before my bus departed. One flat tire, waiting to fix the spare, and the three hour detour later, we were on the road and arrived into Delhi a couple hours late. Had a chance to stop back at the guest house and shower before work, but had no idea what kind of adventure I was getting myself into.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Dharamsala in Google Photos (also links from below).

Holy City on the Ganga - Banaras (Varanasi)

Varanasi (also known as Banaras) is one of the holiest cities in the world. In the bordering state of Uttar Pradesh, it's located alongside the Ganga River - much further downstream than in Rishikesh. Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains come from near and far to this city for its religious importance and power of the river.

Megan, Heather and I decided to take the overnight train on the way there and opt to fly back one-way. The train ride was quite pleasant, since we dished out for the first-class sleeper cars. My four bed (two bunk) compartment was only me, so I should have been able to get some decent sleep. We arrived early in the morning and checked-in right away at the Taj Hotel.

While in Varanasi, we were to Sarnath, the location of one of Buddha's first teachings. It was expansive grounds near Deer Park, home to some of the oldest stupas in the region as well as the Sarnath Archeological Museum, where we smuggled in our cell phones and cameras despite a very persistent security guard.

In the afternoon we headed to the Ganga River to see the ghats along the rive, and met up with one of our co-worker's in-laws. They took us around to see some sari and scarf stores and again guided us back to the Ganga River for an evening ceremony. It was a full day - we covered a lot of ground and the next day flew back to Delhi. Megan and I decided to treat ourselves to sushi at Wasabi by Morimoto.

Blog photos - Here's a link to my photos of Varanasi in Google Photos (also links below).

Where the Hell is Matt?

See all cross-cultural barriers come down - this is really awesome.

It gives me chills every time...and the song "Praan" is also great.


Here's the original website.

Green, Temples, & a Monsoon - Orchha & Khajuraho

Madya Pradesh is a massive province in India, not particularly known for many tourist attractions, with exceptions such as Khajuraho and Orchha. Bill was in India for a couple weeks for work and Louise and I decided to take him on a quick weekend trip to MP. Khajuraho is known for its erotic temples, Orchha for its beautiful temples and architecture and location along the Betwa River.

We took the train from Delhi on Friday after work and stayed at a less than spectacular Jhansi Hotel - it was listed as a "splurge" in one of my guides, but our room had no windows, AC made the room smell like gasoline, our water heater started to leak on the toilet, and the garden turned out to be a piece of grass. All in all, it wasn't so bad and made for lots of laughs.

The next day we left for Khajuraho to see the temples, but not before some Dosa and other snacks from the Madras Cafe - yum. We toured the temples for a couple hours and even had dinner in a treehouse watching the sound and light show. On our drive back we encoutered the heaviest monsoon I've experienced - visibility must have been two feet. In a few hours we were back in Orchha and arrived at our hotel, Sheesh Mahal. It was truly a palace and one of the best finds in India in my opinion.

The next day we explored Orchha, devoid of tourists, wandered through wedding processions, and got caught once again in heavy downpours. We boarded the trusty Shatabdi Express back to Delhi and before we knew it were back home. Orchha is a gorgeous place, and the neighboring Khajuraho blends sexuality with religion in some of the region's oldest temples.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Khajuraho and Orchha in Google Photos (also links from below).

British Raj's Summer Capital - Shimla

The "Adventure Club" at work organized a weekend trip to Shimla in the state of Himanchal Pradesh. It was once the summer capital of the British Raj - there are a lot of hill stations both in North and South India which become hotspots during the warm summer months. Shimla is commonly referred to as the "Queen of the Hills" because of its historical importance with the British.

Our trip was pegged to be six-hours each way in a bus, and was going to include trekking, rocking climbing, river crossing, etc. As with everything in India, plans changed quite quickly. Instead of leaving right after work on Friday, we decided as a group to leave Friday night around 9:30pm so that we could sleep en route. We didn't end up taking a bus because there weren't enough people, so we packed into our Toyota Innovas (similar to minivans) and tried to get some shut eye for the trip that actually took 12 hours - a driver kept getting lost, we took frequent breaks, it was foggy and raining, etc.

Eventually we made it and it was pouring cats and dogs. Our camp site, however, was beautiful. The rain finally stopped and we did get the chance to go on a decent hike, come back for dinner, and have a nice bon fire. The next morning, we did a "valley crossing", made our way into the town of Shimla, before setting off once again on a 12-hour journey back to Delhi.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Shimla in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).