Altitude adjustment

Wow, just when you think things couldn't get worse... they get better! I am happy to report that I think I have found a place in India that I could totally fall in love with. It is the McLeod Ganj/Bhagsu/Dharamsala area, way way way up north in the Himalayas. It's nowhere near Mt. Everest or the top of the world, but in some ways it feels like it. I rolled into the train station at Chakki Bank around 3 a.m. and wasn't exactly sure what would transpire after that, as in how or when I would reach my destination, or what that destination was to be exact, but somehow everything just seemed to fall into place. I soon met up with a young German couple who are traveling with their 3-year old daughter (brave!) and we split the cost of a taxi up to Bhagsu, just north of McLeod Ganj. The taxi driver happened to have a friend who has a guest house and so we ended up getting rooms there. My room is huge, there are actually two double beds in it, and the best part of it is that there is a hot shower. This is key because there is no heat in the room and it is really really cold here. I am thankful for the down jacket that I just got in the mail before leaving Varanasi (thanks Mom!). I may also be investing in a hat and some mittens and more wool socks while I'm here. I'm tempted to buy myself a lovely pashmina scarf... hmm... these are not cheap, especially by Indian standards, but they are soooo fantastic.

I think I slept for 4 or 5 hours on the train, so when I got into my room around 6 a.m. I slept for another hour or so. Upon waking I reveled in the hot water until it ran out and dried off as quickly as possible before layering up and heading out to check out my surroundings. Breathtaking would be a good way to describe it. Here is the view from the guest house:


The mist is almost magical here.

I hiked up into the village for a bit, admiring the scenery, when I was joined by this little fella and other members of his family:


Talk about a welcome committee! They followed me around the whole time and even accompanied me back into town. One of the reasons I love this place is because even though there are street dogs here, they are not abused and actually seem to be very well taken care of. This is likely due to the influence of the Tibetan Buddhist community here (yay for Buddhism!).

So I've spent the day wandering around, eating, drinking chai... you know, all the things you're supposed to do on vacation. I love having only a vague sense of what time it is, being able to read for hours on end, and just seeing where the wind takes me.


Heading into McLeod Ganj, a 2 km walk from Bhagsu.