NOVEMBER 12: DELHI-DHARAMSALA (FLIGHT)

Early morning departure to Delhi airport for your flight to Dharamsala. Breakfast (box lunch).

Today, we began our long journey across India, traveling by airplane and bus to visit as many cities as possible.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport at approximately 5:15 am. Flight 6E 7483 / Departure: 8:15 am – Arrival: 9:55 am.

Not being able to sleep affected me today. I was starting to feel a little better, but began to feel much worse as the day went by, which was unfortunate. I was starting to feel frustrated and slightly agitated as I just wanted to feel better. We flew on a small plane because the Himalayan mountains made it impossible for larger planes to operate. All the women at the airport were wearing beautiful dresses, as it was Diwali. We missed the fireworks and crazy celebration on this day in Delhi because we saw the celebration in Dharamsala at night instead!

Upon arrival at Dharamsala airport, reception and transfer to the Fortune Park Moksha Hotel, McLeod Ganj. We flew on a small airplane, and as we exited the aircraft, we could see the Himalayan mountains off in the distance. I think we were all tired, but I don’t remember too much of our conversations, if any, as we all prepared to leave for the hotel.

Dharamsala is home to the largest Tibetan temple outside of Tibet. It is renowned for its rich religious iconography and serves as the monastery of the Dalai Lama, who delivers public lectures several times a year.

Lunch

We gathered around noon for lunch. It was here, I remember, my good friend Laura went up to me and told me this. “Leo, I don’t get it, people are hugging each other, saying I love you, acting this way and saying these things, but then, after this trip is over, everyone just goes back to normal like none of this happened.” She said this to me in Spanish, but I remember this sticking with me even now. She is right, though, and I have kept her words in mind since.

People are strange, right? But, so is life, and with strangeness comes questions. We often may not know what we want out of people, circumstances, or various situations, but I find it interesting how Laura said this to me because I thought the same thing.

Such is life with these adventures, such are people.

We visited the Karmapa Temple and Gyuto Monastery, one of the most famous monasteries specializing in the study of tantric meditation, tantric ritual arts, and Buddhist philosophy. It was founded in Tibet in 1474 by the first Dalai Lama’s chief disciple, Jetsun Kunga Dhondup. After the Chinese communist invasion of Tibet in 1959, the monastery was reestablished in India.

This place was something else! Talk about a Buddhist environment and architecture. I remember seeing many monkeys here as they jumped and swung about on top of the temple.

In the afternoon, visit St. John’s Church, situated amid a forest and featuring neo-Gothic architecture. The church is known for its Belgian stained-glass windows donated by Lady Elgin (Mary Louisa Lambton), wife of Lord Elgin. I don’t think we had a chance to visit this place, as far as I remember.

Later, visit the McLeod Ganj bazaar. We toured the town and its market, which has an entirely different atmosphere from the rest of the country, a strange mix of colonial and Buddhist architecture. We visited this Bazaar and a small market the following day. The vendors and Indian people here were some of the most lovely and kind people I have met.

I remember spending time with Mayk and Tariq here, visiting vendor after vendor. Nadia was quite interested in the Tibetan sound bowls some of the vendors had. She did buy one and brought it back with her. I don’t remember if the following locations we visited had this, but I recall seeing that the sewers were open and not fully closed, unlike ours. One of my Bengali friends told me that this was also common in Bangladesh.

It’s strange to see that Dharamshala has Domino’s and other large fast food chains, yet still has open sewers and other “old” architecture, despite its Western influence. Even at night, I recall that we would often see many monks walking around the town. Most of the monks were walking about during the day, though, as they all had their iconic look. Heads shaven and robes, either yellow or a light red peach color.

Dinner and overnight stay at the Fortune Park Moksha Hotel, McLeod Ganj.

I do remember a few things from this dinner. I had a funny conversation with Veronica. She is a geologist from Puerto Rico, and she told us all at the dinner table about a large iguana lizard. I also had a funny heart-to-heart with another woman from the trip, whom I met in New Jersey and later in Peru. She told me about her boyfriend in Mexico City, and I just looked at her like, “Oh no, I already did that, you too?” She did go and visit him later on, from what she told me. She flew to Mexico to see him.

We gathered at night to discuss how we were all doing and the experiences thus far. I was so tired and grouchy. I tried to ensure I was in a better mood for the next day, though.

NOVEMBER 13: DHARAMSHALA

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit to the Dalai Lama Temple, the personal monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. The primary purpose of this monastery is to support the rituals in which the Dalai Lama of Tibet participates. Following the Tibetan uprising of 1959, the Namgyal Monastery relocated to Dharamsala, India, where it remains active to this day. Today, it has nearly 200 monks (up from 55 in 1959), representing the four main Tibetan monastic lineages. We visited this place the day before.

I think we saw this place instead of St. John’s Church. I took many pictures of this place the day before, though. We were all quiet, taking in the moment as we walked around this beautiful place.

Lunch.

In the afternoon, we visited the Norbulingka Institute, a cultural institution in India that serves as the cradle of the Tibetan art renaissance and provides a refuge for artists to practice their crafts. The aim was to restore Tibetan art to its former splendor, adhering to the strictest standards regarding the selection of materials, the quality of craftsmanship, and the preservation of traditional methods. With the growing interest in Tibetan culture in India and abroad, Norbulingka could also serve as an emissary of Tibetan culture, a place where people could come to witness the artists at work and immerse themselves in a Tibetan community.

When we went inside this place, I felt like I could be here all day for a long time. There was a calmness to this place as we observed how the people here worked on crafts and art. Kevin and Laura talked to me here for a bit about Karla. They comforted me as they could tell it was still bothering me. I appreciated their care and attention to this matter at the time.

We went inside the Buddhist temple. Here, I felt like I could meditate all day. One of the ladies from the group had to come back and get me because I didn’t realize the group had gone to eat lunch. Before we ate lunch, I recall that it was here that I bought some jasmine green tea leaves. I love tea! I wish the caffeine weren’t so hard on me. The flavor, though, is the best part about it!

I was running low on ruppes and I didn’t have enough to buy the tea. The woman from whom I purchased it was kind and let me have it for 25 rupees less. I still remember this act of kindness from her. We ate at a small buffet at the Norbulingka Institute.

Here, we would ride around the town in small taxis because the city was too small to use a tour bus everywhere we went. I ended up spending time here with these two women from Gutamela who were best friends. One of these women had originally been to India with Mabel years before 2020!

We went to one more Buddhist monastery before sunset on this day. Here, we met a young man who had been a Buddhist monk. He was a brilliant and well-spoken man. He, honestly, I would have to say, had some of the best English I had heard from the people around India so far. He told us about how he enjoyed life in the monastery but was ready to move on. He wanted to be a film producer and told us how living outside in the “real world” was the challenge, not staying in a monastery all day. I wish I remembered more of what he said, but he was wise and articulate.

Before we returned to the hotel, we visited a small Shiva temple. Here, we had a red string bracelet put on our wrists.

Dinner and overnight stay at the Fortune Park Moksha Hotel, McLeod Ganj.

I can’t remember the end of this night too well. My mom got a bit annoyed at me because I was still grumpy. I was trying my best to stay positive, but I was so fed up with not feeling good. We wouldn’t unpack too much between these trips because we would only stay at the hotels for a few days before moving on to the next destination.