After an enjoyable but hair-raising ride through the Indian countryside on a local bus, we finally arrived to Dharamsala at the base of the Himalayan Mountain Range. This town claims to be the home of the Dalai Lama, but his actual home and government in exile is just a few kilometers up the mountain in a town called McLeod Ganj. We decided to stay in McLeod Ganj along with a host of other tourists, but it was wonderful since it was at a high altitude and out of the heat.

Unfortunately, I did not get to enjoy the first couple of days there because I contracted an E.Coli infection. On the bright side, we could not do much outside anyway because the monsoon had finally caught up with us, and it rained for several hours a day. Anyway, a few days later we got to venture out around the town with a bit of sunshine.

The culture here is obviously quite different because of the Dalai Lama's Buddhist influence and the overwhelming number of Tibetan refugees and Buddhist monks. Seeing the monks all around town was fascinating because they all wear red robes with a dark yellow inner layer and are all bald and quiet (much different than the rest of India!). This town is definitely more Tibetan than Indian both in demographics and culture.

All around the town are signs displaying "Free Tibet" and other signs boycotting the Olympics in Beijing because of the atrocities committed by the Chinese during the "Cultural Revolution" and also the violent suppression of peaceful protests since then including the one that happened earlier this year. It is hard not to feel bad for the Tibetan people because they are all very friendly, calm and peaceful…even the beggars sit on the side of the street with big, happy smiles on their faces. At the Dalai Lama's house and temple complex there is a fascinating museum that tells the story of Tibet and the Dalai Lama's journey into exile in 1959 crossing through the Himalayan mountain passes on horseback. Since then, he has formed the Tibetan Government in Exile, which attempts to help refugees, keep contact with Tibet, speak out for Tibet's cause, and keep the Tibetan culture alive.

While we were not fortunate enough to see the Dalai Lama in person, we believe that we saw his motorcade leaving because he was leaving that day to make an appearance, ironically, in the United States. However, feeling touched by the Buddhist people and culture, we decided that we would attempt some yoga. I thought that it was an amazing experience exercise resulting in complete relaxation and stress relief, but the only enlightenment I found was that I am not very flexible. I believe I will attempt it again as we move further up into the Buddhist region of India in the Himalayas, but I can see some really valuable benefits in it keeping you in shape as well as helping you clear your mind from the stressful events of life.

My brother is parting with us here in Dharamsala and moving on to elsewhere, but Ian and I are continuing further north through the Himalayas trying to get ahead of the monsoon. First, we will go to Manali, which is east of Dharamsala, and then we will head north into the secluded Buddhist region of Ladakh. Till next time, Cheers,