D for Dharamsala, M for Manali....... lets see how much of the alphabet I have passed... perhaps X will wait till I visit China (when ever that may be)...

So Rishikesh was a chilled out place... but it definitely felt like a week was long enough.When I left I was debating where I should go first - Spiti or Dharamsala. The bus to Dharamsala left half an hour earlier and that was the end of my decision making process since both journeys were roughly the same 13 hour haul overnight.  

Dharamsala was a breath of fresh, cold, damp and very welcome air. I've found that arriving at 5,6,7 - early hours after long journeys should be exhausting and yet it is often a pleasure to see a town asleep and slowly opening its spiderweb eyes.Its like looking through a keyhole or through tinted glasses- you get to see a different side of the town. Dharamsala - or I should say Mcload Ganj, didn't dissappoint - a chai seller and a few rickshaws and me had the whole town to ourselves. It gives you time to notice the absurd restaurant names and the actual width of the streets; how the architecture is different from down in the valleys. It feels like seeing the real essence of the town because for once you don't see the touts and the tourist shops and everything that is an effect of you being there, instead you see a place that is lived in. 

I had a good feeling about the place instantly- it felt like a step outside of India and it was. My first morning it drizzled, I had porridge and with the steep high street to climb I felt utterly at home. Even the prayer flags and pine forests' reminded me of Samy-e-Ling so it didn't feel so foreign- unlike the hindu temples.

There was everything you could possibly want to do in Dharamsala - mostly I walked, joined some volunteer conversation classes with Tibetans and did meditation every morning and occasionally took my fiddle up into the  mountains for a practice. I went to a few good jam sessions as well which was fantastic. It is like stepping out of India - its full of Tibetans : who are usually more honest then the indians, the climate is different, the street food is Tibetan momo's (like steamed dumplings), the dress..... But you only have to wait for an India guy to pass you on the street and say something lewd to remind you that you are still in India and you will be seen here just the same as anywhere else in India. 

Dharamsala was social.....  I met a lot of people on the street that I'd met before or had some connection with- an argentinan I met in  Rishikesh, an australian couple who know Totnes and some fellow Totnesians, people in my dorm were very friendly, Tibentans through jamming, and like a  cherry on top of the cake I also met some of my fellow travellers from Hampi. It was such a lovely thing to bump into people on the street that I'd seen off onto trains and buses in Hampi before taking my own route south to Bangalore. When you travel there are people who are easy to let go off- occasionally you find people you aern't ready to bye to just yet so its wonderful to have another rendevouz. In the space of a few days many people I met spoke about the people you meet being a huge part of travelling. For me that always meant the native people until now when I realise its not even the travellers themselves but the kind of relationships you have with other traveller that is something special.-They can be stupid, intense, quick ...people can know nothing about you and yet instantly there is a solidarity. 

On the bus to Dharamsala I talked for a long time with a monk who was sitting next to me. A few hours into the ride, after swapping music - listening to my ipod and tibetan music on his phone... and showing me photo s of his family and discussing being a monk , buddism etc... I got an invitation to his families home. After a week of deliberating and enjoying Dharamsala... I decided to go. Leaving my bag and taking just a rucksack and my violin, I set of at 6 am... it was three and a half hours away by bus to Chauntra (which no one understood until I pronounced it Chountarrra) where there is a Tibetan Colony where his parents live. It was a bit of land by a village bought by a tibetan king with foresight at the start of the chinese invasion - now its a village of tibetan refugees with a monastary and a monks university and hundreds of prayer flags  above the houses. 

Thinkley (pronounced Chinley) studies in Uttarkashi bus was going home for his holiday.... His father was incredibly shy - I barely saw him on the first day, his mother being the complete opposite although she barely speaks english. When she smiles her whole face smiles - all her wrinkles. Its the most beautiful sight. I could draw that face over and over and over.... 

There wasn't much to do ... so I just stayed two nights. We went on a few walks around the village and got a personal tour of the temple.  I learnt how to make Momo;s - its a lot harder then it looks to fold them and make them looks pretty. My handiwork was the centre of a lot of amusement.We also did a bit of sightseeing by motobike - picture that , a western girl and a monk on a motobike driving around the countryside (slowly I might add for my mothers sake). It was a real pleasure to see how the family lived and get some insight into their lives.. and play them some jigs and reels. 

Back in Dharamsala I spent a night in Bagsu before getting a nightbus to Manali. Despite being a Deluxe bus (i.e. the seats recline), it has less suspension then a  local bus and I didnt sleep a wink. There was an eventful stop at a dhaba where the chefs seemed like they were in a slapstick comedy - rushing around and yet not getting anything done- not even making us chai we ordered before our bus decided it was time to leave. Me and an israeli girl formed a bond when we saw there was no toilet and decided to go by the side of the road- protecting each other from passing cards stares....The same girl told me of a guesthouse with the most amazing view in Manali. After an adventure getting there..true enough from my window I can see about eight snow capped peaks, the river is the loudest noise around. there's a lot of birds and being so far off the main road I need a torch to get back at night. It's wonderful. 

I've seen my first yak, walked to more waterfalls (lots of beautiful waterfall walks in Dharamsala) and another surprise was meeting another few Israelis from Hampi.... 

Soon I head to Spiti- a the desert area closest to Tibet for my last adventure, before slowly making my journey back to Mumbai.... 

with love 

ciao