As this site has an issue with upgrading the front page of our blogs in desktop mode this blog is preceded by the Darjeeling https://neuage.me/darjeeling blog, Guwahati Blog https://neuage.me/guwahati/ and the wonderful Varanasi blog @ https://neuage.me/varanasi. This is the sixth and final blog of our India/Pakistan adventure for 2024. There is a list at the end of this blog.
This blog is not just about the Dalai Lama. Yes we did go and see him in person and yes this is where his home and headquarters are but the majority of this blog is about our visit to the Himalayas town of McLeod Ganj which is in Dharamshala. Due to the weather getting hot this time of year we chose northern India for this three months, this being the most northern on this trip.
As always (twenty-years + of doing these blogs); Narda is in italics and the other non-italics scribbler is Terrell!
17 April Wednesday
We left Siliguri on an Indigo flight to Delhi where we had a three hour layover, arriving in Amritsar at ten pm. We got a taxi from the airport into town and to the cheap, holy cow what a place, hotel, named ‘Fab Hotel’ (Also, Rosewood Hotel), neither Fab nor Rose-woody of any sort. The manager was a likable chap who helped us get settled. I think we paid about ten bucks USD for it – a bit overpriced for what we got. Tiny room, somewhat clean, with a window looking over an area where locals lived and slept outdoors on cots.
The hotel itself was on a dark alley not far from another dark alley. When we were dropped off at a previous unlit alley we were concerned whether we would get to where we were going. Obviously, we did because here we are months later, writing this, staying in a huge house in Normanville as the third part of Narda’s 70th birthday celebration. You know there will be a video of this in the future. But in short: first weekend of her birthday we camped with her three sisters and Stuart and the granddaughters. Three caravans in a semi-circle for a few days and a couple of cabins. What a hoot.
Then there was the big shindig at Pete’s house with a complete band – Narda has been wanting to sing Beatle’s songs with her three musical sons (once called the Petersons in their Adelaide band which even have a few CDs out, as the three are sons of Peter) and nephew on drums. Grandson Liam even played the piano for a bit. Two sons from overseas, Brendan down from Lahore, Pakistan and Chris over from DC with Jessica and their two children and Stuart over from a few blocks away. Narda’s sisters even joined in on some songs. Not putting up here as it would have to be YouTube and it would be blocked because they are Beatle’s songs.
And this is the third part of it all. Here in Normanville, three-nights, four days all together. Narda’s three sons, four grandchildren, and an ex-husband (Peter) and his wife (Marion) overlooking the sea.
One last thing/event in this bit of an intermission at the end of our three-month India/Pakistan wander, the last night of Narda’s celebration before Chris and family went back to DC and Brendan back to Pakistan. What other symbolic entry to one’s 70th year could there be beyond watching a footy game? Not just any old footy game but the Adelaide Crows playing against a team six rungs higher than them on some ladder (the Crows have done terrible things this year, like lose heaps) but as a dedication to the strength of dragging another human across the 70 year line the Crows won by two points when some random dude kicked an almost impossible goal through a group of thugs (the other team) with seconds to go. Unfortunately, we did not witness the excitement in the lounge with Narda’s three sons, ex-husband, and other various (mostly male) family members all excited, as we were asleep. It went well beyond 9 pm. But good on them for making Narda’s male clan happy at the end of her birthday celebrations. Narda’s gift to all those who made such a great birthday week (weeks actually).
Anyway, back to our India trip. Our bus to McLeod Ganj was parked in a grubby part of town. We looked for a place to eat breakfast and luckily there was one hotel (Blessings Hotel) that we were able to quickly wolf down something. The bus ride was several hours with a lot of it over bumpy roads with sharp cliffs too close to our lane. Narda, as she says below got quite the twisted back from the ride. We did stop part way up the mountain at a café of sorts.
Met Luke on the bus, he is travelling around working for Getty Photos. Probably late 20s. He is from Australia, Queensland, I think. We had coffee with him a few days later in McCloud Ganj. Very interesting fellow. He has been to a lot of third world countries including Yemen. When he went to enter the USA last year they interviewed him and prevented him from entering the USA because of his Getty Photos and stories which apparently were not favorable toward the USA. He was given a letter stating he would never be allowed entry into the USA. His mother, back in Australia was so proud of the statement that she framed it and has it on her wall. He was on his way to Pakistan after McCloud Ganj so we put him in touch with Brendan. Narda WhatsApp’s him since we have been back, and he was only able to spend two weeks in Pakistan but plans on going back. He is another person we will probably follow over the years. We meet so many interesting characters when we travel. Many are from Australia – Australians just get out into the world.
(When we say the same thing but differently. We both write our notes then combine them so there are overlaps at times. We have been doing this since our first overseas trip together in 2002 so why change? Narda does a lot more by hand in notebooks and does illustrations. I incorporated them into our blogs years ago. Will start doing that again someday.)
We met another Aussie on our way here. Interesting guy. He takes photos of places in the world where not many folks go. Spent a month in Yemen recently and then sells the photos to Getty Images. He can't afford Australia on that income but happily lives elsewhere.
Oh yeah, and he's been banned from ever travelling again to the USA because of his no-holds barred photos which he publishes despite showing the USA sometimes unfavourably. His Aussie mum is proud of him.
April 18, 2024
Boarded a Volvo bus from Golden Temple Travel. Seat arrangement was generous, either single of doubles on the other side, so nice and wide. That was the good part.
It turned out to be a long trip up the mountains, made significantly worse by construction of the roads…..lots of bumps and sudden jerks and level changes.
Anyway, for me this was bad, and I wrenched my lower back. One of the joys of travelling. You tube obliged with some useful stretches in the following days and a local pharmacist sold me some expensive ( for India…..I paid a whopping $12 USD:) drugs.
Anyway, despite my complaining it was very spectacular as you will see from photos.
There was a bit of a thrill when we saw the first snow capped mountain as we approached McLeod Ganj. Everyone on the bus was snapping photos.
Our hotel is about 1000 metres higher, (lots of exercise) called Ram Yoga House. We have a mini apartment, complete with monkeys on the porch outside. (which the owner hates and calls “the Taliban”)
McLeod Ganj in/near Dharamshala, India is home of the 14th Dalai Lama. We stayed at Ram Yoga House for a week. Ten-minute walking distance to the temple and home of the Dalia Lama. McLeod Ganj is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" because of its large population of Tibetans. References to Dharamshala and its surrounding areas are found in ancient Hindu scriptures such as Rig Veda and Mahabharata and in this blog. Our new home was not easy to find, we got left off by taxi, at the bottom of quite a steep climb to where Ram Yoga House sits. Good grief, as if we were those type of yoga-chanting-incense burning-vegetarian, long-haaired folks looking for the Self people. I did spend a decade in a cult-order for the 1970s in Hawaii and elsewhere, and of course, did the 1960s in communes in California and all things transcendental and was a tofu manufacture for the 1980s in Australia and have been a vegetarian since about 1965 so this should have been up my spiritual alley. Oh, I was an astrologer for 40+ years, even spoke at Astrological conventions in New Zealand and Australia in 1980 – which is how I ended up in Australia. Except, as a bit of an atheist for decades, boohooing all religions, totally disavowing astrology and all I am not really the archetype yoga person seeking enlightenment in the home village of the Dali Lama. Go figure. I do have my herbal tea mixture daily (bay leaf, turmeric root, cinnamon sticks, and ginger root – all boiled to perfection for my daily pot of tea) but that is for diabetes, not for some hippie thing. Of course I have my bowl of hemp seeds, chia seeds and other such things every morning… no haircut for a decade…burn essential oils/incense whilst working at my desk…
Yoga House just sounded like a nice homestay type of place, and affordable. If you want to see enlightened humans basking in their etherical yoga positions, see their webpage https://www.ramyogahouse.com. Perhaps you are turned on by: Lion Pose (Simhasana), Bridge Pose – Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Wild Thing – Camatkarasana, Camel Pose - Ustrasana, Plow Pose – Halasana, Fish Pose – Matsyasana, or my favourite, the Corpse Pose – Savasana, which I often refer to as my afternoon nanny nap and the only yoga pose to open my tired unenlightened chakras. Anyway, it is all on their site. We grabbed the studio apartment with a kitchenette but we never did eat there and a balcony overlooking stuff with a view of snow-capped mountains.
On the first morning having some organic breakfast grub the Yoga House head dude told me about an herb that is supposed to be useful for diabetes that I had never heard of. 'neem leaves’. Not sure if it helps, but I have been now having neem leaf powder for three-months. It tastes horrible but I will keep on with it. The only thing that really works for my body is a low carb diet. I had a terrible time for these three+ months of travel in India and Pakistan not controlling my low-carb diet. Back in Australia I have about a three-point drop (from an average of about 6.8 now to 9+ whilst travelling).
We had breakfast every morning at the Ram Yoga House which was quite good. Some sort of hippie gruel and an herbal tea they claim would get my chakras balanced. Not sure if it worked.
Taken from the Skyway on the way to Dharamshala.
Dharamsala Skyway is 1.8 kms ropeway, by which you can reach Dharamshala from Mcleodganj in just 20 Minutes. Dharamshala is the winter capital of the northern state of Himachal Pradesh and is known for its rich deodar forests against the backdrop of the groovy ah ha inspiring Dhauladhar mountains. Narda was nervous about the ropeway. We had been on one in the previous blog tellings over in Guwahati, this was a bit longer and higher. This one had forest below and the other one had the river. Not sure which would have been safer to have crashed into.
McLeodganj is considered a suburb of Dharamshala, a city with the stadium that hosted the Aussie vs India cricket match last year. Stunning views from the stadium.
Once in Dharamshala, we walked down an uncompleted broken path into the centre of town. We went to the first hairdresser that we saw. My hair wash set me back 100 rupees ($1.19 USD) and the half-hour head massage, three- young females took turns (no comment) 350 rupees – Narda wash only (100) 150 for a tip = $8.40USD for the lot. As you would know, Dharamshala is famous for the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Grounds. We went there because of Narda’s brother-in-law, Peter. Super cricket fan, Peter has mentioned several times over the years that there is a great cricket stadium in India with mountains (the Himalayas) as background. Peter’s 70th was coming up when we first got back to Adelaide so we thought that since we were in the vicinity, we should at least go look at this cricket place, and of course, we did.
Just a sidenote here…Narda has complimented me of the last several blogs for not getting too sidetracked as I once did (in every blog ever written) …however, just this one little note. When I first came to Australia, 1981, I thought I should learn about this thing that Aussies are so crazy about. Being a New Yorker I was a bit surprised that there was anything in sports beyond baseball in the summer. Anywhere. So, I decided to watch what they call a test cricket game. Still do not know what that means 43-years later. Test of what? Anyway, I watched the bloody thing (see how Australian I have become?) for three-days. At the end they declared it was a tie. What??? How can there be a sporting event for three-days that ends in a draw? I never watched another cricket game. I have never been to one either. My children, normal children, played baseball. Leigh even was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was 19 and played professionally. https://neuage.org/leigh.html But I was all in to go see this cricket field in India. It seemed nice. Having never seen any other I would rate it as the best I have ever seen. Bottom line we made a birthday card for Peter with a picture of the cricket grounds in India on the front, and knowing he will never go there we said we would love to attend a game there with him someday.
We did daily walks into town – a couple blocks away, found great places to eat. Rama Yoga House has a restaurant in town, but I cannot find or remember the name of it. Ask when you are there. Same menu but on a street where sitting outside and watching folks go to and fro is great.
Walking out of town on the main, two-lane, road into a forest is also recommended.
19 April Friday
We needed to register to see the Dalai Lama. We had hoped to see him in a close-up situation. Unfortunately, he only has one day a month that he will take a group of foreigners and sit with them, and we missed it by a couple of days. Our host told us at the Yoga House that it was really a big money raising thingy. That he would meet with rich foreigners and happily accept their donations. Of course, I donation would have been the great karma and blessings he would have received by receiving us. Nevertheless, we registered to attend his weekly shindig along with many other, like about a thousand monks. It was a bit complicated, we had to get a letter from our host, bring passport/visa and told no phones or cameras. A bit of a letdown for me as I wanted a selfie with his Holiness. We did get very close. Narda has more to say below. I was impressed by the group coming out of his house – yes, we were that close – and the first person out had his finger on the trigger of a machine gun. Wow! Spirituality at its highest point. We went to the temple he gives his lectures at and there is a video of it here – and photos – as we cold wander freely on days His Holiness was not in attendance.
We were all served tea by monks running around with tea kettles and "little" plastic cups. Not sure what it was but three hours later I am still alive so that is good. And as a bonus my chakras all seem to be lined up and intune with a distant galaxy which makes me feel quite enlightened. Though I am a bit concerned about the "little" plastic ups and the environment.
On Sat April 20 we saw the Dalai Lama live!!! We attended (with lots of paperwork) a teaching session he gave in Tibetan. There were literally a couple of thousand folks attending, sitting on little cushions on the floor, most of these were monks who live in the monastery. Despite the language issue, I found the whole thing very moving. We managed to perch our little pillows on a ledge which helped our aging bodies. The guy next to me graciously translated pithy bits to me as we went. For example, “we do not have to fear our exile from Tibet. Buddhism has been around for many centuries, and will continue despite our exile” and “the most important thing for us all is to have a compassionate heart”
My neighbour on little pillows, and his wife are English and have lived in the area since the early 70s. Blimey!
The Tsuglagkhang Complex is the official home of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Located in McLeod Ganj, just above the town of Dharamsala, India, the Tsuglagkhang The complex houses the Photang (Dalai Lama's residence), Tibet Museum, Tsuglagkhang Temple, and Namgyal Gompa. In Mcleod Ganj which is a Tibetan refuge and a spiritual hub in the Himalayas.
Last couple of days we spent exploring and some great eating. The food is amazing. My favourites are momos, Malai kofta, and Masala dosas.
Yesterday we walked a longish and certainly steep walk around the Temple area. There were lots of Tibetan flags some of which we will dutifully install in Vista to support the cause “Free Tibet”.
The Chinese have done a number on them, destroying ancient buildings and artifacts, killing masses of people.
On this walk we saw the wall where pictures of people who self immoliated in protest to this destruction of their way of life. Really disturbing to see. Most of them younger than 35.
The street of prayer flags above the Dalai Lama Temple Mcleod Ganj.
I was also nearly knocked over by a grumpy cow. It made me rethink possibly going veg.
Narda was "allegedly" attacked by a cow. What I saw; Narda reached out to pet or make contact with a cow. The cow realizing Narda was a meat eater defended his/him/her/they/its self and pushed the meat-eater away. Narda was a bit annoyed with me as I was taking a video of the whole thing (see video above) whilst a couple of locals ran over and pushed the cow away or shooed it away. Not sure of the exact safety net procedure but Narda thought they were more attentive to her situation than me. However, I have a video of it and if it goes to cow court I am sure they will moo it out saying she made the first move and the cow made a defensive move.
We made a nice connection with a French woman my age who is committed to Tibetan Buddhism and is mainly here because of that. She lost her husband 2 years ago and is trekking around India. When she leaves here, she's going further north to 12,000 ft at Ladakh.
So now it time to pack for our return to Pakistan.
After the harrowing bus ride up to the top Narda had no interest in doing a reversal trip – down. We caught a cab to the local airport, Kangra-Gaggal Airport and flew over to Delhi on a propeller plane, 90-minutes. See our little clip at
Then the amazingly short 70-minute trip from Delhi to Amritsar. With several hours stoppage in Delhi. A day’s trip but at least not down a narrow cliff hugging amusement park bus excursion. We stayed at another amazingly bad and cheap hotel, which was advertised as a four-star dig, no, it would have been lucky to have received one star. Forgettable. Really, I forgot the name of it and didn’t write it down in my notes.
We had planned to stay at the Ram Yoga House for another week. But…Narda started to get pictures of The Baby – and it was no longer just a wiggling glob but in actual fact was smiling (I figured it was gas) so of course we had to go to Lahore one more time before going back to Oz. Thus the flights around India instead of going straight down the hill (mountain road).
25 April Thursday
driver to border - there by 10 am - Imran waiting for us on the other side - to Brendan's house - for afternoon then Imran drove us to Rose Palace - back for dinner here ordered take away from --- Brenda drove us back at nine pm.
We stayed at the Rose Palace. Not sure of the palace equation. We had a large room. The hotel was a bit fancy – breakfast in a very large room – all you could eat buffet – good, all the Indian tastes one could imagine. Large gym which I used daily. Only downside, our room didn’t have a window. Talk about dark. Maybe not, but I will say it was dark. And then when there was the usual power failure of Indian cities, even though they had backup generators that took a time to come on, we sat in the dark. Bit alarming in the sense that if there was a fire, how would we know? Where would we go? Would we be fried? Stuff like that.
26 April Friday
breakfast buffet - Rose Palace - to Arammish Spa and Salon- hair wash - head massage - Narda nails done - tuk tuk back - lost - nap thirty minutes - to Brendan's - to International Club. For those who may not know that Pakistan is a don’t drink and drive place, well, just don’t drink, the International Club is a place that foreigners can have a drink. Brendan is the president of the place. I don’t drink (nineteen-years) but I like the meals there. Well, being a vegetarian, there tends to be only one mix for me, but it is good. Interesting hangout as people from all over the place are there. There is also a gym that I use there, though not as good as the one at the palace with no windows hotel.
27 April Saturday
buffet breakfast @ hotel - tuk tuk to Brendan's - nap at his house - on computer most of day - out to dinner
well there you have it – getting a bit done with this India/Pakistan trip we did between February and May – three months. This is the final write up. Life goes on. We are planning a month or two trip in our caravan now – well not planning, we are just driving west and going until we decide to turn around and come back. Maybe the rest of the year, maybe a month, maybe a week. Who knows? We don’t. We have been planning for 2025 – February to May 20025 somewhere Asia as we have house-exchange people in our house from Denver Colorado (we stayed at their home five years ago then covid popped up and everything got delayed so now they are coming and our friends from the UK who we stayed at their homes in Wales and England last year will be here. And we plan to be in Europe, hopefully mostly The Netherlands for September to December 2025 then December in the USA. Looks like we have an exchange for the month of November with Narda’s birth home – Utrecht in Holland. So, we will see where else we end up. We may even spend time in our home here in Adelaide South Australia. I do like our home. I like it here. There is just so much of the world to see though.
28 April Sunday
Lahore to - Amritsar - Border @ Ramanda stayed in hotel except to get chocolate - including dinner there
Because we stayed at so many crappy hotels we chose a real four-star hotel for our last night – the Ramanda. Great stay. We needed the upmarket comfort.
29 April Monday
Amritsar to Delhi fast luxury (allegedly) train delayed due to farmer's protest - arrived Delhi 5.30 instead of 1.30 - dinner nearby - momos and pasta meal –
