India the Cool - McLeod Ganj to Shimla

After 2 weeks of 40+ degree weather, we were more than ready to escape to the hills, and on May 18, we left the Punjab for the state of Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalayas. The role of guide switched, as Edwin had ridden his bicycle through Himachal Pradesh four years ago, while I never made it to this northern state.

Our first stop was the lovely town of McLeod Ganj, situated at 1700m, and 10 kms north of its more famously named neighbour Dharamshala. It seemed many foreigners had the same idea as us - seeking refuge in the cool mountains - there were many other travellers relaxing in town - some studying yoga, meditation, Buddhism, or Tibetan cooking. Although a very touristy place, we enjoyed the chilled out feeling of the town where the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan Government have lived in exile since 1959. There are many Tibetan refugees here, and the town has often been called "little Lhasa". Many monks live and study in the monasteries that dot the hillside, and one night we went to a cafe to listen to two Buddhist nuns tell their stories of torture and imprisonment by the Chinese during the 1990s. It's in McLeod Ganj that the "free Tibet" movement is perhaps its strongest, and it felt a bit strange to us that it was here, in India, and not in Tibet that we saw the Tibetan flag flying for the first time, and photos of the Dalai Lama - both are forbidden in Tibet. It also felt a big strange that the monasteries and temples here are quite new, having mostly been built since the Dalai Lama's arrival fifty years ago.

We spent five nights in McLeod Ganj reading, going for walks in the hills, visiting the monasteries and Tibetan museum, watching pirated movies, and sampling as many lemon-sugar pancakes and chocolate brownies as we could find. At the Dip Tse-Chok Ling Monastery we were blown away by fantastic sculptures made of butter. We also marvelled at the feeling of wearing our fleeces in the evenings and not sleeping under a fan for the first time in over two weeks.

We left McLeod Ganj on a night bus bound for Manali, which was only 252kms, but 10 hours away on a very windy, very bumpy road. We had paid a premium for a "deluxe" bus, but were only a little surprised when a 12 passenger van pulled up (this is India, after all!) We were very glad that we each took a motion sickness pill, as at least 3 passengers were sick out the front window. The driver drove like a maniac, and we arrived in Manali at 5:00 in the morning. We then hopped in an autorickshaw for an even smaller village, Vashisht, about 3 kms up the Kullu Valley. We stayed at a family guesthouse where Edwin had stayed 4 years ago, and the owner was thrilled that he had returned to stay a second time. Customer loyalty brought Edwin back to the guesthouse and it was our stomachs that kept us returning to Raju's rooftop restaurant next door at New Dharma Guesthouse where the food was "cheap and best" and his company was also outstanding. Things were very shanti (relaxed) in Vashisht and we spent our time sitting on our balcony enjoying the gorgeous view up the valley to the snow capped Himalayas. Apple orchards lined both sides of the Beas River, and on our most energetic day we went for a little walk through the pine forests to a small Hindu temple set just below a beautiful waterfall. At 2200m, Vashisht was very cool, to the point where I had to dig out a pair of socks to wear in the evening - yeah!

After four nights in Vashisht, we boarded our final Indian bus, bound for Shimla, the capital of Himachel Pradesh, and the former summer capital of India during the time of the British Raj. Close to Delhi and the Punjabi border, Shimla is a haven for Indian honeymooners and holidaymakers, and also home to troops of macaque monkeys. The main Mall is pedestrianized, lined with shops selling clothing, toys, balloons and ice creams to the Indian tourists and their children. Every day we would be sure to visit City Point cake shop (delicious chocolate walnut cake) and also the fruit market. The fruit vendor would wrap our bananas and mangoes in newspaper and we would hug these packages close to our chests to keep them safe from the macaques who strolled the streets looking for any opportunity to snatch a free snack. A family of macaques lived near to our hotel and we fed them from behind the safety of the bars on our hotel room windows (who's in the zoo now?)

For our return trip to Delhi, we boarded the Himalayan Queen rail from Shimla to Kalka which was a beautiful journey that wound through the rhododendrun forested mountains, passed through over 100 tunnels, and after 5.5 hours delivered us from 2200m back to the heat of 300m in altitude. We then boarded our second (air conditioned - yeah) train which took us back to New Delhi and the familiar surroundings of the touristy area called Paharganj.

Our last two days here have been filled with haircuts, laundry, internet and a little shopping in preparation for the last leg of our year-long journey - Europe. Tomorrow (May 4) we will fly to London and the next day we will fly to Munich. We are looking forward to visiting with Matt, our Aussie cupid who introduced Edwin and I over four years ago in Kathmandu, and his girlfriend Babette.

Location: New Delhi, India