Tuesday 13th November
My first impressions of McLeod Ganj couldn't have been much worse: a dirty, filthy town with packs of dogs roaming the streets. It can only be so good when you arrive in the dead of night, tired and with nowhere to stay. I decided on a lie-in and got up feeling reasonably well.
I went out to look about the town with Jeff, soon feeling a lot better about the place. The weather here is fantastic, very mild and sunny, although it can get quite chilly in the evenings. The town itself also looked better, with shops and stalls alive with traders and shoppers (mostly tourists) looking to pick up some Tibetan-inspired souvenirs. The presence of the Buddhist monks in the scarlet robes give the impression that this is a part of India that has been given over to Tibet and the people who have come here in exile (or who are descendants of exiles).
Clearly the most famous resident is the Dalai Lama, the 14th to be precise. His unremarkable home sits amongst government administration buildings. The chances of seeing the Big DL are very slim. Although he is here at the moment - back from the US after receiving a big gold medal from the moronic 'Dubya' - a notice outside his home says that meetings with the public have been cut down on the advice of his doctors.
The area around the Dalai Lama's house is dominated by the Tsug Lagkang Buddhist Temple. In the courtyard out front, monks debate on a range of topics; while one monk sits, another stands, clapping their hands when they feel they've made a point to support their argument. A lot of it seems quite light-hearted, with many of the predominantly young men joking and fooling around. Civilians can also join in but I think you have to be buddhist as well, otherwise I would be in there like a flash. As I'm sure you're all aware, only the wisest, most enlightened of men come from Derry.
A visit to the Tibet Museum was a bit of an eye-opener for me. I didn't know a lot about the Tibetan struggle, just the basic facts. It's hard not to feel anything but sympathy for them and anger at China for what they have done to the Tibetan people and the destruction of their culture. It puts some of the problems closer to home into perspective.
During the evening, we went to a cafe that was showing the Himalaya series - Michael Palin's travelogue - which visited many of the places that are on my present route. Cushions lined the floor as people ate food off coffee tables. As I sat, I turned my body, only for my leg to get stuck on the floor. Despite the absence of any real pain, I felt a slight twinge and immediately knew that I had sprained my hamstring, having had a similar 'injury' a few times when I was at school. I tried to put pressure on it but I was doomed. This was really going to change my plans...
As the local hospital was closed for the night, I hobbled into a taxi back to the hotel, contemplating what was going to happen now I was an invalid for at least a few days. Time to be philosophical again....there could be worse places to stay and I was meaning to chill out for few days anyway, do some reading, catch up on emailing and so on. I may have to miss out on the trekking, but I cannot do anything about that now.
