The world and beyond - reflections of a dharma nomad

Rats my last message send itself before I had finished. Here is he complete piece Dear Luz, We are having a quiet day in McLeod Ganj: home of HH Dalai Lama, many Tibetans - businesspeople and monks, Western backpackers, Indian tourists escaping the heat of the plains, and beggars. The narrow streets are ridiculously busy ( photo to follow) and large trucks freewheel down the steep slopes, merrily honking thier horns. Pedestrians learn to step aside as vehicles whizz past with no restraint, throwing up clouds of dust behind them. Above the town lie the peaceful forest-lined roads to nearby villages where we walked a few times for tea, to look at Tushita retreat centre, and for a beauty treatment- very dingy room with no running water, but a cheerful English-speaking woman who carefully applied henna to my hair and tended to my dry, cracked feet. Washing the henna off was more adventurous as she had to get a bucket of hot water from next door and kept pouring it in my eyes as the chair was designed for someone much shorter than me. However I emerged glowing and relaxed for the quiet walk down the hill and back into the busy streets. Our guest house overlooks the hills, with wonderful hawks circling below, but still suffers from the nightly howling of packs of local dogs. It has been a precious week in McLeod. Most mornings I walked down to the Main Temple before all the street stalls set up, although the smiling lepers were already out waving their limbs and calling out for rupees. You enter the main gates past various momo sellers( delicious steamed dumplings) and walk past the Tibet Museum ( inspiring, tragic exhibits about the history of Tibet)  and through the security door before climbing the steps to the Temple itself. Security is tight because His Holiness lives up there too, with an Old People's home below him on the hills  the elders all come to circumnambulate with their prayer wheels, and to prostrate if they can  Some of the boards next to mine in the mornin were well propped up to make he process a bit easier, but there were plenty of women who could barely stand up straight.    I found my place outside the temple dedicated to Kalachakra - rich with 722(?) deities and a powerful statue of the central deity in consort, with his 16 arms and wrathful features. The snow dusted mountains were also visible and it was so refreshing to practice in the cool morning air.  The sun shone through the day, cool in the shade and burning at this altitude and we felt blessed to be here in the heart of the Tibetan community in exile.