July 11, 2006
Raul, Victor and I found a driver to take us to Dharamsala for 200 rupees apiece, which is US $5. Considering the trip took about 9 hours, we thought this was a damn good deal. The three of us sat in the backseat of the Jeep, holding on tightly to the seat in front of us or the windowframes, to avoid flopping all over the Jeep as it wound up the mountain roads thoguh hairpin curves, blowing the horn at each one to let oncoming (HUGE) trucks know that WE were coming. I was very calm, I never seem to get nervous with this type of thing, though it would have made my mother get out and walk. Many steep drop-offs and tight squeezes on the mountain roads would make even a normal person a little nervous. My amygdyla certain is messed up! We eventually got to a lower place, and the road was much smoother. We stopped along the way several times, eating mangos and bread and chatting with the driver. As we neared Dharamsala, the home of the Dalai Lama in exile, a torrential monsoon downpour slowed us down immensely. Huge rivers of water crossed the road, often bringing down many rocks and some boulders. Our driver skillfully drove through the water and managed to avoid hitting any boulders that were lying in the road. Whew!! Before arriving to McLeod Ganj, a town just north of Dharamsala, we waited in the car for the rain to stop, for nearly an hour. Finally it stopped, and we walked to find a good guesthouse....
We found the Green Hotel, with a maze of concrete levels leading to rooms going down the hill. Three are lots of flies in my room, and a musty smell from the notorious rains of this place. But it's a room with private bath and hot shower, and it is costing me $6 per night....so no complaints! The view from the top of the place is stellar, with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the wind on the mountain in the distance, buildings stagged up over the hills. Cows roam free in the narrow streets, and Tibetan monks wearing maroon-colored robes are everywhere. Many small shops sell Tibetan handicrafts and jewellery, and the Save Tibet campaign stickers and t-shirts are everywhere. After settling in, we ate tibetan noodle soup with veggies and egg, it was really mild and tasty after all of the curry I've been eating. I also had some spinach cheese momos, which are like Japanese gyoza dumplings, Tibetan style. Very tasty! I had a few left-over, so I decided to feed them to the bull outside in the street. He lapped them up with his huge tongue, me dropping a couple on the ground because I was afraid he'd bite me. When they were all done, I said, "All done!" but he didn't care...he followed me, his horns threatening up against my side....so I ran into one small shop saying "Vamos! Vamos!" to my friends....and through the shop to the other side. They didn't come, and the bull followed them down the street, wanting more momos!
