The Taj Mahal! Unbelievable! 26th Nov 2009 - Agra

We all got up early so that we could go to the Taj for sunrise, however oddly they had an odd queuing system to get tickets & didn’t open the gates until the sun had nearly risen! Still once we were in it didn’t take away the amazing site of the Taj. It actually looks just like the pictures & you cant belive it is actually real. I touched the Taj but yet still when you look at our pics it looks like we were stuck on them! Inside the Taj its very open, apparently it was never finished, it did have a serene feeling to the place. Already by 8am it was getting hot so I was grateful that we had gone at this time of year that was apparently really cool. We sat down to mediate on one side of the Taj, I liked sitting quitely but the others said they were distracted by all the tourists going past. I enjoyed seeing the Taj but the overall experience wasn’t a patch on the Golden Temple, partly because no matter how hard you looked at the Taj & its wonderful architecture it just didn’t look real!

We also ventured off to the Red fort which was quite cool although like many of Indias buildings looked slightly worse for wear & neglected. The price that westerners pay for the Taj & other tourist sites is really expenie, the money is supposed to go to the restoration of the buildings but it didn’t look like they do much to me!

Agra was a tourist hub & therefore a place where you get a lot of hassle people everywhere wanting to get you a rickshaw or sell you something & not taking no for an answer. I was glad that we were getting out of there that evening on a night train to Pushkar (station near Pushkar that I have forgotton the name of) in Rajasthan. After the previous days experience I was hoping that the next train would be hassle free!

The train was delayed by 3 hours, more waiting! I remember Aeife saying that India has taught her patience & yes you definatley have to get used to Indian timings can mean anything! At the station it was funny me & Jay bumped into Paul , a dutch guy I had met in Mccloud Gange. I thought our paths would not cross but there we were 3 weeks later waiting for the same delayed train. We all played cards whilst waiting, then had a snooze until eventually the train arrived. At 12 at night the station had calmed down a lot & the only people around were now sleeping all around the station. Its amazing a lot look like they are dead as they cover themselves from head to foot in a blanket & then sleep on whatever they can find. Also people just cross the tracks to get to another platform, women, men carrying stuff, they don’t bother with the bridges!

When the train arrived this time things went a lot smoother, for starters knowing the carriage & seat your supposed to be in helps a lot! As it was so late the train seemed less busy, those that were on were busy snoring away, luckily in India you always have ear plugs with you as its generally v.noisey with either traffic or people! With ear plugs & eye mask & trusty Tibeten blanket from Mccloud I was able to get some sleep. The train was cold though even though I had thermals on! We arrived earlier than expected at our destination & then we headed for a bus to Pushkar, a place famous for its holy lake. Unfortunately when we arrived there was virtually no water in the lake as apparently it had been drained due to its dirtyness! Hahaha nevermind. Pushkar was a really cute little place with loads of stalls & nice different food places. We also had a guest house that had a nice big quiet garden & overlooking the mountains. Me & Jay had a wonderful time exploring the town, we got dragged down to the mostly empty lake to do a Puja offering by some locals, we thought afterwards that it was a half scam as they demanded money off us straight away. They said the money was for the Brahmans, Pushkar was the only Brahman town. Oh well you are going to get ripped off as a tourist in these kind of places & you just don’t know in India if you have to do these things or not, otherwise you might create bad karma, haha! Later on we & the whole town were invited to the local wedding. This was complete madness, it was a huge area & the bride & groom were at the front on thrown like seats been photographed, whilst all the women sat watching. At the side, there was an 80s style dance floor with a dj playing banging rave sytle music. It was crazy, all the locals got us to dance with them which was fun & then we got fo eat some lovely food. We went upto the couple who had a photo with us, hahaha! Pushkar had a lovely feel about the place & was a lot less hectic than some the towns we had passed through to catch buses, trains. It was a good first taster of Rajasthan, another time when I go back I would like to go into the desert, its really close by & supposed to be amazing, especially when they have the camel markets! Its one crazy party apparently.

Leaving Ispiice

25th Nov – I left Ispiice – Sascha, Verun & Aeoife & the local community. 5am bus to Chakki bank to catch a train to Agra where we were meeting Jay. For once in my life I was early for a train, this time 3 hours early! I tried to focus on this been a good thing & get over my inability to spend time waiting for things. This lasted for about 50 mins as I tried to write my journal , then I felt too tired to write but unable to sleep so I thought it would be a good opportunity to use the internet! It seemed like we were in the middle of no where but I was sure there must be one near by so I asked various people & they suggested a 10 min walk & I would find one. Whilst we had been there the same little begger boy had come upto us 4,5 times, each time we said no, I will not give money to kids even though they do look desperate & it breaks your heart, you know it will not help them, it only encourages them to continue begging. I left Natasha with the bags & headed to find the Internet, I managed to find the main street which interestingly didn’t seem to have any women on it, so I had a lot of curious eyes looking at me as I walked what turned out to be 15,20mins the wrong way! As I didn’t have any luck I turned round to go back, hot & tired, I still had my thermals on from the bus journey, as Dharmasala & the bus were freezing! As I was about to give up I found the interenet, by this time I only had about 30mins before the train, so quickly checked my mails & headed back to Natasha.

Now this would be both me & Natashas first train journey in India & neither of us were very savy about how things worked. I had a reserved ticket but when I looked at the sheet there was no seat or carriage number on it, whoops! Natasha didn’t even have a ticket & ended up by a local class ticket. We thought we would blag it so Natasha could sit with me on my sleeper seat, even though it’s the day you still have the beds out to lie down on so 2 people could share! When the train arrived it was heaving & hot! I made a decision that we should just sit on a free seat! We did this & when the guard came round, his English wasn’t too good & he gave up trying to get us to move & sort out Natashas ticket by saying she had to pay a fine by disappearing & not telling me where my seat was supposed to be. After feeling ok for a while & eating the amazing packed lunch Aeife had given us for the journey things started to get a bit troublesome after about 3 hours, the train was a 12 hour journey (that cost £5!) in total & I thought we were going to end up standing! Jay had said that all the train journeys he had been on the inidan people were really nice & let him join them in a good seating area even if he didn’t have the right ticket. This was not the case with me & Natasha, some Indian men got on & demanded that we were in their seats & that we didn’t have the correct tickets! They called the guard & after much kaffufle the guard told us we had to move & to follow him. Meanwhile the guys who were taking our seats had much fun laughing at us! I got slightly annoyed when none of them even helped us get all our backpacks down from the upper beds, you definitely get the feeling that women are not as respected as men in India! The guard took us to the guard room & basically kicked out some other guards & then finally with the help of another guard they managed to locate my seat, we were in the totally wrong carriage! As the right carriage for me was about 5 carriages away they told us they would find us a seat in the carriage near by. In the mean time they asked us if we wanted chai & then were really nice to us. They told us not to show anybody Natashas ticket as she shouldn’t be in the sleeper carriage! We got all the usual questions that you get in India, how old are you? What do you do? Are you married? When they find out my age & the fact I am not married they find it very strange & you get the distinct feelling they look at you like “poor girl left on the shelf” hahaha . I don’t care, the break from the squashed seat we were in with the sun blarring through was really nice & we actually had a seat & free chai!

Eventually the other guards wanted their seats back & moved us to another seat in the normal carriage, to our horror though they kicked some men out who were sitting there. We said we didn’t want to take their seats & we would share but the men moved anyway! The little seating drama was good as it wasted at least a couple of hours of the journey. When we settled into our seats the train didn’t seem that bad & I was quite enjoying seeing some of India. Every possible stop Chai sellers, beggers etc would join the train & try & get you to buy something, we were very grateful we had our packed lunch from Ispiice & our nibbles so we didn’t have to eat the food that passed by!

12 hours later we arrived outside Agra but then the train was held up for 1 hour outside the platform, by this time it was 11pm & we had been up since 4am so we were v.tired. Infact I had awoken at 2am as I couldn’t sleep as I was excited about going on my road trip through Rajasthan. First look of Agra train station at night & the place looked like a hole & it pretty much is apart from the Taj Mahal. We successfully found our hotel & met up with Jay who had travelled from Rishikesh.

Nov 21st & 22nd Nov= Travelled to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple! Beautiful !

Nov 21st & 22nd Nov= travelled to Amritsar. 5sam bus to Amritsar arrived at 10.30am. Natasha & myself headed on a local government bus early to Amritsar. The journey wasn’t too bad, quite bumpy but we managed to get some sleep, I had my trusty eye mask so that helped! On arrival to Amritsar we knew we were back in real India again, with lots of noise & people trying to get us taxi’s, rickshaws etc. We hopped into a cycle rickshaw straight to the Golden Temple; I had read that there was not a lot else to do in Amritsar apart from head to the Golden Temple. On arrival I couldn’t believe how many people were around, Indian people who were on pilgrimages to the temple. It says in the rough guide that the ultimate pilgrimage for a sikh is to come to the Golden Temple at least once in their life time. I felt quite primaliedged to be there when some people had clearly been travelling for a long time & they were overwhelmed. Anyone is able to come & visit the temple & eat for free & stay there on a donation basis. The authenticity of the place was incredible, with the sounds of the prayers & the chanting that was played right around the temple through speakers on every corner, it felt almost magical. The temple itself is surrounded by what is believed to be holy water, so you see men all around bathing in the water. There were no women bathing as this would not be proper etiquette but I did see women drinking the holy water once we visited the temple. We looked at the water & saw huge big orange fish in it & thought there is no way I would be drinking the water!

We made our way to a room where westerners can stay, it was a small room without windows that had about 15 beds in, it was nice & warm which made a change from the cold in Dharmasala. There was something very cosey about the place & it certainly was when it came to the eve the place was full. Me & Natasha offered to share a bed so that one of our beds could go to a Spanish couple that had arrived. Again I felt privaledged to have a bed at all when at night you see hundreds of Indian pilgrims who sleep on the floor in a court yard with nothing but a blanket to cover them. We dropped our stuff & then made our way to the food hall, they serve food to continuously to thousands & thousands of people. Its incredible you go into the hall & join the lines of people sat in rows & then people come round with huge buckets of dhal, beautiful coconut rice etc. They then come again & again to offer you more food. Afterwards you took your plate to the people washing up, it was amazing the sound of the clattering of the plates all day & night. We checked out the kitchens which had the biggest pots & pans you could ever imagine. Outside there are large groups of people peeling & chopping onion & garlic & other veg throughout the day. We joined a group & helped with the Seva (selfless service), it was great to joiin in & meet the friendly Sikhs even if we couldn’t communicate very well, most didn’t speak English or very little. When we got our cameras out all the men & women, who interestingly didn’t mix in their groups, all women together & all men together, all wanted photos of themselves. It was really funny but cute that they just wanted to see themselves in a photo. Mixing with the people who the Golden temple meant so much too, really made ithe whole experience, along with the atmosphere of the place. Even though there was a lot of people due to it been a Saturday, you could not help feel moved by the place.

We went to bed around 9pm as we were exhausted from the early start & travelling, now my patience were tested during the night. The last experience of sleeping in a dorm was at Tushita, where we were silent. I really appreciated the silence at bedtime because in this dorm there were so many people that it was to be expected that I would be disturbed from my sleep. Although I didn’t sleep that well, it didn’t deter me from getting up at 6am to go & queue to get into view the temple inside. It took an hour to queue but for once in my life I actually enjoyed the quue. I got to watch the sun coming up around the temple & experience the morning prayers & chants, where everyone in the queue joined in, there was an amazing atmosphere.

Once in the temple, we didn’t take an offering like everyone else as we didn’t know what to do with it! However we saw the live musicians (playing harmoniams, tablas, sittars etc) that basically must sit & play all day, incredible. There were also people sat in various alcoves reading prayers. People on the edge of the temple waters drank the holy water! I have to say the Golden Temple really was beautiful & well worth the long journey there. After we came out I sat on one edge of the water & did a mindfulness meditation. Although at that time in the morning it was cold, it was really nice to sit quietly. We then attracted a lot of attention & had indidans that wanted their photo taken with us, its so funny what a tourist attraction we were, despite been infront of this amazing building! I really loved the whole experience & would definitely go again. We headed back to Dharmasala on what we thought was a 11am bus, which turned out to be 12.15 but oh well, more waiting! The bus trip back wasn’t quite as smooth & we got stuck in loads of traffic (trucks everywhere!), we got back to Dharmasala around 8pm! We did have the usual chai stop on the bus where I braved it & tried some somosas from a street stall, they were lovely! I was grateful for the stop but couldn’t understand why on a 6-8 hr journey you stop either after 45mins or at the end of the journey on the way back , with only 45mins to go! Oh well that’s just India, nothing makes sense & yet in its own way everything makes sense!

Neglecting my blog!

I have not posted in a while as I have been having too much fun in the sun in Goa! I will recap over the events of the last 3-4 weeks soon. They include visiting Amritsa Golden Temple, travelling through Rajasthan, Pushkar, Udaipur , Mumbai & arriving in Goa. After recovering from Bronchitis when arriving in Goa I have now decided to settle in a beautiful place where I am now teaching yoga & living in a Ti-pee! It is like my dreams have come true! I had a wonderful time traveling through Rajasthan with Jay & it was a real eye opener to the real india. The sights that become normal, people sleeping everywhere in the streets, train stations etc etc. I wonder if the Government even try to do anything about all the people on the streets or if its just accepted as a normal part of life! The litter throwing, people going to the loo anywhere & everywhere, kids so young who are begging, doing dances on trains, slums right next to swanky houses. The sheer number of people everywhere! Trains like prison cells, or how i imagine them to be, this is in sleeper class as well! I still think India is such an amazing place, a country full of contradictions but the people for the most part are lovely with very kind hearts.

Mindfulness versus....

I meant to post this ages ago but forgot....

On the final morning of Tushita we all had our turn at going up to the front of the stage & reading out a mindfulness verse that we had written. The idea was to take your time, been mindful of the walk up to the stage with the microfone & then sitting quietly, taking a few breaths & then reading your verse. Speaking infront of 40+ people was obviously nerve wracking & not something i particularly enjoy but you had to remember everyone was in the same boat & become aware of your emotions & the arising feelings! One of my fellow students captured some of the versus that everyone had written & so I thought it would post them.

Heres mine!!!

Mindfulness Porrige

Everyday I ate my porridge with joy and mindfulness
but then I got sick and got the shits
and the porridge was no longer appealing!!

:-)

Below are other peoples versus, some about Karma jobs they were given!

May these verses that grew out of wisdom and silence
be a mindful sentry in your consciousness.
They were written by those of you that were in Carpe Diem at 15th November 2009.
If you weren't there and want to add yours, feel free to do so.
kind regards,
Jonas

When I look upon a stranger
I will not judge what I see
Their suffering is my suffering
They are another me

Leggen minden e'loele'ny boldog

Herkesi seviyorum

Through the goodness of my practice
may my spiritual teachers and guides of great virtue
the sun, the moon and all virtuous leaders of the world
The highest gods and evil forces;
celestial beings, guardian spirits of the earth and the lord of death
may those who are friendly, indifferent or hostile;
may all beings receive the blessings of my life.

Cutting:
My body is the knife
my intention the blade
yet cutting through nothing
realizing emptiness

Dressing up:
I put those cloths on to protect my body
but may my mind stay naked and pure
to welcome every situation
with ethics and compassion


As the group parts a drifts
they teach me their final lesson
in love without attachment.

To eliminate talking
is to eliminate awkward silences...
lets not bring back the awkwardness
with the talking

Dont forget the beauty of silence
and the awakened joy which
spills out afterwards.

With mindfulness, compassion and loving kindness
I wish for world peace, true love and to laugh, dance and be free!

All we have is this moment. Live it, be in it.

5th - 14th Nov 09 Tushita - 10 Day Intro to Buddhism Meditation Silent retreat!

I have returned from a 10 day Slient retreat up in Dharmkot, up from Mccload Gange. I know many people would think that I could not possibly stay quite for 10 days but i did just about manage it! Well I managed 8 days anyway, then the yoga teachers in the group broke & had a mini chat about yoga, hehe we couldnt resist! I am really glad i did the retreat which was a very last minute decsion, as it was the last 10 day course of the year as its getting too cold. After we checked in we were shown to our dorms which were a bit like dungeons, then we were given some food & everyone got their last chats in before the silence began at 7.30pm. After looking forward to doing such a retreat things didnt begin exactly as I would have liked! Within the first 30mins of the first teaching & meditation I started to feel a little uncomfortable, then I suddenly couldnt sit any longer & jumped up from the floor, ran out of the Gompa (Tibetan name for temple) & just managed to make it down the steps before projectile vomitting everywhere! My silence was broken already as a nurse on the course came to make sure i was ok! She said afterwords that it was a spectacular site! I then had to quickly run to the loo, oh no my turn had come already for the dreaded delhi belly! On the upside I was then put into a single room for the night!

My tummy pretty much stayed the same for 10 days, each time I thought it was better I starting eating properly again & it was always a mistake! However I wasnt alone, just about everyone (40+ people on the course) got sick & got a cold. The teaching & meditation sessions were like a symthony of sniffs & sneezes & people running for the loo. Despite the silence everyone was really sympathetic & you knew we were all suffering together!

Our schedule was pretty busy with the first meditation starting at 6.45 & so i got up at 5.30am to do my yoga practice, then we would have a serious of teachings & meditations up until 9pm. Here & there we would have 30 min, 60min breaks & we all had Karma yoga jobs. I was super greatful for my job which was to clean the yoga room, the 2nd best job, the 1st was been the yoga teacher. However I was lucky that I got a turn at teaching everybody when Natasha (yoga teacher) got sick. It was good experience for all us yogi's teaching 20,30 people. I also ended up teaching silent yoga to a few keen people at 5.30am! That was a learning experience! My fellow yoga teachers were all great & it was so nice to get new ideas & share experiences (obviously since the retreat has finished!). I did feel for the people who had to clean the toilets, I am sure I will get that job if I do another retreat like this.

Learning about Tibetan Buddhism was v.interesting but by day 5 I feel i was starting to get a little distracted, I know this as there are doodles & badly drawn scary Buddhas in my note book! However this may have been the combo of getting sick, silence & consistant meditation practices. Some of the meditations were really intense, for me one we did on 'forgiveness' really opened something up & left me at the end of the session in tears & feeling like it wasnt finished! These things take years & years of practising & letting go apparently. Also another one that stands out was on 'anger', I am not an angry person but during this med I felt really uncomfortable due to my stomach gargling away & bloated & found it super hard to concentrate. At one point i felt like screaming & running out of the Gompa saying "Anger, Anger, i wasnt angry before but i am now". Luckily I restrained myself & managed to sit through the rest of the med even though my head felt like it might explode. Its amazing how some of the Meditations my knees, legs, tummy were fine & others were just killers, even sitting for a few minutes was tough & your mind would be racing! I have to say that as the week went on sitting did get easier, not that that made the meditations any easier. We did do a few chants which i loved.
Vajrasattva
Om mani Padme Hum
May all beings be free have happiness.....
Although I learned so much about Tibetan Buddhism & agree with lots of elements of it, I still found it hard to get my head around re-incarnation & Karma. From a Buddhist perspective the fact that I had about 5 bikes stolen in 4 years was due to my bad Karma in a previous life, i must have been a thief! Anyway elements to do with Attachment, Impermanence , attachment & emptiness were v.interesting & I will be definately be doing more reading but not turning Buddhist any time soon!

Once my sis asked me how I could have a Buddha in my front room when it had religeous conatations & i wasnt a Buddhist. My answer at the time was Buddhism is a philosophy, a way of life, now I would say the same but it can also be said to have certain religious practices, rituals, praying etc. However the Buddha itsself embodies"Peace, Happiness, compassion, free from suffering" & everyone has Buddhanature at their core they just dont access this".

Anyway the silence at times I found more funny than anything, particularly when we were doing walking meditation! You basically walk up & down a small distance v.slowly & with hands behind your back or in front. I found it v.entertaining as everyone looked like zombies so i had a little laugh to myself! I know the silence did me good & I only had a few times that I really felt that I would like to talk, maybe because we had 1 hour a day in discussion groups so it took the pressure off a little. One thing I forgot to mention was how cold it got, the weather really is getting to winter now in Dharmasala & we felt it living inside for most of the day in our blankets & sleeping in our dungeons!

One of the days we got to walk upto a Stupa sites, it was a walking mediation up there for 20mins, this was v. nice scenery but did feel kind of strange going out of our4oo m radious where we had been living for 8days!

Once we were allowed to speak again at 9am on day 10, it was v. funny as everyone introduced themselves properly yet we all seemed to know each other in a v.diff way! Then once we escaped the grounds & went out for dinner we all had a lovely postiive energy & we did find ourselves probably ranting a little but being more mindful of it, even if we couldnt stop ourselves! I hung out with my new yogi friends for a couple of days afterwards to share thoughts, experiences which i really enjoyed. I am going to travel & hang out with Natasha & Lori & Jay going to & in Goa!

Norbulingka & McCload Gange..

Next door to Ispiice is a Tebatan institute called Norbulingka, its a centre which is preserving Tibetan culture. I visited it for the first time the other day & found it so peaceful & relaxing. It has a beautiful temple set in Japenese style gardens. There is a huge golden budha, a traditional Tibetan wood work centre, sewing workshop & Tibetan doll museum. To my delight the cafe is so peaceful with the sound of water features & trees all around. Also they serve my favorite ginger & lemon tea & cake! I can see myself becoming a regular there!

I have spent the w.end in McCload which is a tourist hotspot hill station town. It is where the DL temple is & there is a mix of Tibetans, Indian, Japenese & western people. Despite it been an obvious tourist trap with stalls & stalls lining the streets selling everything from Tibetan Yak wool blankets (necessity round here at night!), Buddhas, Mo mo's(delicious parcels of food, a bit like Gautzers), I really like it. Everyone who has travelled around India however says its a break from India! I am staying at a hotel that costs 200 rupees or 2.60pounds & although basic is fine & i awoke on Sun morn to the sounds of chanting coming from the temple. I love chanting & it sounded so beautiful. I ventured to a yoga class on Sun morn, i have to say it was the most comedy value class I have ever been too! The teacher was an indian & had the most hilarious voice, he seemed like he should be a gay bolliwood star! His exhales consisted of snorting really loudly! At first i thought it was just for the breathing exercises but it continued throughout the class! He continually saying things like "no money tension, no work tension, no food tension & noooooooooo friend tension, only positive thoughts,negative thoughts outside, all problems will be gone!". I expect reading this you cant imagine how this sounds funny so I have asked a guy i met at the class (Paul) to film him so I can post it. He is just a classic! His yoga practice was quite different to the way i would teach,no alignment & insisting people should do things which they cannot do because of their body types! If nothing else the class made me laugh internally throughout it & thats a good thing!

In the evening myself & Paul went to a local Tibetan & then modern music gigs! The first the guy who organises the events was so humble, apologising to the audience for not having chairs to sit on but they rely on donations to keep the charity going. Everywhere in Mccload there are many charities raising awareness & funds to make people aware of what is happening in Tibet with the Chinese government. Its quite moving to see people who spend their lives fighting to free their country. There are many centres that put on evening talks, I went to one where a Tibetan Monk described his escape from Tibet after he had been held in detention by the chinese & beaten for protesting against the government. It really is shocking!

Fire ..... Fire.....Rubbish..

On Thursday with the community class kids we decided to educate them on their environment & have a litter picking session! We informed the kids that rubbish would pollute their streams where they wash their clothes etc. This went down well with the kids, the adults around the community watched on, starring like we were mad! Thinking afterwords we decided they associate picking rubbish with rag pickers! Rubbish in India is a big problem, not only is it everywhere even in the beautiful mountain towns but people actively just drop litter anywhere & everywhere. It doesnt matter what type of person (caste, class, rich, poor etc) they all do it, dropping litter as they go!

After we spent a good hour collecting we then had the problem of where does it go next. I asked where Ispiice rubbish went, no one was sure. Then before we had time to work out what to do with it, the family had lit a fire & the rubbish was promtly burnt! Oh NO!!!!! Plastic & all, there was a terrible smell all evening because of the plastic.... Whats worse rubbish in the streams, roads etc or fires everywhere polluting the atmosphere!

In a way we cannot have a go at poeple in INdia as there is no alternative to burning rubbish, if they were provided with bins, they do not have the infrastructure in place for collections to take place, the roads are so bad generally, how would collections take place & then where do you put rubbish in a country so overpopulated with people! In the mountain hill stations & towns there are signs to get people to buy filtered water from shops rather than buying plastic bottles. I have started doing this when I am in Mccloud but sadly thats not where i live. I decided that I couldn't go on buying plastic bottles but on the same day i decided this Aoife decided she needed to start drinking bottled water. After months of her drinking filtered water she has recently continually been sick! What a dilemma! It reminds me all the time of Slumdog Millionaire!

Later that night I did the most stupid thing, I know everyone reading will think what a muppet but i thought i would share anyway! I managed to do a real Helen thing, I set my tv on fire in my room! Whoops!! i haven't ever switched it on but now i managed to burn quite a large significant hole in it! Luckily i caught the fire before it got to the electrics & it just caused a lot of burnt plastic & bad smell in my room. I managed to look up in time to blow it out but it did shock me a little, the thought that I could have set my room & Ispiice rooms on fire was a little wake up call for me. Lesson of the day:- Dont burn candles on top of a tv! The bad thing is that i was aware that what i was doing was wrong & new I should move, if not blow the candle out but I didnt & then it was too late!!!

ISPIICE

Back at Ispiice, I spent the rest of the week going with the volunteers to the day care centre & helping out at the community class in the afternoons. At the day care centre we are currently painting the walls, putting ABC< pics & hindi writing on the walls to bring some life to the small room where young children come to play. This is a state day care centre & it seems that the teachers have little or no interest in playing with the kids, shocking really. One teacher seems to read her register & do calculations all morning! So the volunteers come & interact with the kids & give them drawing & games to do. Otherwise they often just sit, with very little life or anything to stimulate them. On Friday one of the kids wet herself & there was a puddle on the floor, the teachers were just going to leave it & they do just walk through it & let the kids, but then i passed some newspaper to them & they cleaned it up! It is amazing to watch, but i have to say these kids hardly cry, that is something i have noticed of all indian kids, even on very long, bumpy, uncomfortable bus journeys they dont cry or if they do its for a v.short time!

On a positive note, the kids of the local community where Ispiice is are so wonderful & keen to come to class after their school day ends, to have english & computer classes. The kids are so cute, they run upto Ispiice building which is next door to the house we go to, so that they can carry our things across. Everyone of them comes upto you & shakes your hand & says "hello Mam".

The house we go to is a family house however they have no money which is obvious as there are no windows in the frames & no paint or plaster on the walls. The whole family live in one room, sleep & cook. It is getting to winter here so it is so cold on a night & they all sleep without windows, i dont know how they do it. Yet the woman is one of the most loving people i have ever met, every day smiling & she always gives you a hug. Apparently Ispiice said to her that maybe they should move to another community as they had spent a lot of time with the kids in Sidhpur but she pleaded for them not to leave. She is so grateful to the help Ispiice gives the kids, its really moving. I have said that I will use some of the cake money that I raised back in the UK to paint the room where the kids learn, we are still working out how the rest of the money can be used most effectively.

Ispiice is a v.small charity which Varun set up, he is a lovely warm hearted guy that will run around looking after the volunteers making sure they are happy. Aoife is my friend from home & since coming as a volunteer she loved what Ispiice was doing & is now helping run the charity, getting volunteers & looking at ways they can get Ispiice involved in helping other areas of the community. It is very honorable dedicating all her time without pay to the charity. She is always working, even on Saturdays!

I have been teaching yoga to the volunteers on top of the roof where we stay! I do my own practice at 7.30 & then teach at 8.30. I feel privileged to be teaching with the beautiful mountains in the background & with the sun coming up & every day beautiful blue skies!

Dharmasala to Chamba over Indrahar Pass .. 1800M to 4300M

I have now returned from what i thought was a 6 day trek but turned out to be 5! It was a wonderful experience & despite nearly freezing on a night I loved been out in the mountains & hiking for 5 days. The first couple of days were pretty easy, I am glad though as we met people who were rushing upto the top of the Indrahar pass in 2 days & they had headaches, the altitude me thinks. The first night we camped at a place called Triund (2800m), although

beautiful place to camp, I was sooooooooooooooooo cold in the night I thought I wouldnt be able to continue sleeping outside for another 4 nights! However once I did some yoga with a wonderful view of the mountains I revived myself from lack of sleep & didnt worry that it was likely to be colder the 2nd night! On the trek with me was an Israli guy called Yahof, then our guide Baboo & his bro, Camel. At our camp on the first night we met 2 dutchies & i managed to get them all to learn the international travelling card game "shit head". Oh & although I thought I had done super well only bringing my tiny Solamon bag with me, for once I wasnt a bag lady but everyone thought i was crazy to have so little for 6 days ! Baboo then gave me one of his back packs, along with my sleeping bag & roll mat & told me to carry that! At least now i know I can hike with a bigger back pack, something I thought i would hate!

The 2nd day we hiked upto Lhes cave (3500m) & literally ate & slept in a cave. I actually prefered this as it felt warmer than in the tent! I will post a pic! On the way up we met a guy from another village who was hiking already for 2 days, carrying leaves to another village. He must have been about 70 & his back pack consisted of blankets with ropes around it. Apparently he wasnt allowed to travel on the bus with the leaves so does a 3 day hike! Madness.....

At the cave we met another 2 hikers, one French & one Spanish, the spanish guy didnt speak english so we had to speak in Spanish! A fully international cave!

The 3rd day was my favourite, although it was a tough climb upto the Indrahar pass (4300m - nearly as high as Mont Blanc!) the stunning views of the Himalayas at the top made it all worth while. Then as we went over the other side the top was all covered in snow, so I got to jump around in it pretending i had my board, as we made our way down for lunch in the snow! I have to say by the time we had lunch I have never enjoyed super noodles so much! By the time we got to our camping spot, which was between two mountains & there was still snow all around, it was already super chilly. We had our dinner cooked on an open fire & then sat around drinking the usual Chai (something I grew to love whilst treking) & trying to keep warm. That night however I gave up trying to get warm, despite Yahof kindly giving me his warmer sleeping bag & having about 20 layers on, looking like michelin woman, I could not get warm or sleep. So i thought i would listen to my ipod & dose & look forward to daylight! Eventually i may have caught a couple of hours on & off! I was super glad when daylight came & chai was passed into the tent. That morning I did not do yoga as i had done previously as I was just too cold to get out of my sleeping bag!

Day 4 treked to a beautiful village of Kuarsi. I was so suprised by this village as it reminded me of buildings out in the Alps in Switzerland. Beautiful wood, large houses except with the ground floor used for the cows/ goats & any animals they have, then people sleep on the next 2 floors, so funny to see! Earlier in the day our guides had given chai & some noodles to some forest workers, one of the guys said "come & stay with my family tonight", so we did. It was so amazing to see how these village people lived, very simple living areas but I really liked it, everyone sits on the floor in the kitchen with a kind of Argha fire on the floor, used for cooking & heat. There is a seperate area for washing hands & then bedrooms, it was so simple but what was funny is that they have a satelite dish on the roof & t'vs in the b.rooms but also energy saving lightbulbs in the rooms!

We tried the local rum, enjoyed home made food, (I am just loving all the INdian home cooked food, at Ispiice it is just fabulous as well!) & then in the morning got up to wander round the village & see everyone doing their daily jobs. We saw guys 70+ using a traditional large hand saw that took 2 people to operate, women siving rice, woman washing clothes, kids going to school, women carrying things on their heads etc etc.

Day 5 hike turned out to be an adventure although it was probably the easist walk, as we were walking on the trail around the mountain, the area we were crossing was full of slate. We then got to a point where there were many workers & found out they were extending the path to a road. At that point they were blasting the mountain from above. My thoughts were there is no way we can cross, as i couldnt see the path for dust. Camel said there is no other way! I was a little worried then that my life could be over at one small slip & i was off the edge of the mountain. However Camel said they would clear the path a little & we could get across. As I held Camels hand to cross, he shouted at me not to look down! It was all ok & we made it to the next point where they were actually setting dynamite off into the mountain! We had to hide around the corner whilst they blasted the mountain. Quite funny to watch how they make a road, blasting it, hoping that chunks of slate stay on the path below, alot to me seemed to be falling to the river below! Anyway we got to a small town eventually & hopped on a local bus which was a very bumpy scary journey back round the mountain that was been blasted! It stopped what seemed like every 200m & more & more people got on & off. It was a classic Indian bus journey, as we went round the mountain at fast speed, i tried to focus on my book & not look out of the window as I just saw the river below & little space on the road at the side! Passing on coming traffic meant that we were even closer to dropping off the mountain but it all seemed part of the course for the locals as they didnt flinch at all! We reached Chamba & then had another night bus back to Dharmasala, this was most definitely the most bumpy bus i have ever been on, my eye mask saved the day so i couldn't see the road, head on traffic & the edge of mountains! The journey was over at 2.30am when we made it back in one peace, funny Baboo had said that the journey would take 8 hours & it took 6! That was probably the break neck speed we were going at!

After 5 days of no shower or washing my face properly, i felt like i had aged about 10 years, my skin was so dry it looked like it was flaking off! The cold mountain air had got to it! Showers here consist of filling up a bucket of water, hot if you flick a switch,which i didnt do for the first few days i was at Ispiice! Anyway been clean again was such a treat!

Words to sum up the hike:-

Beautiful, Stunning, calming, cold, fun, educational, fresh, space............

People in Dharmasala

On my last post i forgot to mention some other lovely people i met! Before i went on my trek I was wandering around the back streets of Mccloud Gange (When DL temple is) & found myself not quite sure of the way out, its really like a maze at the back of the houses & all the steps look like they lead upto poeples houses. Anyway some people behind me pointed my in the right direction & i began to follow them. These 2 Tibetan guys then invited me to have lunch with them, I said i had already eaten but before i knew it I had wandered up some more steps & into one of the guys flats! haha I did have to laugh that one minute i was lost , the next i was in a random flat. Worry not though, this is normal for people around here, they cannot do enough for you, invite you for food, to weddings etc having known you for 2 mins. I didnt stay for food as i had already eaten at the temple, after the DL's teachings the monks dished out some lovely food, dahl & rice!

Anyway within 5 mins we were having a discussion around the DL's teachings, Budhist philosophy & Bush! It was v.interesting & one of the guys organises events & is a bit of a man about town in Dharmasala. He is in the process of arranging a peaceful event in Brussels & New York on 10/10/2010 to get people to go to squares in these cities to raise awareness to free Tibet. For my ex collegues in Brussesls maybe you will go down & support the cause.

Check out www.togetherfortibet.com
Also www.tibetsun.com

People.. From Delhi to the Dalai Lama

I have had the most amazing few days since arriving in Dharmasala, it was definately the right decision to come here. Since been in Delhi where the poeple seem to be always wanting to sell you something it is refreshing to meet people who are genuinly friendly chatty people who want to inform you about there country or practice their English. In Delhi i actually expected more hassle, i only had one Vodafone shop guy give me his number & one guy ask me for my number whilst i was walking down the street! On the bus to Dharmasala I met a lovely tibetan guy called Chamba who was taking his 2 15/16 yr old girls to Tibeten school for a year as they now lived in Canada & he didnt want them to loose their culture & knowledge of Tibet.

For the last 2 days I have been to the temple where the Dalai Lama was giving his teachings. The temple is so small that I didnt manage to get inside but I did manage to get a wave & a smile from him as he was getting into the car outside. I felt very privaledged to basically stumble across the DL totally unexpected when some people had travelled for miles to see him. His teachings were very interesting, with part in English & part in Tibetan. He talked about suffering, impermanence, emptiness & practising through meditation to train the mind to think positvely & focus on other people rather than yourself! This is a tiny part of all he was talking about but it was very inspirational. Also it was interesting to watch all the poeple who were listening, everyone was very focused & calm, even when he came out of the temple poeple were quite & simply kneeling & bowing to him.

After this I managed to find some yoga mats for the volunteers at less than 4 pounds each, bargain! Then I got a lift down the mountain on a motor bike, it was so much fun looking around at the beautiful himalayas & rice fields. I really did have to pinch myself to make sure i was taking it all in. I really love Dharmasala, there is such a lovely energy here & there are yoga signs everywhere, obviously i love that!

I am now about to set off on another adventure, i am going on a 6 day trek into the mountains! I am excited but going with minimal stuff! Its not going to be like the Inka trail when me & Sarah had porters, nope I have my tiny salamon back pack with one warm jumper i just bought, borrowed hat & scarf , thermals & thats about it! It will be fun i am sure & so beautiful. So finally i cannot go near a computer, woohoo........ I am sure i will miss .....

Food & Tea

Had some wonderful food so far, even went to a locals fast food indian place in Delhi. I got the name of the place from a fictional book (yoga school drop out) that is actually v.well researched! Having arrived at Ispiice the charity in Dharmasala ei have had more amazing food & experienced the end of a 3 day wedding. The wife didnt seem too happy though as she was married off to another family as she was bawling her eyes out. Apparently she had never been out of her village, so moving away from all her family & marrying a total strange must be slightly dawnting!

Tea - I have my own stash from home, yogi-teas, fennal etc & i was glad when in they hotel they served me ginger tea with to my horror a Tetleys tea bag in it, hahaha .

Dharmasala is beautiful, so nice to be in the peaceful mountains & fresh air. The overnight bus journey was fine, a little bumpy & I was too excited to sleep but arrived safely at 7am.

The Dalai Lama is in town so i really hope I can hear him speak. After indecision about coming here or Rishikesh i know i made the right decision as soon as i got on the bus!

Delhi Pecking order on the roads!!

A passage from one of my books sums up Delhi streets pecking order v.well....

Pedestrians are on the bottom & run out of the way of everything, bicycles make way to cycle-rickshaws, which give way to autorickshaws, which stop for cars, which are subservient to trucks. Buses stop for one thing & one thing only. Not customers - they jump on while the buses are still moving. The only thing that can stop a bus is the king of the road, the lord of the jungle & the top dog.

The holy Cow. Moo moo's!!!

These animals clearly know the rule & they like to mess with our heads. The hump-backed bovines step off median strips just as cars are approaching, they stare down drivers daring them to charge, they turn their noses up at passing elephants & camels & hold huddles at the busiest intersections where they seem to chat away like the bull of Gary Larson cartoons.

Sadly their crazing is on plastic bags, not lovely green grass! For holy cows they are treated v.badly!

Thought of the day... from my Papa...

If we were seagulls we would miss the sea and the view from above and the freedom to circulate from the air....

First stop Delhi..

Room with a view - View from my hotel room in Delhi!!!

Beware I am not the most articulate & my spelling is bound to be atrocious!

Arrival at Delhi airport at 2.30am ...

I was slightly concerned when the pick up wasnt waiting for me, i looked at all the signs & there wasnt one with my name on! Then i realised i didnt have the address of the hotel & had a number but i had v.little juice on my phone! I then got a pre paid taxi but the driver was asking me if i had pre booked my hotel, a scam of drivers is to take you to a diff hotel where they charge you more! urrr i was a little worried as it was 3am & v.dark & i had no clue about anything. Then i remembered that i didnt have my yoga mat, most annoying I must have left it on my first flight from frankfurt! Doh! My annouance over loosing something so precious already over took my worry for my safety! Anyway I got to the hotel & basically slept & then did yoga until 5pm. Its so nice to think I dont have to do anything! So i didnt rush to get out into the chaos of Delhi! I did miss my blackberry at the airport when I could have done with google to get the address of the hotel!

First lesson - letting go & not attaching myself to my belongings!! Even though it was my trusty yoga mat that has been all over the world & my mum bought me 9 years ago, hahahah . It wasnt meant to be on this trip though!

Feeling tired... Sunday 18th Oct ...

I am writing this now after my 2nd day in Delhi..... I am currently planning my escape.... the car horns, the humidity, the constant hum of traffic, the need for the hotel to book you on tours constantly..... Umm I am looking forward to getting somewhere a little more relaxing.. (Rishikesh (yogatastic) or Dharmasala (Dali Lama lives & the charity is) is my hard decision of the moment!! What a tough time i am having!!)

However, I was able to celebrate Diwalli, which was my goal since listening to my previous colleagues in Bangalore celebrating last year & here I am one year on! That, an achievement in itself, so i sat on the roof top of my hotel & watched & listened to the whole of Delhi go off around me. That morning the newspaper commented about not allowing children to tie firecrackers to dogs tails, it also had a kind of green cross code to Diwalli, about safety apparently & how rag kids (street kids that make money from rubbish) would make upto 150 ruppees (2pounds approx) at Diwalli for wrappings they collect, an increase for them apparently! I was glad to be on a roof top, as I was joined by other guests of the hotel watching down as people let fireworks off at cars, people & generally anywhere across the city. It was crazy but a good noisy experience...

Delhi really seems to be chaos that works, at roundabouts everyone pulls out in front of one another, pedestrians don't hurry across roads even though a tuck tuck could take them out at any moment! There are people sleeping in the middle of motorways, on roundabouts, kids as young as 2 wandering around the roads begging. It really does break your heart but yet all seems part of normal Delhi life. Myself & some fellow tourists headed for Akshardham temple today however being the Sunday of Diwalli so did most of the hindu population of Delhi! It was so busy there were huge queues to put your bags in, where you had to leave all valuables (left at your own risk) & seperately take out batterys from cameras & phones, very odd but maybe due to possible bombs i guess. The queues were so big that we decided it was a day for the locals & swiftly left the area to sit in our very hot & sticky taxi! Then we headed to Humayuns Tomb, built by his wife & the Taj Mahal was based on this building! As far as tombs go it seemed very grand, dont ask me about Humayuns as I am still none the wiser as to who he was, hahaha. However the building was impressive although looked like it was eroding & needed some restoration! I decided whilst looking round it that I am not really in the mood for lots of tourists sights as i really just want to chill, to stop & do yoga, mediate & sleep & let the realisation of what i have done hit me.... NO More Cisco, hahaha.

I think it will take me a while for me to wean myself off having access to the internet day & night.... I found myself getting frustrated earlier because the connection in the hotel is so slow & I have to sit behind the reception to go on-line. I have been drawn to the computer 3 x today, oh dear! & i have missed my blackberry again.... Will I be able to let go of these attachments.... Once I get somewhere where I can practice i do hope so!