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!