Dharmasala (4)

5.31.08

We got on the bus yesterday at "o'dark-thirty," as popsicle would say, and 15 hours later, we arrived in Dharmasala. It wasn't the smoothest drive in the world, but I was feeling a little better. Still, Indian food was the last thing I wanted to eat. The night before, I found some crackers and chocolate chip cookies, so these sustained me during our long journey. The drive was far from smooth, but it was interesting to see India outside of Delhi: factories, rice fields, condos, grass huts, billboards, the smallest horses I've ever seen, school buses (but they were empty...maybe it was too early, still?), and lots and lots of marijuana growing on the side of the road.

Then we came to the mountains. Breath taking. The drive was like 3-hours of the crazy driver up Mount Tabor in Israel, like a 3rd world version of the road from Nice to Monaco, like taking a bus up the narrow roads in Haute de Cagne Sur Mer. Navigating through passages that one might think were impossible to fit through, I decided not to look up and read my Dalai Lama book, instead. (I'm still way behind on my reading...). Then the road became even rougher: pot-holes, one-lane roads with two-way traffic, and some roads unpaved. Our master bus driver skillfully got us to our destination, though, with only a few near death experiences, and the vistas were gorgeous. They looked like the default desktop backgrounds on your computer. ; )

Upon arrival at our hotel, the Hotel Surya, I once again was feeling like shit. I had some rice for dinner, feeling like I was once again a 13-year old fickle eater in China, and went straight away to bed. The Hotel Surya is far from The Park. One of the rooms was infested with ants (but they got upgraded to a suite), you have to be half-smart to flush the toilets, and the beds smell like rubber. The mattresses, like I remember in China, are super stiff. This was quite welcome for me, though, because my back was of wack, and I slept the best sleep since coming to India.

This morning, I awoke feeling much better. I am afraid to get sick again, though, so I have been sticking to bland, inauthentic meals such as toast, fruit, crackers, and rice. Food is one of my favorite parts of traveling, but with two weeks left, my antibiotics gone, and an aversion to Indian food, I have been going "picky foreigner style." I see all these people around me with so little, and I think, "Yea, I can do without a lot of the extra stuff in my daily life." But when I was sick, I wanted to be on the next flight home, back to the comforts of home and those who love me. Ahh! It's a quandary.

This morning, we met with the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile. He was a little, old Buddhist monk. He spoke with a calm and deliberate voice, but his eyes were sad. "We are living on a day-to-day basis." I asked him what gives him hope, and he said two things: First, what Tibetans are asking for is nothing unreasonable. Rather, it is based in truth and justice. Secondly, he was assured that the nonviolent movement will overcome violence in the end. Later in the afternoon, we met with one of the workers at the Tibetan Center for Human Rights. He spoke a lot about the need for a dialogue between Tibetan and Chinese leaders, as well as the need for the media to go TO Tibet. There is a lot going on there that we do not know about because word never gets out.

Dharmasala is gorgeous. I am glad to be in the mountains, away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi. The mountain air is also very welcome. Interestingly, there are a lot more Western tourists here than I saw in Delhi. Lots of backpackers and hippy types, looking for enlightenment, I'm sure. (Sorry, I was being cynical again. I know, I know, "Cynicism is too easy." Thank you, father.)

Well, I best close for now. I miss you terribly! Two more weeks. Goodness, that seems like a long time...