The Dalai Lama's Home

McLeod Ganj, India, 31 August - 1 September 2008

The 10-hour bus journey from Shimla to Dharmasala wasn't as gruelling as we had expected. We took a taxi to our hotel in McLeod Ganj.. home of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1959, Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama), came to India after the Chinese conquest of Tibet and was offered refuge in McLeod Ganj. We had hoped there might be a chance of getting an audience with the man himself but unfortunately he had been admitted to hospital in Mumbai with stomach pains. Nothing serious we were informed.

McLeod Ganj has a feel all of its own. It has a high population of Tibetans (refugees) and Buddhist monks and we can only assume that this is the closest thing to visiting Tibet without actually visiting Tibet. McLeod Ganj is affectionately referred to as "Little Lhasa and The Tibetan Government in Exile is headquartered in McLeod Ganj. The narrow streets are lined with small stores selling all manner of Tibetan merchandise. It is not a large place so within 30 minutes we had walked the entire town. While there is a relaxed air to McLeod Ganj it must be very frustrating to the inhabitants to have the taxi drivers from Dharmasala constantly speed through the streets blowing their horns to shift the pedestrians who need to jump for their lives.

Prayer Wheels: is a wheel (Tibetan: 'khor) on a spindle made from metal, wood, leather, or even coarse cotton. On the wheel are depicted or encapsulated prayers, mantras and. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, spinning such a wheel will have much the same effect as orally reciting the prayers.

We spent our few days visiting the temple (Tsuglagkhang) and frequenting the many cafes & restaurants. It felt almost normal. At the temple it was very entertaining to watch as the monks became super animated while engaging in what we have been a daily argument session. If a monk had a point to make it invariably ended with a loud clap of his hands. One monk would pretend to charge another monk only to be held back by the others in attendance. Most entertaining and they certainly appeared to be enjoying themselves.

Being in McLeod Ganj was wonderful, it felt like we had escaped India and were in another country. Peaceful, reasonably clean and no-one hassling us. Aghhh. After 2 nights in McLeod Ganj we treated ourselves to a 3 hour taxi ride to Pathankot from where we caught a train to Amritsar.

Pictures of Pro Tibet Independence Literature in McLeod Ganj:

Street Stall selling "momos"

Monks & Mobiles!