Travel Update: Leaving Town Again

One last hike while up in the mountains took me to St. John's Church of the Wilderness. What a way to say goodbye to this beautiful mountain town. It's hard moving on sometimes, and this is one place where I will always have a little piece of my heart.

The Church of the Wilderness brought up a lot of metta (love) for Christianity, despite it's flaws. And also I was feeling a lot of love for the contribution that religion has made to architecture. I think, maybe, spiritual architecture may be one of the coolest achievements of mankind!

So, I'm getting on a bus tonight - third class, government bus. I think it's hit or miss whether I will regret this or not. It's a 12 hour overnight ride - just hope I have a friendly seat-mate.

I will end up in Rishikesh at some point tomorrow morning, where I'll be staying for one night. I'm excited about Rishikesh, as it's where the Beatles went to study with the great Maharishi. There's a bunch of yoga, ashrams and hippies there now.

I'll spend one night there, and then I'm going through Hardiwar on my way out of town the next day - on an overnight train to Sattal for my retreat.

Haridwar is currently hosting the 2010 Kumbh Mella, which is said to be the largest spiritual gathering on the planet (sometimes up to 10 million pilgrims). I wanted to see it, but not really be in it. Too many crowds for my taste. So, I'm happy that I get to simply pass through for the day.

Let's hit the road!

We Go Where Eagles Dare

"We walk the streets at night, we go where eagles dare!" - The Misfits

Ok, I'm pretty sure the Misfits weren't talking about anything like hiking a tall mountain, but they were one of my ex-wife's favorite bands, so I took a liking to their music. Their song, "Where Eagles Dare," shares the name with a 1968 WWII movie and originally comes from Shakespeare's Richard the III:

"The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch". - Shakespeare

I feel pretty sure that Shakespeare wasn't talking about walking in the Himilayas either. Oh well. I like the phrase. And, personally, I go where eagles dare.

In fact, there is something about vast mountain ranges and untouched wildernesses (where even eagles dare not perch) that have always sparked a deep interest in me. When I first heard about Alaska as a young teen, I became obsessed with it and decided I must go. When I first heard about the Himilayas (which wasn't really until about age 24) the same interest arose. "I must go."

However, years passed and I still haven't been deep in either of these mountain wildernesses. Perhaps, it's time. I just got my first taste, like a small sip for a thirsty man.

I made the 18km roundtrip trek from Mcleod Ganj (1770m/5800ft) to Triund (2900m/9514ft) and arrived at the head of the Dhauladhar mountain range!

At the top I met some friendly monks, originally from Tibet, who were up on the mountain just enjoying the day. I pointed to the peak and said "Big Mountain." They laughed at me! I think they were also taking a small sip to quench the thirst of living in a flat flat India. The monk with the umbrella said "India's like the palm of your hand," and then he looked at his palm and blew a gust across it as if he had just blown away all of India with one Himilayan wind.

In the ongoing comedy of my health saga, I managed to get severely sunburned on the trek. Doh! "Oh, You Body!" Still smiling though.

I met a monk in saffron robes (Thai?) on the way up who gave the advice: "Slow slow." I took the advice and got up in about 5 hours. I came down in less than three, though.

Amongst Rhododendron groves and butterflies, the wilderness highlight was probably when I got close enough to the white bird I'd been tracking to realize it was a vulture! (apparently "the Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture – known for its enormous wingspan (up to 3m) and habit of dropping bones onto rocks from a height to split them for the marrow inside." - see my source at the bottom of this post.)

Someone told me that it was an Eagle, but I knew it wasn't, so I'd been calling it "The Albatross" for fun. Now, I can rest and recuperate before setting out in search of the next Great Elusive Albatross!

[For Bird Identification, I just found this cool post by a birdwatcher who traveled this area of India. That's why I think, in fact, that these are Golden Eagles here.]

Free Tibet! - Uprising Day

It's Uprising Day - the 51st anniversary of the 1959 uprising in Lhasa, Tibet.

If you don't know the story of Tibet, now is a really good time to educate yourself. I don't know much myself, but from what I've learned so far, it's brutal and disgusting what China has done and continues to this day. Other than cruel tortures, and blatant human rights violations, they have forced Tibetans to give up their robes and wear Maoist uniforms, they've forced them to stop practicing their religion, and have even done things like make them use their treasured scriptures as soles for their shoes! Messed up!

And, this is China! You know... the country that makes all that stuff you buy which says "made in China" on it! You know... one of the major superpowers in the world! (By the way, I'm officially boycotting "made in China" goods starting today)

If you thought George W. Bush was bad, well... at least we've got democracy. At least you're not wearing a uniform right now and forced to pledge your allegiance to the nation.

Really, I'm not an expert on this, but please exercise your right to free information (which China also doesn't have), and educate yourself on Tibet today! (In China, the citizens probably won't ever even see a blog post like this.) Allowing the truth to shine through is probably one of the best remedies for this horrendous situation.

Not to mention that the Dalai Lama has been trying to get into peace talks for 30 years, not even asking for an independent Tibet. All he's asking for is for the brutality to end. All he's asking for is for the Chinese to actually live in line with the principles set out in their own constitution.

If it seems like I'm chastising you...
It's Uprising Day! Speak Out!

Here are some resources I've found in a 2 minute google search:

Human Rights in Tibet

US relationship with China and Tibet

How You Can Help


~Peace~

Travel Update: Resting in the Clouds

After three days of strenuous travel and more debilitating illness, I've finally arived in the beautiful mile-high village of Mcleod Ganj. Just up the hill from Dharamsala, Mcleod is set at the entrance to the Dalai Lama's residence.

It is beautiful here, and exactly what I was looking for. There are cool mountain breezes, many fun shops, and quite unbenownst to me, the Dalai Lama will be coming in just two days! And, he's giving a teaching on the Jataka Tales on Feb 28th.

I found a room for 100 ruppees (about $2.50) per day, and already found my favorite momo lady. (Momo's are the Tibetan and Nepalese version of the potsticker). Four Momos for 10 rupees cooked fresh on the street. I think I'm dreaming!

I'll share a quick note on the health front. The trip from Varanasi to Dharamsala took about three days altogether. I ended up getting very sick in Pathankot (I think from the train food). I didn't think I'd have the energy to get on a bus and make the six hour treck to Mcleod Ganj, but I sure didn't want to stay in Pathankot. So, I pushed on. I thought I would be paying for my impatience, but actually, I woke up this morning feeling tons better. I'm still healing, and adjusting to the altitude, but I'm planning to stay for at least a couple weeks without going anywhere or stressing about anything.

As always, I will write more soon when I have the time, but I wanted to keep you all posted on my whereabouts.