Two Weeks in Dharamsala

My time here in India is truly flying by now. I’ve been here almost four months but in many ways I feel like I’ve just arrived. Of course in other ways it feels like I’ve been away from London forever.

My fortnight here in McLeodganj is almost up and I have to say that two weeks is plenty of time here for me. I guess if you are one of those super-fit, love the countryside, hill-climbing, paragliding, trekking kinda people then you could stay here a lot longer, but I am none of those, at all!

The hotel I’d originally booked up the hill in Dharamkot- mainly because it was right next door to the Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre where I was going to be doing a couple of yoga courses - lasted a week. It was too isolated and the lack of lighting and safe footpaths meant that once it went dark outside I was trapped inside. After a couple of days I was starting to feel like Jack Nicholson in The Shining!

So I moved down into McLeodganj, the swinging metropolis, and into the only hotel in town that looks like a hotel and not a refugee camp. It even has neon signs outside! The signs inform you that it is a “luxury hotel” and I have to say that in my experience if a place has to tell you it’s luxury, it probably isn’t. And this place really isn’t, luxurious I mean. But it is safe, and the location is perfect for me and the added bonus is that it even has wi-fi in the rooms … sometimes.

Up in the foothills the main pest problem was mahoooosive spiders that looked like they would give tarantulas a run for their money, down here it’s moths! I have never seen so many moths! Not since ___________ opened his/her wallet (Insert generic skinflint stereotype here).

In addition to the moths, every morning I watch as a troop of monkeys make their way across town right by my balcony in search of breakfast. This morning it was thundering and raining and I was slightly tempted to open my door and let the little babies shelter in my room till it stopped, they were looking pretty scared. I didn’t of course because I am not totally insane.

Living down here means that every day I have been able to go and spend a good amount of time at the Temple, and on Sunday I was thrilled to be able to sit and listen to the monks chanting - it’s such an incredible sound. Even though His Holiness The Dalai Lama is not here, the whole temple complex is filled with such positivity and energy that it actually doesn’t matter that he’s over in the US.

I’ve done a bit of voluntary work here since I moved to town too, attending English conversation classes at the LHA centre. I had no idea what to expect on my first day. I went along thinking I would maybe do some good, impart some knowledge, etc. What a humbling experience! I sat down with three monks, who somewhat shockingly shook my hand, in Thailand the monks won’t even touch your camera if you are holding it (if you’re a woman that is) but with the Tibetan monks there’s none of that. I mean let’s face it, shaking my hand is hardly likely to turn into a Tibetan Thorn Birds is it?


We sat down in a room filled with Tibetans and westerners, and the three of them told me so much about their lives and the lives of the Tibetan refugees. Some of it was heartbreaking, some of it life-enhancing and I came away from my time there with just the warmest feeling inside my bitter old heart! Wonderful stuff.

One of the positive things about having such a long time to spend here is that you get to know the people. The other day I found myself chatting with one of the jewellery stallholders as she very kindly polished up all of my silver jewellery for me. There was nothing in it for her except a chance to practice her English and share experiences with another human being, beautiful.

So what of the main reason I came to Dharamsala, the yoga course? Well, I’ll start by saying it was easily as challenging as my entire 10 weeks in OshoWorld. I learned that yoga is so much more than just stretching your muscles and enhancing your balance. When you do it for upwards of three hours a day, you see the connection between body and mind. Some of the things I did with my body unleashed all kinds of emotions in my mind. None of them were very pleasant, but now I am glad that they occurred. I stretched myself in every way possible.

The ‘Delhi-Belly’ that began over a month ago in Pune, returned here with a vengeance! And nothing, not even a trip to HH the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Clinic has cured it to be honest. The doctor I saw there told me it was food poisoning, but as I’ve not been vomiting I’m not so sure it is. It’s not like a big old dramatic case of the shits even, it’s just that for the last four weeks I’ve either been constipated or had the runs - no happy medium - and the only time I am constipated is when I have taken twice the dose of the local diarrhea pills I got in Pune. Rather than wiping me out totally, I’ve just been feeling weaker and weaker really. The food here is pretty bad anyway, and the lack of fresh fruit and veg is definitely taking it’s toll.
The Richard Gere Memorial Toilet outside the Temple

Thankfully, tomorrow I’ll be in Goa again, and there I’ll have no end of fresh fish, fruit and veggies - by the time I come home I’ll be fighting fit once again!