Dharamsala Travel Blogs | Travelogues | Travel Journals

After a train and bus trip to Rishikesh- where we wanted to look into a Yoga retreat-  It wasnt till we got there and we didnt like what we saw we headed onwards and got a overnight bus to Dharamsala- the home town of the Dalai Lama living in exile! We rocked up into town along with Katie from Wales (who we met along the way and convinced her to come too), at the unearthly hour of 5.30am (and the air was so cool- no humidity at all!)  then had the trouble of finding a room. It ...

MEDITATION: A lot of you (friends and family) have been asking me about my 10-day silent Buddhist meditation experience.  It's easier to explain in person, but let me try....  First, you should know that it was unimaginably unforgettable, amazing and priceless.  In a way, I feel as though I can come home now and that I've  gotten what I needed from my entire trip (and I still have 6 months ahead of me)!  It was far better and more valuable than w...

Public relations are important to the Tibetans, for McLeodganj is more than just temples and the Dalai Lama's residence. It is home to a flourishing number of enterprises, political, religious and commercial, all of which are designed to demonstrate the seriousness and competence of the government in exile. Everywhere we go we are handed well-produced information sheets by well-dressed, knowledgeable and patient young men, who do a thoroughly professional job of marketing the mysteries of Tib...

This day I had planned to do nothing at all. I woke up around 10:30, and had planned to clean up again, but there was no water at that time. Damn. Anyway, I had planned to check into a different place down the road. I gathered my stuff, settled the rent and checked into a dorm. Had the dorm room all to myself - benefits of off season! And it was damn cheap too.Decided to go looking for the tibetan library that was supposed to be good, but only after lunch. So I had a big heavy meal of chicken...

Hello everyone, Things are going very well here at the moment.  I'm preparing to leave for Amritsar for the weekend to see the Golden Temple.  Six of us have rented a taxi to drive us the five hour distance for a little over $100.00.  I'm excited because we will also be visiting the Pakistan border to see a flag ceremony that happens every night.  I'm not crazy enough to cross the border, but I'm excited to say I've seen Pakistan.  Well...sort of.  :-) My place...

Well. It's been a while since the old laptop gave up the ghost and I have not updated the website. Still ,it's an end to those lengthy lectures that some of you don't want to read eh! So, the next leg of the journey for me is to go to Pathankot (the nearest railway station) tomorrow to get the overnight train to New Delhi for the 2550th Buddhist Jayanti Celebrations (celebration of Buddhas birth,enlightenment and death) on Sunday. Its a full moon here on Saturday so I'd better be discipli...

Weekend in the Himalayas. 12 hour winding ride up on the bus. I chucked even, but it was worth it.

“You will not find abundant wealth without finding by its side the rights of people that have been trampled.”   “No rich morsel is eaten without there being in it the hunger of those who have worked for it.”   from the sayings of the Islamic Shia thinker Ali

A year long road trip driving from Sydney to Southampton in a BMW X5 checking out progress on the Asian Highway Project and visiting 100 world heritage sites along the way

Delhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, the Thar desert, Pushkar, Udaipur, Ajanta, Ellora, Mandu, Khajuraho, Orchha, Rishikesh, Manali and Dharamsala.

Eerst 25 dagen Ladakh, en dan.... 4 maanden vrijwilligerswerk in Dharamsala, hoe spannend kan het zijn!

I'm picking up Judith (happyjuudje) in Dharamsala, where she will have stayed for four months, volunteering with Tibetan refugees. We'll travel through Northern India for 1,5 week, visiting Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, Bodhgaya.

1 Sept. A heavy storm overnight brought a clear morning, with the views from the bedroom visible again. We breakfasted on the terrace of Nick's Italian Cafe, with a couple of eagles soaring overhead, but soon lost touch with them as the cloud moved in again. A monkey clambered over the terrace. We wandered to the Dalai Lama's Temple complex. It is a utilitarian building, but with some artefacts rescued from Tibet, and with local Tibetans prostrating themselves to pray. Monks were having a pub...

My decision was taken, I would come and live in India.This Indian philosophy of life, whether it is called Sanatan Dharma, SIKH or Dharma, or by any other name is my first love. Other reasons ensue from it.Nothing pleases more that to see that since the beginning of the 1990s, India had taken an upbeat turn in the economic field. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and his Finance Minister Manmohan Singh will be remembered in history as those who dared to abandon the old Soviet path of a plan...

So....I wake up at 6 a.m. in Agra, and we head to Delhi to get me to my noon flight to Amritsar.  With the roads and traffic in India, I'm quite worried till we head out.  The road between Agra and Delhi is the nicest in India, and the traffic was very light.  I unfortunately had some "Dheli Belly," making things a bit more exciting than they otherwise should have been.  As it was my last day with Virander, I flowed the dude 5000 rs.  (Over 100 dollars)  I felt I...