Well Rishikesh was truly a dream! Full of breathtaking nature, yoga, live music, crystals, vegan food, and dreadlocks…yum. I know I’ll be back one day. In some ways, it kind of felt like a little bubble; it was too clean, peaceful, and full of Westerners to be “real India”. I was starting to feel really comfortable there, but that just means it’s time to move!
After fourteen hours of bumpy, windy mountain roads, vertical “sleep” (although personally I was so uncomfortable I slept on the floor of the bus), shady food, falling luggage, 3 am chai announcements, and peeing on the side of the road, we finally reached McLeod Ganj.
At six am we are presented with snow capped mountains and a 15 degree C chill. It’s time to finally break out that puffy jacket that’s been in the bottom of my pack! The hazy sky and silent streets kept making me think “is this real life”.
I keep forgetting we are in India. McLeod Ganj is a Tibetan refugee site from when China invaded Tibet in the 50’s; therefore everyone for the most part is Tibetan. People are speaking Tibetan instead of Hindi, practicing Buddhism instead of Hinduism, eating momos instead of samosas, and wearing shawls instead of sarees. Quite the cultural clash, but I am really enjoying the change.
So far, we have visited a Tibetan museum, practiced conversational English with Tibetan students, visited a temple, and stayed a night in our homestays. The energy is amazing here, I am so excited to spend the next week here!