Due to internet issues and photo downloading complications, we have added a new tab on the left dedicated to photos. Hopefully it will work - we will continue to try an upload pics.
UPDATE:
Since our rickshaw rides and
exploration of Delhi – both New and Old – the last couple of days have taken us
from the high energy and cultural chaos of a city with over 20 million people
(the second most populated in the world,) to the Pakistan border, and now the
foothills of the Himalayas. Our 6-hour train ride from Delhi to Amritsar in the
Punjab state of northwest India gave us the most honest glimpse of the poverty
and overcrowding many people of this country experience. We traveled through shantytowns
as we left the city, and rode parallel to packed third-class local trains along
the way. The countryside beyond the metropolitan area was predominantly rice
fields and small towns, haze thick on the horizon form surrounding cities as
well as the humidity of the monsoon season. In Amritsar we took advantage of
the western comforts offered at hour hotel, including a swimming pool, before
embarking on a 30-minute ride to the Wagah Border with Pakistan to see the
daily ceremonial opening of the gates. While this is strictly symbolic, and for
all intense of purposes a tourist attraction, the national pride displayed on
both sides was palpable (although India’s crowd far outnumbered that of
Pakistan). The mood can probably best be compared to a parking lot tailgate
scene before a football game between two rival teams: lots of posturing and
rooting for your side, yet all ultimately (or ideally) in good fun.
The following morning - Day 3 for
those trying to keep track - began with a brief overview of the Sikh religion
and its customs by a local guide. This included a lesson in turban tying, since
most Sikhs wear traditional headwear (usually to match their outfit that day) in
addition to long beards. While the young men of our group had to forgo the
facial hair, we did manage to get enough fabric for each of them to don a
turban for our visit to the Golden Temple - some of the ladies too, as you will
see in photos! (*Note: Students have offered to share some of their
observations and reflections from our experience at the temple, so we will
allow their words to speak for themselves in a separate post.)
Following a full morning at the
Golden Temple we enjoyed one last dip in the pool before venturing out on a 6-hour
ride (in cars, in convoy) to Dharamsala in the Himachal Pradesh state,
northeast of Amritsar; a ride certainly to be remembered for the transition in
scenery from flat farmland to wooded foothills, as well as the Indian rules of
the road and windy last couple of hours as we ascended – a drive similar to one
up a Colorado mountain pass. We arrived safely after dark to be welcomed at the
Grace Hotel, a heritage site that’s over 200 years old built into hillside of
Dharamsala.
Which now brings us to Day 4 – a glance
at the Tibetan Government in Exile compound, observing chanting monks during
morning prayer, a visit to a museum portraying the story of the Tibetan
Bhuddists in India, a tour of the Dalai Lama’s temple, and shopping in the
village of McLeod Ganj above Dharamsala. Although the first part of the day
found us literally in the clouds –
which gradually turned into a light rain – it only added to the mystique,
beauty, and serenity of this peaceful mountain town. As we write this at 6pm
the sun is shining as students attempt a game of “backyard cricket” on the lawn
in front of our hotel. Tomorrow begins with meditation: no complaints here.
