The Intermission

Apologies for a break in service but for the last few days I have not had internet access!  Having done a whole week's work at Asha it was felt that I needed a holiday!  I have just been for an amazing tour of North India! Well...a bit of it...a very nice bit.  So if you find Pathankot on a map and go East to Kangra airport - a little further east is Palampur.  We stayed between there and Baignath.

The roads were interesting in places but we got there. We stayed overnight in Chandigarh, an interesting and surprisingly neat and tidy city.  In total it was about a 12 hour drive.  Needless to say the air in the hills was fresh and cool compared to Delhi.  The mountains were high around us with some snow visible.

The Kangra Valley is a tea growing area so in amongst the eucalyptus trees, bamboos and pine trees we saw frequent tea plantations along with rice fields.  These were often being ploughed with ox ploughs and planted as we passed by:

We opted to visit Mcleod Ganj on our first day, which is the area that India gave to the Tibetan refugees to settle.  The Dalai Lama's residence is there.  This is a fascinating place with a real mix of cultures in a beautiful setting.  After a Tibetan meal of Thupka (soup) Momos (dumplings) and a drink of honey lemon and ginger tea, we went exploring...

Lunch:

And to drink:

One of the highlights of the afternoon, apart from the company and the view...

...was the monastery which we were able to visit.  I had never been to a buddhist temple before.

Next day we visited a local tea factory...having sampled it in McLeod Ganj the day before

We explored the shopping centre in the rain

before enjoying a respite from a heavy downpour in Cafe Coffee Day!

I have never before found anywhere in India where I could not see another person.  We found this by missing the turning to the local buddhist temple which we explored later.

The temple was very impressive and really peaceful.

Our way out was blocked and we were delayed for about half an hour while they sorted this out...the lorry had got its front wheel lodged in the drain and had to be jacked up and pushed out!

We then visited an old Hindu temple before heading for home:

 All in all a beautiful trip with great company, great chat, great food and great views!  Now I'm back in Delhi and have a clinic in Zakhira slum tomorrow and Mayapuri on Saturday.