To The Border....

:: Torch Protest in Dharamasala ::

Our little break in Australia has reset our travel stamina and tolerance. Last month a six hour bus journey would have been a piece of cake. The first five and a half hour journey we did from Delhi to Rishikesh was an agonisingly long journey. We were shocked to do a time check at what seemed like three hours only to find that we'd been only a mere 52 minutes on the road. We've definitely been underestimating how hard long journeys actually are if you're not used to them.

Rishikesh is widely known as the yoga capital of the world, it's many ashrams, schools and retreat houses are apparently the place to learn. We didn't stay long enough to bend ourselves into any shapes but it definitely comes across as a serious place rather than a backpacker hangout. We were expecting glitzy jewellery shops, leather stores, funky restaurants & cafes like Pushkar. Instead its shops are somber and run down, there are limited restaurants and overall a more serene atmosphere - which is refreshing. Hopefully the temptation to change to chase the dollar won't supersede the meditative environment that appeals to serious enlightenment seekers local and foreign alike.

Journeying on we stopped overnight in the city of Chandigarh; we'd high hopes for the place. The city boasts a high standard of living and the highest per capita income in the India. Designed in the 60's Chandigarh city is like an enormous park divided into numbered sectors - from any road all you can see are green spaces and trees. The manicured roundabouts, beautiful parks and signposted numbered sectors all point towards an orderly smart town. We eventually reached the centre, sector 17 and all expectations were dashed. The city centre was a sprawling row of alcohol shops, discount stores and a smattering of self satisfied guesthouses charging the most expensive prices in India. The city excites lots of people, we ran into a couple of travellers who were on their third night there. Then we met a couple more who were counting the hours down until they could hop on a bus out of there.

We were of the latter variety - at six am the following morning we were hopping on a local bus to the "big" bus stand. Amongst the early morning commuters were a little old man and his wife who seated themselves in the "ladies" section of the half empty bus. The bus driver promptly let a roar and kicked the old man out of his seat gesturing at free unisex ones down the back. Things didn't get any simpler down the back, the bus (doing 5 minutes journeys to and from the main bus stand all day) had designated seats for a broad section of society - ladies, handicapped, seniors, the blind and freedom fighters all had demarked seats. Seating oneself was a minefield of political correctness.

7 hrs later we arrived in Dharmasala way up in the mountains. The area is famous as the home in exile of the Dalai Lama, thousands of Tibetans and an inordinate amount of professional beggars. What made this place remarkable to us was firstly all the smiling Buddhist monks and Tibetan faces around and secondly the proud display of the Tibetan flag flying high over almost every building. On our journey through Tibet we'd never actually seen a Tibetan flag. It was touching to see it on every wall along with the picture of the Dalai Lama.



The town itself is perched in the mountains surrounded by snow peaks. Every evening there is a procession of monks and locals with candles down the street to the monastery. It was topical time to visit as the Olympic Torch makes it way around the world sparking debate on the Tibetan issue. We went along to an informative talk by an visiting academic on Tibetan history from a Chinese point of view - it was enlightening to listen to the Chinese side of the story and why Tibet is so important to them. It was interesting to then actually look at what the Tibetans are asking for. Rather than a Free Tibet it's a level of autonomy lesser to that that Hong Kong and Taiwan enjoy. So in fact a precedence has already been set is fully functioning to solve the problem.

On the day of the Torch relay in Delhi a march and rally was held in Dharamasala. It was a very emotional display; men, women and school children along with the monks and nuns paraded though the streets petitioning for human rights and the freeing of Tibet. Old men and men stood transfixed in small cafes watching world reaction to their plight following demonstrations across the world. Spending time in Dharmasala amongst this exiled community does make you feel an urgency to resolve the issue and let the people live freely and practise their religion unpersecuted.

Our final stop in India was in the city of Amritsar 30 km from the Pakistani border. The is the centre of the Sikh religion and home to their holiest site the Golden Temple. Pilgrims travel here by the thousands and are warmly received with free accommodation, free food and free transfer to the bus/train station.

The kitchens feed up to 30,000 people a day, it was fascinating to watch a team of hundreds peel onions, chop vegetables, wash dishes, throw buckets of water over the marble floors and generally volunteer their services to the upkeep of the temple.