Himachel Pradesh

Is anyone still there? It's been a while. We have been busy dodging everything India has thrown at us in the past two weeks. So far, we are coming out trumps. Well...were still alive and smiling.
Tummy bugs, bus rides from hell, train rides and odd concerts. Not to mention our daily fears of being hit by passing cars and rickshaws on the street.

Our first big stop in India was Manali but as we arrived on the end of peak season lots of places were closing down and it was all very quiet. Infact there wasn't much for us to do really except sit in Dylans cafe and eat the best chocolate chip cookies ever. In order to get them fresh out of the oven and gooey, we would visit 2-3 times per day. Ah home comforts!!

We also got to visit Solang Valley in the area and whilst there was no snow as this time, we could indulge in watching Indian holiday makers enjoying the summer activities - Paragliding, Zorbing, Horseriding, Extreme tramping and general wahoo'ing.

Leaving Manali was interesting as it involved a night bus - The bible AKA lonely planet had told us only to take the night bus as a LAST resort but it turned out to be just that so off we went - on our last resort. The driver was the nastiest little man who's anger showed in the way he drove. He abused Hannah for a good few minutes before then trying to kill us the rest of the night with his erratic driving. We watched him have the same argument with an Israeli couple (later, whom, became our new friends..). After downing the maximum dose of anti-nauseas I could safely close the window without fear of throwing up out of it but there was, of course, no chance of sleeping.

We arrived at a dark bus shelter at 4am, an hour before our ETA and when nobody got off the bus initially we again got abused and shouted out to get off the bus. Our bags were dumped and the bus took off.

No more night buses - Pact.

Mcleod Ganj. Lovely, relaxing Mcleod Ganj.

We have been here seven days now and are really feeling at one with the place. We recognize the local expats, other tourists, the usual beggars and even the odd monk.

Mcleod Ganj is home to the Dalai Lama in exile and a large number of Tibetan refugees. Its a hillside town brimming with culture, losses and hope. There are so many community projects here to help Tibet and Han and I really feel we have made a difference with the large amounts of money we have spent at the local shops and markets. The pack is ever filling.

On our first night, our Israeli counterparts took us to a local concert at the school showing traditional Tibetan dancing and much more. MUCH MORE is what we got and some would argue all we got. It was not the local school kids concert we were expecting but instead a one man concert which started with technical difficulties and ended in a song where with no explanation, the Tibetan performer went around the audience and completely invaded everyones personal space in a staring competition for about a minute. The background music to this was trance. Very traditional?

Today, we went to the fifth annual Tibet Film Festival at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA). After one of the movies about Tibet and what it was like to go back there, the director came out to see the crowd and answer questions. One young Buddhist monk stood up and asked a question in Tibeta. During his question, he began to cry but continued on with such deep sadness. It was so real and touching, despite not knowing what was being said and I think everybody in the room felt his grief.

The Chinese invasion has destroyed so many lives and so much culture and the people here are wearing that loss and burden every day. The last movie and finale of the film fest was The silence of the holy stones which was a nice but kind of odd Tibetan film about a young monk living in a monastery. Luckily for us, there was another monk seated behind us who sang along to all the songs and laughed enthusiastically to all the jokes that we managed to miss. Every joke.

India is forever pulling me in. 

I don't know that I will ever quit coming back here.

Living for 100 years

Time for another update I feel, but before I start I can excitedly announce that my quest to find the differences between Sri Lanka and India Buddha has begun.. But ill come to that later.

We have reached the south of Sri Lanka and are staying in the beachside town of Unawatuna.
The biggest thing to mention here would be that less than 10 years ago, an earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia which was recorded at 9.1-9.3 in magnitude. This created a tsunami which hit many countries including Sri Lankans southern coastline. Many lives were lost and the beautiful coastal towns were mostly wiped out.

Today Unawatuna has no obvious signs of any such destruction and has been rebuilt to be a bustling tourist location however I am sure that if you scratched at the surface and went a short distance in land away from the glitz of the sun loungers and cheap cocktails it may be more apparent. Many restaurants have photos on the wall and in albums you can view to get an idea of what once was.

At the far end of the beach is a small hill and our destination should we feel any movements from below. It is also home to a 200 year old sacred site which consists of both a large white dagoba (undestroyed by tsunami) and a newer addition, a statue of Buddha himself. It was here that we decided to explore when the sun went away this afternoon.

We reached the top when a young Lankan boy came and offered us some tea with 'no charge' - a rarity in this country. It was here that my question was to be answered.

We sipped our tea and ate water crackers in the presence of another Spanish tourist (also got the tea invite) and a Buddhist monk who had lived at this site for 33 years. He explained many things about his culture when asked if I understood, I had to guiltly and unconvincingly reply 'sort of'.

I could of lied but to be honest, I was intrigued and and wanted to understand.. So I got, in lamens terms, a better explanation.
Now before I start, there is a lot I want and could write about this because I like the religion but I don't want you to all think I'm returning to the homeland in an orange robe so i will be restrained.

We learnt more about what it is to be a Buddha, and about Buddha aka Siddhartha Gautama himself. Just a Normal man born in nepal who found enlightenment and shared his way of living with others. No creator of the universe here people.. But what a guy! 

There are two branches of Buddhism existing in these modern times.
The Theravada Buddhists who are found in Sri Lanka and south east Asia and then Mahayana Buddhists in the Himalayas and east Asia.
The differences among these two groups are to be further defined on the next tea date.

We finished up with a blessing for each of us and the tying of a white cotton band around our right arm known as a baci which preservers good luck. I must say I was very moved by this.. And we've been blessed for 100 years! Hurrah!

My baci will be staying on as good luck is what I need, as I am soon to be visiting the home country of Buddha himself and flying into the infamous lukla. The young Spanish tourist who had just done the same trek delightfully informed me that about 200-300 metres above the runway, the engine gets cut for landing. ARE YOU LISTENING HANNAH? Cut. Shut off. So we just glide down onto the runway.

Fantastic news. Freaking out... Only slightly.

Anyway best bring this post to an end because poor joe is fallen asleep on his diary beside me. Bless.

The Real Buddha

It is day five now of this particular journey and I have some sad news...

After weighing up the cost of heading to the kite camp and hiring gear we decided against it..

But dont despair!!! Instead we have spent the time exploring the ancient cities of Sri Lanka. Prepare yourselves.

First stop was a couple of nights in Anaradhapura (and yes, we are enjoying pronouncing the cities names to the locals here who kindly correct us 99% of the time). We hired bicycles and despite the heat set out in search of ancient dagobas and scared trees. My favourite part of the day was the sacred bodhi tree which is still used as a place of worship and worshipping was well under way by the time we arrived. Joe and I sat for what felt like hours taking in the scene. From the overhead speaker songs to the Sri Lankan prey flags to the orange robed monks and everyone else preying and singing it was all very overwelming and interesting!

That is one very loved tree. Just like na'vi tree on Avatar.

Next stop, Habarana which is a tiny village in the middle of the cultural triangle - therefore perfect for day trips. The locals refer to the village as ' habarana city' which I liked. It's like calling sumner a city.. Imagine. Here we stayed off the beaten track and our tuktuk had to do some serious 4wd'ing to get us through all the village dirt tracks to the beautiful lodge camp. Surrounded by villagers so if you hear yelling from your huts 'please just ignore' - its just the village men who have taken liquour and are yelling at their wife and kids. 'No problem for tourists'. 

From here we were able to access the dambulla cave temples where among other things, we found a 19metre Buddha reclining in a cave.  Buddhas got to have some down time too.. Tour guides say that when the plains below flooded the farmers couldn't work so they would come up to caves and create Buddha after Buddha after Buddha. If fact five whole caves filled with Buddhas. The biggest cave being 32 metres wide. 

This morning we tripped out to Sigiriya rock for the ultimate climb. If you don't know what Sigiriya is - I suggest you google it as it was one of the main reasons for my visit to this wonderful country. 

Well let me tell you, Sigiriya is NO easy stroll. 

However after 1x panic attack mid climb, 5mg diazepam and many tears I made it to the top only to collapse into a shaking, crying mess. I am talking a vertical rock face with some scaffolding bolted to the side... And I know your thinking 'whatevs' because that's what I thought too..  NO! It is some scary stuff. Fair to say, I will never be a rock climber. 

The top however was an excellent reward. The ruins of an ancient castle and 360' views of the country below. 

The king who ordered his decipals to build a gigantic palace a top a rock like sigiriya...well...what a d*ck! And of course he wanted a massive swimming pool that's two metres deep. 

That's all for now folks.. Is anybody reading this? Don't be afraid to leave a comment as a wee confidence booster.

But before I sign off let me ask one question I have not found the answer to here. 

Sri Lankan Buddha is a slim man with a head of hair, whilst Indian Buddha is a fat bald man with a rub-able belly.. Who is Buddha?!

Adios amigos x