21 May 2007 - The Layout

Dharamsala is bigger than I thought. Lower D-Sala is where the main Indian market is located. Several miles up the mountain is Upper D-Sala or Gang Ky. Here is where the Tibetan government-in-exile offices and Library of Tibetan Works and Archives are. The hospital is also here, as well has the Library’s guesthouse (where I stay). And then 9 km up the road from here is an area called McLeod Ganj. This part became the main tourist spot and it’s filled with all kinds of restaurants, guesthouses/hotels, and Tibetan handicrafts shops. So if I don’t want to eat in either of the two small cafes in Gang Ky, then I have to go to McLeod Ganj. It’s a pleasant 20-minute uphill walk to McLeod Ganj when I take the shortcut. At the base of McLeod Ganj is H.H. the Dalai Lama’s monastery and home. It so happens the HH is giving teachings all this week so yesterday morning I woke up early and made my way to the temple.

The monastery was filled to the max, mostly of monks and nuns. Just outside the main temple room is a grassy area where they allowed non-monks/nuns to sit. The teachings weren’t translated, but there were still many foreigners who came to be in the presence of HH. There was a small walkway among the crowd of monks and nuns. Usually if you’re not a monk or nun, you must have a special security clearance pass to walk through, but the security guard I ran into let me through without one and I was able to walk around the temple room and see HH. It was lovely and moving just to be among all of these people that revere and honor him so deeply.

After the teaching while walking around McLeod Ganj a Tibetan guy named Tamdin came up to me speaking Tibetan. I wish I spoke Tibetan because I’ve been getting that a lot here. Most Tibetans think I’m a local or Tibetan-American. I feel so lame admitting that I don’t speak Tibetan. I feel like it’s such a let down. We struck up a conversation and after finding out I’m Vietnamese he opened his bag and took out a stack of photos, one of which was of his cousin who married a Vietnamese guy and moved to the States. He was so excited about this connection. Tamdin is not like the other Tibetans I’ve met here. The Tibetans here seem to be really laid back. They aren’t in a rush and they seem patient and their flow is much more akin to my own. Tamdin came from Bhutan and stays in a city about 6 hours from D-Sala. He’s like a ‘go, go, go!’ type of person and he’s also a little pushy, but I think he only means well. He helped me shop around for some pants. You’d be surprised how hard it’s been for me to find some normal straight leg pants. The ones I find don’t fit me right. The ones I do find, the prices are ridiculously inflated. Unfortunately, even as I write, I’m still without pants. I thought that bringing less would be better, and in a way it is, but there were some essentials things that I forgot to bring too.

Later that afternoon Choedar met up with us and we walked half an hour beyond McLeod Ganj to Bhagsu. Since it was Sunday, the tourists were all here from nearby Indian cities. The path through Bhagsu dead-ends at a beautiful waterfall. The upper path offers beautiful views of the lower path that is along the brook. Here monks and other Indian locals swim and wash their laundry. From way up above all I could see were big red and yellow robes dot the slate boulders along the brook.

I’m starting to build somewhat of a ‘household’ in my room. I have a spacious bedroom with two twin beds and a desk. The bathroom is only down the outside hallway. I have a small sink and Geshe Lhakdor gave me an electric water boiler to use during my stay. I collected enough water bottles from my first few days here so I use these to hold the boiled water. The room also came with a bucket for washing clothes. My room has a nice little balcony where I also hung some string to hang clothes to dry. For now, I have to eat out for my meals, but I might be getting stove soon.

My room is located right above Nechung Monastery. Every morning starting at 5:30 the monks began their prayers and chants. This includes the singing bell and the blowing of a horn. At first I didn’t know what those sounds were, but I’ve come to like waking up to the sound of prayers..