Tuesday, February 16, 2010

India: First Weekend Trip: Dharamshala to McLeod Ganj: Friday

After a 2 hour flight north of Delhi I arrived in the Kangra Valley in the town of Dharamshala. Well, first I should say the plane ride was incredible. Himalayas on my right which you can see in the pictures and the Kangra Valley to the left of the plane. It was a surreal sight, not just because the mountains were so massive, the Rockies don't look that much smaller, but just the fact that they are the Humalayas! I immediately took a cab north up into the Himalayas to McLeod Ganj. The ride up the mountain was nuts. Sharp turn after sharp turn going about 60mph on a one lane road was not the most pleasant. When I made it to McLeod Ganj, I was a little thrown off because it was a little more touristy than expected, but I suppose that is what the Dalai Lama did for this place. I couldn't find the Tse Chokling Monastery when i got there the first night so I settled in at this place called "Hill View." After I put my stuff in my room, I went to a restaurant called Mcclo which became my local watering hole for the weekend. It turned out to be the most expensive restaurant in the town. Main Entrees going for around $4 USD.

Mcclo was a pretty intense expat hangout, but not your average half-assed expat like me. No, no, these were incredibly hardcore, you can tell they came and never left. You wouldn't even know they were Western judging purely from their mannerism.

I left the restaurant pretty excited for the weekend. I was ready for some trekking, some monks and some memories.

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