From the Land of Turbans to the Himalayan Mountain Range

It’s really hard to say goodbye to Amritsar especially to our friendly and kind host, Mr Kalwanjit Singh or better known as ‘Jolly’. I will surely missed his wife’s cooking, especially the Punjabi delicacies, yummy! And off course Jolly too... We’ve been told by Jolly that there’s always be buses going to Dharamshala – that is our next destination, situated in Himachal Pradesh state. Why do we choose Dharamshala? The main reason is because of Dalai Lama. That is the residence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the exile Tibetan government that is based in Gangchen Kyishong and the touristic place on the Upper Dharamsala called McLeod Gunj. It’s a unique place to be where you can see Tibetan monks in their maroon robes (you can also see some Westerner who became monks as you walk towards Upper Dharamsala) and also Tibetan people with their ethnic dress (which most of them are refugees). It is also became a centre to study on Buddhism and Tibetan cultures.

It’s not that easy to get on a public bus when you are carrying a heavy backpack on your back. That is the real tasks. We need to climb the bus’s stairs really quickly before the bus moves! (Without you noticing it!).It’s not a normal scene for foreigners like us (yes, travelling girls) to hop on a public transport in Amritsar, but at least we’ve got less ‘attention’ from what we had before in other places. The bus fare is really cheap; and from Jolly’s place, we only had to wait until the bus stopped at the Central Bus Station in the city centre. Hoping off the bus, there’s a lot of auto driver that offers us their services but we need not need them anyway. Our main mission is to get bus tickets to Dharamsala as soon as possible and get on the earliest bus which leave Amritsar at noon, around 1.30pm. Without any delay, we walked to the reception counter asking about the bus to Dharamsala and how can we buy the ticket from. They were helpful and told us at which terminal no would the bus be. And yes, we found the bus and we have to buy the ticket once we’re on the bus.

The gravy

Chola Bhatura

We were so starving when we left Jolly’s place and decided to stop by a restaurant and eat before we left for Dharamsala. We have no idea at all what we would eat as people at the restaurant were looking at us especially to my travel partner, Maja as her hair is blonde and I look like Asian (Oh,and yea..I am Asian! – Forget that I’ve coloured my hair a bit and look less Asian?). At last we decided to eat the food that the local people usually eat - Chola Bhatura (3pcs for Rs25) and some soda drinks. Chola bhatura looks like Puri and the brown colour gravy was so good. It tastes a little bit sour, salty and sweet at the same time. Maja really enjoyed eating the food so much but I’d rather take a lot of photos of the food myself. The owner (I presumed) had asked me to take the photos of the cook with stacks of Chola Bhatura that have been fried. Like usual after having a meal, we went to the bathroom and knowing that there will be less stop before arriving in Dharamsala in the late evening. I’m so excited to know what wait for us ahead in Dharamsala and meeting our host, Mr Ramnik Narula. Bus that goes to Dharamsala at first was empty until we met few travellers like us, heading to the same destination – Dharamsala and McLeod Gunj. Glad to know too that we are not the only one travelling to Dharamsala. It was unique and surprised to see how a small old man (the potter) with his big white turban on his head could handle such heavy loads such as a sack full of flour or atta and balanced it on his head before he climbed on the stairs at the back of the bus and put it on top of the bus within minutes, secured it with ropes and god knows what else to secure it. That’s what he did with all of our backpacks and put it on the rooftop of the bus. I was a bit worried about my bag at first but I’m sure that he knew what he’s doing as that is his daily job – to assist and make sure all the goods were in place, secure and in good condition on top of the bus. This situation really reminds me of the scenes in Bollywood movies where sometimes you can see all the men and the baggages were on the rooftop of the bus at the same time. Some of them where just hanging on to the bus and it looks like the bus is overloaded with men! The bus then starts its journey once they have enough passengers. Just to remind whoever wants to go to Dharamsala or McLeod Gunj by bus, make sure that you are physically (because you have to spend at least 7hours sitting on a really uncomfortable sit) and mentally challenged for the ‘crazy’ and bumpy bus ride!

 The first bus route from Amritsar is the dusty town that’s been a hub to Himachal Pradesh that is Pathankot. At this point, we could see a lot of cantonment, army vehicles going in and out from the army camp and there’s a lot of army personnel everywhere especially near the border. The bus left Pathankot after a brief stop dropping off some passengers going to Pathankot and took some passenger who wants to go to Kangra Valley or further uphill. We continued our ‘crazy bus ride’ journey by crossing the railway tracks, dried up river with a narrow road and some bridge construction on the way and the narrow road going uphill. On the way up to the uphill, I saw the most beautiful scenery of Himalayan mountain range. It was sunset. I saw the white snow covering the hilltop while the sunset shone on them. That’s where I knew that we were so close to Dharamsala. I could see that they also have an airport located on Kangra valley. I’m sure whoever came to the Himalayan Mountains by flight would have seen the panoramic view of the white snow covering the mountains top and a bright blue sky. At last, we’ve reached Dharamsala bus station at night and it was freezing cold. We had to take on our own our backpack that was on top of the bus. Maja was so excited to climb the stairs and take our bag. Thanks to the traveller that help both of us with our backpacks and Ramnik for patiently waiting for us to arrive that night. He was worried that we thought that we didn’t make it to Dharamsala. At last after long waits, he spotted us near the bus station. We were both welcomed by him and we went to his small white car where he brought us to his house. Both of us were so tired and exhausted but we were very pleased and thankful to Ramnik and his wife for their hospitality and off course to the twins! We slept early that night after taking a warm bath and excited to know what awaits us the next morning.

Waking up looking at the view of mountains in the morning!

Our breakfast

We had the first non-vegetarian dish in the morning, scramble egg and toast prepared by Ramnik’s wife and off course chai is a must to start on a lovely morning. His house was a bit isolated from the others. We can see the beautiful scenery of the mountains from his balcony. He had some small animal farm next to his house such as chickens and gooses and also some herbs. Internet connections are pretty bad in this area, Dharamsala and sometimes there will be power cuts as well. In the small town of Dharamsala, the internet connections are way better than in the house.

Our first activity in Dharamsala is jungle walk. We went on foot from the house to the small trail heading towards uphill. As we passed a bridge, we had our photos taken and the Himalayan mountain range as the background. The day was so beautiful with blue skies and the weather is not that cold like the night when we arrived in Dharamsala. I could see a group of women picking up bricks and repairing the road before we reached the bridge and took some photos. They were wearing some bangles, necklaces, ear rings and other accessories while doing the hard labour! I was amazed by their spirit to live life. I hardly see man doing such work since the day I arrived in India. It will always be the woman. We then continue our ‘morning walk’ passing by some paddy field (in Malaysia we called it padi huma). The paddies were planted on a slope of a hill in terrace. 

The trail

Maja and Ramnik

The trails were narrow and covered by the some old banyan trees and breathtaking views of the mountains and herds of cows and goats plucking the grasses. Everywhere we went; there is always green scenery everywhere. The air is so pure that you can smell the scent of trees and greens. It is so different than the air in city like Jaipur, polluted and dusty. On our way to uphill, we bumped into a lady carrying some clothes to do her laundry by the river below. She was so happy to see us, especially Maja because it’s not a common sight to see a foreigner on that particular trail. Some photos sessions and an invitation for tea from that kind lady. She still smiles after we left her. We then spotted a small old mandir under a tree and some place for us to rest for awhile. The journey continues after that and it was really a long walk. We reached home late evening, with some beautiful photos of the surrounding and sights of Dharamshala from my perspective. We had our bath and a very ‘romantic’ dinner on the balcony by the fire. Half of the house is still under construction especially the balcony. The chill air at night and some hot Bhutanese momo or dumplings, really make my day awesome and special.

The next day, we went and bought our bus ticket to Delhi at the city centre. We had the chance to go to McLeod Gunj. Ramnik was kind enough to show us around Dharamshala and McLeod Gunj that we decided to treat him lunch at McLeod Gunj. I didn’t know that the day we went to McLeod Gunj is the day that Dalai Lama had a speech on environment. We’ve missed in by an hour. We saw lots of people, especially the Tibetan monk with maroon robes, Tibetan people in traditional dress and some foreigner walking by the road side seems like they have been to some party or convention. Everyone that I met on the roadside was so friendly and always smiles on their faces. We had the best restaurant view and food too suggested by Ramnik. Always feel good if the food is superb! We walked towards the Dalai Lama’s residence. On the roadside, we were mesmerized by the handy work on the jewellery items and some Tibetan traditional crafts which is so unique and intricate. The price is reasonable but sometimes you have to learn to bargain to get the best price. It was a dream comes true to see Dalai Lama’s home even though he’s not there. There were poster about Tibet (Free Tibet!) posted on the wall and pillars. Off course the security is tight everywhere you go in India and Dharamshala also is included. They will screen you under the metal detector machine before you can enter into the temple. Seeing the monk doing some religious chanting and have the opportunity to see and understand about Buddhism was way beyond what I expected from this Dharamshala trip. Getting the chance to go and spin the pillars of wishing was a fun way to enjoy and understand more about other religion. After spending few hours at McLeod Gunj and have some souvenirs from the local Tibetan shop, we decided to take a spin to the footstep of Himalayan Mountains. We were so unlucky because the cloud covered the snowy top of the mountains and we were so hungry that we decided to grab some food. The best part is we had chai and maggie masala on Himalaya! This is the first noodle meal in our Indian trip. Later, we left for home and get ready to pack our bags and head for the city to our next destination – Delhi.

We had the best time in Dharamshala and McLeod Gunj, thanks to Ramnik and family. I will surely come again to Dharamshala someday. Another ride on a bus and hoping that the journey less bumpy and arrive safely in Delhi on time.