Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hello from Dharamshala,Northern India
Crossed over the border on Friday at Wagha,the occassion went well without too much off a delay but both the Pakistan and the Indian customs did check our bags which was painless.I did see a 95reg Dublin land crusier parked up at the border by the look of it it had been there awhile,a sticker showing sales dealer from Arklow was stuck on the back.It seemed to be travelling overland from Ireland and for what ever reason only made it to the Indian border.
Headed for Amritsar to stay at Mrs.Bhandari's guest house,just enough distance out of town as the previous few days had been very hot with temperatures in the 40's and we were stuck in cities.Mrs. Bhandari's place is a little gem for camping at,there is also rooms,i camped of course.Her grounds are spacious with good clean facilities and it comes with a small pool that i think everyone took a dive into.Even me,it was my first tandem dive against my will but William soon realised that water at any great depth for me doesn't rest comfortably.He did rescue me along with everyone else in the pool.We got to spend two nights there.
I think i last dropped you a line from Islamabad,so glad to leave that campsite.The one thing that has impressed on me is the filth that is in the streets of many of the towns and cities here in Pakistan.What we are trying to do in the western world to reduce our waste these guys over here just let it pile up on the side of the roads no matter where.Mix the aroma of open sewers in with the smell of the rubbish at you have a great combination.They seem to have no regard of how to manage their waste or regard for what waste they create.Environmental issues are not top of peoples daily lives here,scratching a daily existance together takes priority.Lots of poverty here makes me appreciate what i have and how i live ,sometimes with little regard for things.
In between Islamabad and Armitsar we visited Lahore (13th-15th June) the cultural capital of Pakistan,Lahore was quite a big place but our hotel was up to an acceptable standard,it had air-conditioning which was a must considering the temperatures were well into the 40's.In the local news many people had died due to the heat so i was really unable to do awhole lot of sight seeing.The main aim was to move slowly,stay cool and drink lots of water.I did manage to replace my camera,went for a canon powershot tx1 model.Proving to be a great little purchase so back in the picture.That evening we got dressed up in local dress and headed to Gowal Mandi (food street) for local food which was curry.A great idea and a very filling meal,had a full feeling afterwards much to my delight.Then a very dangerously quick and fast ride in a tuk tuk we went to see Sufism which is local drumming,chanting and dancing in an open air temple.Packed to capacity and full of men.The only women were tourists hence why we dressed in local dress and kept ourselves covered so as not to draw any unwanted attention.Which became important towards the end of the night.The night was very hypnotic and i get the impression that there were other things involved in reaching the hypnotic state the dancers had achieved.There was a lot of head nodding and shaking with the dancers breaking into spins of high speed how they didn't fall over dizzy i do not know.We left the event a little early in the morning (1a.m) it still seemed to be in full swing but as we left the girls in the group (Polly,Lorna and myself) got a lot of male attention.We only had wee Martin and Will to try and fend off the wandering hands of the locals.This is not uncommon in this country,it got a little uncomfortable for all concerned and for the first time i felt threatened and frightened.Eventually we escaped in a tuk tuk back to the safety of our hotel.
Back to Armitsar,it is the largest city in Punjab and also home to the Golden temple which is golden.It is surrounded by a shallow lake where the devote are aloud to bathe in the shallow waters,i did get to stick my feet in the water and look over at he Golden temple in the distance.The golden temple is surrounded by other temples with significant meanings.I was surprised to see so many people visiting here,the women made me smile it was so nice ti see them in such colourful clothes with patterns.A very welcome change from the oppressive blacks of Pakistan and Iran,their faces unveiled but still wearing scarves over their shoulders.Left Armitsar Sunday morning at 7a.m,we had some soft rain, warm and lovely on the face,i got to put my tent down in it,a little wet on the truck for the first little bit of our journey.That was our first sign that we are entering monsoon season.
India so far has been welcoming and notably cleaner and more hygienic.I am in Dharamshala in the Himachal area of northern India home to the Dali Lama.I visited his temple and monastery today,lots of Buddists monks floating about the place.Seeing the temples was quite something,when the monks are not chanting you can hear the chime of the bell from the turning of the prayer wheel.There are many prayer wheels surrounding the temple and as you walk around it you are meant to turn each wheel once in a clockwise direction.Dharmashala is a very recently built town that has grown around the Dali Lama's home and very tourist orientated.Dharmashala is surrounded by pine tree forests and is set amongst the rocky ridges of the Dhauladhar range which rises steeply from the Kangra valley (4600m).You can trek from here also and the Himalayas are close by.
I travel to Delhi tomorrow not sure if we will cover all the distance to make it there by the evening.I have one day in Delhi only because i'm flying to Kathmandu,Nepal to trek to Everest base camp,this trek will be extra for me and will take two weeks to complete.I will be leaving the truck for two weeks but will have the company of two other fellow truckers with me.We meet back up with the truck in Kathmandu.I'm hoping when i reach Delhi that i will have enough time to take a train down to see the Taj Mahal because i'll miss it by leaving the group in Delhi but it is something that i can see again on my travels.
Lots of love Ave x x x x x x
Happy Father's day Dad,i did think of you.
I have coverage on my phone so please text/call,but once i enter Nepal no service again( leave India on the 21st) also i'm 5hrs ahead of you all.
- comments