Just saw the Dalai Lama

I've been up in McLead Ganj for a few days now (this is the town that you really go to when you go to Dharamsala). Tucked up on a mountainside, it's a small and beautiful Tibetan enclave that houses both the Dalai Lama and the government-in-exile of Tibet. The scenery is lovely here and it would be a good place to hole up for a while and hide from the world. Which is what quite a few people seem to be doing. There is quite a community of long-term expats here, and many different volunteering and teaching opportunities to keep busy. Also tons of yoga, meditation, message, etc which makes it a good place to rejuvenate and reconnect. I've found a great yoga teacher and have been taking classes from him.



The other major attraction here is trekking into the mountains. There must be 20 different companies leading treks in this tiny town. I went on an intense day hike by myself. Starting in this nearby village, I stumbled on a path that led up a steep mountain to this stone tower on an outcropping jutting out into thin air (on three sides there were cliffs falling hundreds of feet). In front of the tower lay a flat slate area that was perfect to sit and meditate for a while. A very spiritual place.





Today I was coming out of a Tibetan message when I saw people drawing these elaborate symbols with chalk on the road. A crowd was gathering to watch them and I thought - must be for some ceremony or something. Then as I was walking back to my hotel I saw monks start to gather in front of the entrance gate to the town and a news reporter talking into a camera and it suddenly clicked for me that the Dalai Lama was arriving in town! He had been previously in Delhi recuperating from an illness and it had been unclear when he might be coming back. I rushed to get my video camera and waited in the crowd for and hour and a half. Tibetans were waving their flag, or white silk scarves, and burning incense. The crowd got very tight, and huge tour buses kept on having to drive right through the middle of it (there's pretty much one main road in McLeod Ganj). Then suddenly he was there, smiling and bowing to everyone in the seat of his SUV. I was probably about 5 feet away from him. What an unexpected blessing!