Shimla

Shimla was the hill station that made up the official summer capital of the British Raj. It is located in northern India in the state of Himachal Predesh. Every summer until 1939, the entire Indian government fled here from the heat. Today it is a popular hill station for Indian tourists and especially honeymooners.

The city centre contains beautiful, old, British style buildings among gardens. There is a long, winding, pedestrians only Mall at the city centre with restaurants, shops, museums, and a church. Due to the style of buildings and the cleanliness of the streets on the Mall, it doesn't feel like you are in India. Although I have never been, the Mall is what I would expect England to look like.

One evening we went for dinner at Shimla's top five star hotel, the Oberoi Cecil. I would describe the hotel as having colonial elegance. The buffet dinner was multi-cuisine including great Indian dishes and there was a friendly staff that was there to serve you. It was fun to spend the evening at this hotel as it captured the elegance and class of Shimla before it became more popular for tourism.  

Rishikesh

Rishikesh is the yoga capital of the world with all styles of yoga and meditation being practised. Almost every hotel, guesthouse, or hostel has yoga classes and many people also choose to stay at an ashram. It is about an hour drive away from Haridwar and is also situated on the fast slowing Ganges River, coming from the Himalayas. Rishikesh is a popular place for backpackers and those seeking a spiritual experience and especially popular at this time of year to escape the heat of the rest of the country to the south.

In the last 60s the Beatles spent time in Rishikesh at the ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Four of the Beatles and their partners stayed at this ashram and they ended up writing many songs for their White Album.

During my time in Rishikesh I stayed in a guesthouse for 200 rupees ($4 CDN) a night, which had two daily yoga classes located two doors down from my room.

There are several men, called sadhus, who walk around in Rishikesh wearing orange robes. These men are on a spiritual journey. They travel carrying all of their possessions and live from the money and food that people give to them. They spend their days praying and meditating, often with the help of drugs. One day I was crossing the pedestrian bridge and one sadhu stopped me. I thought that he was going to ask for money but instead he just wanted me to give him props (fist punch). It was totally unexpected but really funny at the time. 

Across a pedestrian-only bridge over the Ganges River is the popular area in Rishikesh called Lakshman Jula. Lakshman Jula is a riverside community with temples, ashrams, restaurants, and guesthouses. It is the kind of place where it is easy to spend lazy days hanging out. There is one Hindu temple in Lakshman Jula that stands 13 stores tall and looks like a wedding cake. Each floor has dozens of shrines of Hindu deities among jewelry and clothing stores. All day long this temple is full with people walking around the floors ringing bells and making their way to the top.

Just down the road from Lakshman Jula there are quiet sandy beaches where you can swim in the Ganges River.

Swag Ashram is the spiritual centre of Rishikesh, which is downstream from Lakshman Jula. One evening I went to Swag Ashram to watch the river worship called puja. Puja is a religious ritual performed by Hindus in which they give an offering and receive a blessing. We arrived before the ritual would be performed and sat on the ghat at the river. Very close to where we were sitting there was a small temple in which men and women were chanting some kind of prayer. I could not understand a word that they were saying but it was interesting just to listen and watch people bathing in the Ganges. Men would jump in wearing only their boxer shorts, while the women had to wear their full saris.  

Haridwar

Haridwar is located where the holly Ganges River emerges from the Himalayas. Large groups of pilgrims come to Haridwar to bathe in the fast flowing waters of the Ganges. The main spiritual area in Haridwar is Har-ki-Pairi Ghat, which is on the western bank of the Ganges canal. It is a very sacred place for Hindus where they can wash away their sins, much like Varanasi.

I was amazed by the amount of people gathering at the Har-ki-Pairi Ghat. It was chaotic but also very interesting to observe the spirituality of the rituals. Now is a popular time for families to visit Haridwar because the schools have a month break and, as the country is heating up, it is more comfortable to head north and escape the heat (40-45+ degrees Celsius).

Shopping in Delhi

Sarojini Nagar Market, located in the south part of Delhi, is an amazing place to get quality western clothing, shoes, and stuff for the home at very cheap prices. It is comparable to Canal Street in New York in terms of the shopping experience although better quality products and more bargaining.

The clothing is manufactured in India and is dumped here either because there was an export surplus or because it came from a cancelled line. In the clothing section of the market you will see brand names such as Gap, Old Navy, H&M, Calvin Clein, Levis, and Billabong, among others. It is an outdoor market so there is nowhere to try on the clothing before purchase but that is part of the fun when you are paying two dollars for a top or four dollars for a dress. It is similar to shopping at winners in that you have spend some time looking through piles and racks of clothes to get that great deal but fully worth the effort. At least every week, the market gets new products in and the men who work at the market are more interested in clearing their stock than charging prices comparable to what these products are worth in western shopping malls. Using my best bargaining skills I got some great deals on western clothing that I have missed as I have exchanged them for more modest and temperature appropriate Indian attire. I think that the most I paid for a clothing item was eight dollars.

The first time that I arrived at the market I was a little unsure about what to expect because I have learned to take Lonely Planet (guide book) recommendations more critically. Often these markets are totally overstated in the book compared to reality but this market did not let me down. It was unlike any other markets that I have seen in India. I stepped out of the auto rickshaw and saw women leaving the market each holding multiple plastic shopping bags full of clothing. I knew that I was in the right place! After spending four months in India I have gotten used to thinking about costs in rupees and realizing how little I could spend. I was having a hard time spending real money at department stores for western style clothing so this market was perfect for me.

 My most recent travels in the last week and a half back through Rajasthan and then to northern India have taken me through Delhi twice and I have been to the Sarojini Nagar Market on each of these stops. I have one more chance to go to the market before my flight home to Canada and I plan to spend the last of my rupees there.

Chandigarh

Chandigarh was built as the new capital of Punjab following Partition. The Swiss-born architect, Le Corbusier, meant the city to be for the people and it's set up is very unique. The city is divided into a series of sectors that are numbered and often look the same. There are pedestrian plazas, wide tree-lined roads, public gardens, and an artificial lake. Le Corbusier's plan was to create low density, low rise housing divided into 1 square kilometre neighbourhood sectors, each self-contained with their own shops, schools, and places of worship.

Apart from the experimental and modern urban planning, the main reason that I went to Chandigarh was for the Nek Chand Fantasy Rock Garden. Nek Chand was a road inspector in Chandigarh who came from Pakistan after Partition. He had no formal education beyond high school. Chand was taken aback by the amount of garbage that was generated by the clearing of villages in the construction of Chandigarh and he began creating sculptures out of the garbage. Chand continued his work for about 15 years until a government survey crew stumbled upon them. The garden of recycled garbage structures was located on government land and should have been demolished but the government recognized the garden as a cultural asset. Chand was given 50 workers and paid a salary so he could devote himself to his work.

Today the garden is 25 acres and is a very popular attraction in the country. The entrance fee to this garden was very reasonable at the equivalent of 30 cents and all this money goes towards the maintenance and further development of the garden. 

Manali

Manali is located in northern India between the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal mountain ranges. It is a small town with a river flowing through the middle of it. Tourists and backpackers come to Manali for the beauty of the mountains and for the outdoor adventure activities.

According to legend, Manu, the Hindu equivalent of Noah, aligned his boat here to recreate human life after floods destroyed the world.

I stayed in Old Manali, which still has the feel of an Indian mountain village with beautiful old wood houses.

Missing my Canadian winter I thought that I would take the opportunity to go snowboarding in Manali since it was possible. On my second day in Manali I left at 6:30 in the morning to head out to the mountain. I was not expecting how physically challenging the day would be but it was a really great experience. We drove half an hour out of Manali and up part of a mountain then I had to walk the rest of the way up with a guide.

I was wearing my full snowboard gear with my board attached to my backpack. I remember at one point after we had been walking for about 20 minutes straight up the mountain I asked the guide how long we would have to walk because it was really tiring and he causally said that we would probably walk for another two to three hours! Along the way I needed to take tons of breaks- much more than the guide who does this three to four times a week.

The best part of the day was every time that I took a break and looked at the mountains around me and they looked so much more impressive the higher that we got. We got above the tree line and finally started to ski and board down at 4300 feet.

I met another group on the way up who were camping on the snow for three days and skiing during the day. They joined us walking up for the last 45 minutes and we skied and boarded down together. It took us about 30 minutes to get down.

Dharamsala (McLeod Ganj)

From Amritsar I headed north with a group of my friends to escape the heat. The drive from Amritsar to McLeod Ganj became very scenic as we could start to see the Himalayas and get out of congested cities. The air became fresher as we got into Himachal Pradesh (the state where Dharamsala is located).

McLeod Ganj is about 4 km above the town of Dharamsala and it is the home of the Tibetan government in exile and the Dalai Lama (unfortunately he was away during my stay). There is a large Tibetan population living in McLeod Ganj, many of whom are refugees.

McLeod Ganj is a really calm and peaceful place in the mountains with plenty of backpackers passing through and some even staying for longer periods of time. It is the kind of place where it is so comfortable and relaxing to stay for a long time. There many short walks around McLeod Ganj as well as longer multi-day treks in the mountains.

My favourite walk was the kora (ritual circuit) of the Tsuglagkhang Complex, which comprises the official residence of the Dalai Lama, the Namgyal Gompa where you can see monks debating, the Tibet Museum, and the Tsuglagkhang temple. This circuit must be carried out in a clockwise direction. The path leads down a hill and through a forested trail with prayer flags all around. Tibetans believe that the prayers and mantras on the flags will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into the surrounding space. Along the walk there are many rows of prayer wheels and two huge prayer wheels that you must spin as you pas by. According to Tibetan Buddhism, spinning the wheel will have the same affect as saying the prayer. Prayer wheels are used to accumulate wisdom and good karma and to purify bad karma.

Every morning this ritual circuit is filled with Tibetan monks and nuns in their red robes carrying prayer beads behind their backs and saying prayers.

There is a longer hike to Triund, which takes a full day. All along the way up the mountain there are chai stalls and the water gets slowly more and more expensive. We understood why this was when we saw that the water and food is carted up the mountain on the backs of donkeys. It took us just over three hours to reach the top where there was a chai and snack stall and a place to stay the night. It was possible to stay the night then hike up to the snowline but we only spent one day.

Through my time in McLeod Ganj I gained more perspective on the Tibet political situation and I am truly amazed by the strength of Tibetan people but also the lack of international interest and involvement in the issue. According to what I learned about the political situation, the Chinese are in violation of the human rights of Tibetan people through forced sterilization and denying their freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They hold strict control over Tibetan people, with many of them living in fear and it is hard for Tibetans to leave the country and escape to India. There are two ways for Tibetans to get to India. The first is that if they are lucky enough they can get a Nepal visa from the government and go to India Tibet. The other way is by taking a dangerous 9 day trek through the snow covered Himalayas. This journey can not be completed by the very young or old so many people who come to India this way must leave their families.

It is a very complex situation and I am still interested to learn more. One afternoon I went to the Tibet museum and watched a documentary as well as powerful footage of recent events in Tibet. This was a very moving and powerful experience for me. The footage showed violent riots and protests as well as self incineration. Self incineration is a form of suicide in which the person, often a monk, will set themselves on fire in a public place as an extreme way to bring attention to an issue or injustice. It was very difficult to see and I can not believe that the situation is so extreme but I had barely heard about it on the news or in my classes at home. One night I was going out for dinner and I saw a group of monks walking together, each holding candles and chanting. My friend suspected that there had just been another self incineration.

McLeod Ganj is such a calm and peaceful place and with the kind people and beautiful mountain landscape it is easy to temporarily overlook the extreme situation in Tibet. However on every corner there are women knitting “Free Tibet” hats and posters everywhere that say “Tibet is not a part of China”.

I actually didn't eat any Indian food during my time in McLeod Ganj because there were so many new food options. Tibetan food includes many noodle soups as well as Momos. Momos are similar to a dumpling except there is a different kind of dough. They can either be steamed or fryed and the filling can be chicken, vegetable, or my personal favourite, spinach, cheese, and mushroom. You eat momos with a really spicy chilli sauce and can get them on every street for 10 rupees (20 cents).

There are also many really good cafes serving real coffee and sandwiches. One morning I was having breakfast at one such cafe of french toast and a cappuccino and was on the wifi. A Kings of Leon song was playing and I looked around and there were backpackers from all over the world in the cafe. I felt as though I could be back home or in any other place than India.

There is also great Chinese and Japanese restaurants in McLeod Ganj and many are run with Tibetan NGOs.

There is a community cafe in McLeod Ganj called Oasis Cafe, which is run by a Tibetan NGO. Everyday at 11:00am there is a volunteer opportunity to teach English to Tibetan people for an hour and I one day I got involved. I was speaking with a 37 year old monk and a 22 year old female student. They were both lucky enough to get Nepal visas and come to India from Nepal. They did not have to make the treacherous trek through the mountains. Both told me that they had family in Tibet.

Oasis Cafe also hosts different awareness and fundraising events for the Tibet situation. One night I went to a documentary showing on the life of the Dalai Lama. The film followed the Dalai Lama through his life and interactions with international political leaders and he seemed to be very wise and down to earth. In many parts of the documentary he would laugh when asked about the realities of the situation with China. I think that he recognizes how inhumane China is treating the Tibetan people and it is so bad that you have to laugh. I thought that Tibet wanted independence from China but the Dalai Lama recognized that it would be beneficial for Tibet to be a part of China but that they should be free from strict Chinese control of their freedom, especially religious freedom.