7 years ago I ended up in China after riding the Transiberian Express across Russia and through Mongolia. It was my intention to wade through China and end up in Tibet. A place that had fascinated me all my life. After several weeks of wading through China's urban jungles gathering information, ideas and stories it became apparent I had little chance of making it to Tibet, without forking out a ton of cash. Since I'd left Scotland with less than £3000 I decided to head in the direction of Vietnam.
Five years later I was living in India with a wife and two dogs. She was heading home and I was to stay for 4 months and finalise paperwork and prepare the export of the two dogs we rescued. As a parting gift to ourselves, we took a three week trip to the Himalayas from our hot and stuffy dwellings in Pune. We first visited Delhi, then Rishikesh before finishing up our excursion as close to Tibet as I'll ever probably get. Dharashala, the Tibetan refuge. The home of the 14th Dalai Lama. The very town he ended up in after fleeing across the Himalayas from Chinese persecution. I thought maybe it would feel authentic, somewhat like I'd actually visited Tibetan soil, but my hopes were low.
Wow. Dharamshala was alive with the sound of activism. Here bred a new form of Buddhism and Tibetan pride. The atmosphere was nationalistic, hopeful. Shops sold images of defiance, emblems, and slogans. Students paraded the streets with flyers, information and a verve swagger. It was modern Tibet, a thriving community of the beat old school monks and young Buddhist punks ready to set Tibet free. It reminded me of home, the indy ref and the movement that came with it. I distictly remember I became instantly sad at this thought.
Dharamshala gets a pretty grim influx of Tibetans who desired to join the movement and study Buddhism. Above we see the cramped and sketchy housing the several Universities offer. The place does seem rather full, but if you removed all the tourists I don't think it would feel so manic. Tourism is also a very valuable asset to the Tibetan Independence Movement, it brings funds, it creates worldwide exposure and most importantly it shows the Chinese occupation for what it is, leaving little room for denial. So it is worth the overcrowding that come with it.
We took a walk through the Dalai Lama's residence gardens which is free to visit for anyone at anytime. We were surprised by a family of gorgeous cows having an afternoon trot and chat up the path.
A defining symbol of Tibet are these Tibetan Prayer Flags which dominate the countryside.
Captured this wonderful moment of the old and modern colliding as an old Tibetan women chats into an Iphone on her way down an ancient pathway.
Two monkeys grooming each other. I catch one's eye then the mother catches mine. She bore her teeth and I knew it was time to doddle on. Can't be too cautious around the monkeys in India. They are cunning and will have you in tangles if you deserve it.
Street dogs in Dharashala looked well-fed, well respected and perfectly happy. Nowhere else in India did I witness such compassion towards them as here.
I not sure how clear it is in the photo, but beyond where those constructing workers are standing is a sheer drop of about 1000ft, and of course, they're not wearing safety ropes, it's India mate.
Two Kashmiri lads selling some high-quality handmade carpets from Kashmir. We wanted to visit Kashmir but there were major floods at the time we wanted to visit. For any year I guess.
This gentleman made the best Samoas in town. I hope you enjoyed reading this mini article and liked the photographs. Leaving me a comment if you did :)
Have a nice day,
C Lazarus.