A Dash of Dharamshala!

We got to McLeod Ganj, also known as Dharamshala or Upper Dharamshala (as there is a large Indian market town below it formally known as Dharamshala).  From here on in I'll just call it D'sala!
It's an area that was offered to the Tibetans by Nehru, after the attempted abduction by the Chinese, and flight into India from Tibet, of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.  This has become a huge refugee stop for Tibetans fleeing persecution by the Chinese, and the centre of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
For the last number of years it has also become a huge tourist destination for Indians, and growth of supporting businesses has exploded, along with the (often insane) number of cars that try to drive through it's tiny car-unfriendly streets. Like other small places, for a short term visitor it has lost a lot of it's small town charm, but there is enough there in terms of live Tibetan culture to make it worth travelling to.  One thing is, it seems to be relatively easy to get to, but leaving....a lot less comfy on the overnight buses or catching a train in the plains below.

I'll post some more pics soon.

Click on the pics to embiggen!

The ever present prayer flags

A look towards a part of the town

Quite the labyrinth of  buildings and streets.  When we left we were told a number were being closed and taken down.

 The next few pics are the view from our hotel room balcony.  A lot better than staring into the town.

Bushes are usefull for ....drying hotel sheets!

If there's an undeveloped flat area, make it flatter & cultivate!

A quite low traffic bit of street....this is sometimes completely packed with cars of Indian tourists, trying to get...?

Low traffic moment....on the weekends it's quite nuts.

A very innovative way of making a place to park your bike on the side of a hill.

I love the way Tibetans will fill places with flower baskets of all sorts.  Saw it back in 1979, and still doing it.

Nice veggies stands!

Right....every shop run is same-same but different.  One of the Kashmiri shop guys said to us, 'why don't you drop in some time...it's all the same Indian shit, but why not?'

Tibetan run side of the street stalls.

Sikh mobile bike knife seller and sharpener.

Of course it is.

Just outside D'sala, on the way to Bhagsu.

Workers making big rocks into little ones, and moving them.

Straight up adrenaline excitement....on a non-working free Tibet bike.

These stairs show only about 1/4 or  1/3 of the whole span...we had to walk up these every day from our hotel.  Tibetans would handle them slowly but steadily.

On a warm spot of the steps, catching some heat....and a few scritches.

Water delivery is, let's say, complex.

Our fave breakfast restaurant....they had Gluten Free breads and pancakes!!!  They also had a nice upstairs room.

The Buddhist temple in the centre of town.

...and Momo sellers lined up along the street along the prayer wheels of the temple.  Makes it even a bit tougher for cars!  ...and DARN, I can no longer eat any of the lovely Momos since I've become 'celiac' (found out just before we came).

Drying off little clay offerings

An older Tibetan lady making her way up the street....

...and still heading to wherever!

A monk who would come into our breakfast restaurant.

...and a somewhat more esoteric monk on the street.

Painting a beautiful thanka on the side of the road.

There has been a real awareness over many years in D'sala on the human impact on the environment.  It's still a real struggle, as  for many people it hasn't been in the forefront, and many of the outsiders who own business don't seem to care, but HHDL has come out quite strongly for environmental awareness and action, so we do see the sign of the attempts all around the areas.

The Director of the Green Office in D'sala.

Girls having some collective skateboard fun after school.

Young monks fixing a remote control car

The Tibetan Martyrs obelisk at the entrance to His Holiness'  residence.

Prayer wheels

In His Holiness' chapel

 Next few pics are of a prayer ceremony going on at HHDL's chapel

Tibetan tea is served at certain points during the prayer ceremony.