Dharamsala

So, I've now come up into the foothills of the Himilayas to Dharamsala, the home of the Tibetan goverment in exile (Dalai Lama etc). He apparently is at home, but not giving another public audience for two or three months. The most I'm likely to see of him is a shadowy figure as he's whisked past me in a car when I'm walking in the street. Never mind, he's not going to meet me either!

It's cooler than the plains up here, but not nearly as cold as northern Pak. Beautiful area, in fact, with wooded slopes, a fine view of the Indian plains and soaring peaks providing a backdrop. If it doesn't get too cold, I may have another go of staying for a while to do some writing. I travelled up here in the company of a very bright mathematician (Stu) and mathematical physicist (Tim). Stu is starting his mathematics PhD next year and seems happy to tutor me in the advanced mathematics I need for some of my science writing. So, I've been doing some background work already.

They have an 'open mike' session at the local cafe in the town - Khana Nirvana. So, last night I was giving them renditions of 'Pale Blue Eyes' and 'Angels' with my guitar (yes, it is still with me!). The nerves of performing in front of 60+ people (10 times more than I've ever done before) caused me to fluff a couple of chords. But it otherwise seemed to go all right and I asked an Ozzie girl to video it for me for posterity.

The atmosphere is certainly more relaxed here in India than Pakistan, as I'm now back on the beaten track. This makes things easier, but I also miss the sense of adventure I had in Pak where I didn't see any other westerners for weeks at a time.

My original plan for this trip was to catch the ship from Madras to Penang in Malaysia, but I've just been discovering from the web that this ship no longer exists. Not sure what will be happening after India/Sri Lanka then, as I want to avoid flying if I can.

Over and out,

Gareth