Dharamshala

We arrived in Dharamshala after an incredibly tiring 14 hour bus ride. We then proceeded to walk 8 miles uphill in the dark (it was 2am), haunted by packs of dogs in the streets and not knowing whether we were in danger of wild animals or other things. We checked into a hotel and had some breakfast. The man at the hotel was singing a Hindi song in the kitchen while preparing our food. The song was "Tere naam" and Grant briefly chatted in Hindi about it. We decided to look around a bit before resting, and met a guy named Tenzin who we practiced more Hindi with. I asked if the Dalai Lama was here right now (since Dharamshala is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile), but he didn't think we would get to see him. About ten minutes later we saw him drive by in a car. Later I visited the Namgyal Monastery, which is part of the whole temple complex that includes the Dalai Lama's residence. The temple as a building is not as impressive as the giant buddha inside and the one enormous prayer wheel filled with thousands of prayers. Having seen the Dalai Lama, we don't think there is much else to do here, so tomorrow we plan to go to the Punjab to visit the city of Amritsar.

Sincerely,
Garrett