Hello from San Francisco! where I have been sleeping off jet lag and travel fatigue…a sixteen-hour flight is no joke, although considerably cushier than, say, a twelve-hour bus ride to Delhi, in the back of the bus. Sixteen hours of jet lag is nothing to sneeze at, either…
SARS (the pneumonia virus thing) was [...]
Just a quick note to let you all know I’m OK…I made it to Bangkok, after 36 hours of travel hell in India. I now understand why the Delhi airport is crawling with soldiers, armed with rifles and submachine guns: after 36 hours of dealing with double-dealing taxi drivers, extortionate bus drivers, and clamoring beggars, [...]
Well, I’ve been back in Dharamsala for a couple days now, and have been going to the Dalai Lama’s teachings. These are three and a half hour affairs, 1-4:30pm, and are quite interesting…he teaches at many different levels at once, from very basic introduction to deep philosophy. (It’s impossible to tell how deep since the [...]
Well, I spent last night sleeping with a guru…
No, no, I didn’t do anything that would mess up my karma. I spent last night up in the caves, and since there’s a puja going on, the place was packed–so the only place for me to sleep, was the main cave, with the shrine to Guru [...]
Well. I hardly know what to say…
I mean, I’ve joked a lot about selling off the excess guys who’ve approached me in my travels, but as it happens, I’ve actually been handed one to sell. Anyone want a househusband?? He’ll do the dishes, wash the laundry, and change the diapers…and pay you to boot. All [...]
Well. I have spent a very happy day today, mostly shooting up heroin.
I mean, looking at thangkas and carpets. (The effect is very similar. )
Thangkas, in case you didn’t know, are Tibetan religious paintings, usually done on fabric. (Thin cotton, sized with paint to produce a smooth surface.) They typically feature one or more [...]
I have put up the first set of photos from India, mostly from Rewalsar, but a little bit from Mandi and the road to Dharamsala, too. I have also added some photos to the Laos section:
http://www.travelingtiger.com/travelingtiger/india/rewalsar.htm
http://www.travelingtiger.com/travelingtiger/laos/misc.htm
I haven’t yet put up the Akha photos, but I may not get around to those until I get back [...]
Well, I saw the Dalai Lama today…from about five feet away.
I’ve been in Dharamsala for two days now, having arrived on the 8th with a Tibetan activist woman named Tenzin. She used to live in Tibet, and came out to India fairly recently. I asked her if she ever went back, and she [...]
Well. I’ve now been up on the mountain for a couple days, coming down sporadically to catch a hot shower and email before heading back up. It’s been an interesting experience…I don’t speak a word of Tibetan, and this being Losar all the translators are busy with their families, but I have been surprisingly included [...]
Well, tomorrow is Losar, the Tibetan New Year, and it looks like I’ll be spending it up on the mountain with the cave yogis, nuns, etc…I went up yesterday to deliver Lena’s Losar gifts to the community, and wound up getting invited to stay over. So I ran down, got my pack, and am headed [...]