We were taken to a high lookout area and again we were totally absorbed by the beauty of the Himalayas. We had marsala tea in the sun next to a cafe called Angel Cafe because it is close to the skies and heaven.

Upper Dharamshala iss where most the tourist action happens but also is where the Dalai Lama resides when he is here. We visited the Tibetan complex with its temples and was a place of high security with body search and no cameras or mobile phones. It was interesting to visit but no photos … here are some snapshots of the local market and restaurant areas including one of the butcher and one of the hairdresser.

The second day of 7 hour travel got us to Dharamshala and we felt relieved that at least we had two full days to enjoy. The journey from Nalagarrh was slowed by roadworks along the mountainous roads, mostly due to many landslides which occur regularly but may have been made worse last June. Really large boulders and rocks made the already narrow roads difficult to drive on, especially when the road works often took up half the road. Lucky we have such a great driver who seems to be able to negotiate almost any obstacle which is placed in front of him… whether it be static or moving … animal, vegetable or mineral!!

When we reached our room, the view from the balcony was stunning with the background of the Himalayan range with its snow-capped peaks.

Our hotel is out of town and in amongst some villages … I decided to use the vivid colour setting on the camera because the colours of the washing didn’t show up well enough!!!

We were taken to a Tibetan Centre with a Buddhist temple and workshops … all arts and crafts with painting, woodwork, sculpture and sewing.

Inside the temple there were many paintings and beautiful fabrics and wall hangings. There was a large Buddha statue and in front a photograph of the Dalai Lama.

We went to a Buddhist monastery with 1300 resident training monks including some children. The monastery also provides schooling as well as religious training. Something which it provides is the best ginger lemon and honey drink I have ever had… delicious and cost about 50 cents.

Speaking about food, many places we have eaten have a TV going all the time. This seems to provide entertainment both for the customers and the staff. This morning we had breakfast with cricket and tonight we had the Bollywood TV awards. One night in Delhi, the TV was continuous ads for chocolate condoms. Last night we had our first taste of Tibetan food. We are used to ordering spicy in Indian food so we did the same. The chilli factor was noticably different and my eyes and nose ran for about 1/2 hour continuously. Very tasty though.

We went a bit south to a place called Kangara and visted more markets and temples. The various presentations for rice is interesting, and there were Indian muesli bars and all sort of sweets with various seeds.

A stall for weddings and celebrations with all the dazzle and sparkle needed.

There are large river systems which come from the Himalayas and the river beds are very broad. In the winter, there is less water running and we have noticed large areas of sand and rocks, large and small. These are commonly used for drying washing which is laid out on the rocks, playing cricket, tents to sleep in, drying cow dung and collecting rocks and stones.

Travelling from Rishikesh to Dharamshala by road is more than 500km. Travel is slow as the traffic and roads don’t allow for fast travel. We needed ro allow two full days of travel and so we stopped overnight in Nalagarrh Fort which is an old palace. As forts are, we found ourselves on top of a hill with views over Nalagarrh.

We were upgraded to a suite with a separate loungeroom. This shows the entrance to our suite. Very lucky.