New Ideas, New Energy
Currently it is raining in Mcloed Ganj, a small Tibetan town North of Dharamshala. It's getting cold here, especially at night when we couldn't make it without our 5 dollar space heater. It's supposed to snow soon say the locals, maybe I'll be used to the snow when I get back after all! This is also the place where the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists) has been residing since his exile when China took over Tibet in 1959. We were fortunate enough to see him when he was doing a talk...but it was all in Tibetan so we didn't understand a thing!
Back in Rishikesh, afetr an early morning yoga class, Logan and I decided to follow-up on a contact we got from a 60-year-old Danish man in Kathmandu. He was a wise man and claimed to have sustainable farming units in Australia and planned to buy and in Nepal. He also has a small ayurvedic garden just outside Rishikesh. Our hotel manager, after a crazy and wild motorcycle adventure, brought us to the home of Nautiyal. He spoke little English but we could feel he was very excited to have us in his home, us being friends of Dadu's (the old man), which he referred to as either Mr. Cook or my guru. His wife wipped up a fine meal (everything from their farming) and served us fresh lemon grass tea from the garden....so delicious! He talked about agriculture, Dadu and medicine. I was so fascinated, this man truly lived off the land. He then showed us Dadu's garden, maybe 100 sq feet, and explained that all that plants were for. I realized Dadu must have been a very healthy man! Seeing my enthusiasm, he took us on a 2km walk to the government herb garden up the road. I have never seen such a garden, almost a km worth of aloe vera plants. Everything that could grow in that climate was there, with little signs saying what the plants were and what they were used for. At that moment I realized that herbal medicine was my passion. I suppose I already knew this, but seeing it in action made me decide that, come this spring, I'm building a greenhouse and I'm growing things. There's something powerful about growing and watching a plant and then harvesting it. From there, the possibilities are endless. Teas, tinctures, infusions, concoctions, poultices, rubs, oils, capsules....oh I love it. I bought a book on ayurveda that all bookstores seem to recommend and can't wait to get home to do my research. (So Pa, this is why I asked for a greenhouse for Xmas, even if it's just a stick with some plastic!)
In our last day in Rishikesh (we wasted some days due to food poisoning...I think) we wondered down to the River Ganga...this was the last time we would be so close and it was the purest place other than the glacier itself. I collected some water, some sand (which was so sparkly silver) and several insteresting stones. I soaked my feet and watched the sunset, feeling like a lost child who finally found home. It's difficult to leave such a beautiful place, but once the sun sets it gets awfully chilly.
Onwards to Mcloed Ganj, it was another CRAZY trip. From a bumpy bus ride back to Haridwar then a night train to Pathankot, we were once again put to the test. (I love these little tests!) Thankfully, a large group of Indian teenage girls shared our space (there's 8 bunks per room) on the train and they sang beautiful songs and spoke good english. Logan sang for them (which, of course, they loved) and I declined and showed them some pictures I had drawn. they didn't seem to understand that people don't just sing to themselves in Canada like they do here and so I didn't feel comfortable singing in front of them. Really exposed my insecurities that's for sure. Then, realizing that we hadn't packed supper for the train ride (apparently most people just don't eat!) they pulled out some home-cooked chapati and curry and offered us a serving. Can't tell you how nice it was to eat some food that was made by this young girls mother...you could almost taste the love. Finally we settled (you know how it is with a group of girls!) and woke up at 3.30am to get off at our stop. Wasn't so rough until we found out that the bus to Dharmsala only comes at 630. So we sat around at the train station in the wee hours of the morning...hum, this is familiar, I thought! Three hours later, we go out to catch our bus and see it pulling away, apparently it was 6, not 630. Never trust an Indian who only nods his head. So instead of waiting for the next one, another hour, we splurged on a personal taxi. But after realizing how crazy the switch-backs were on the road, we were glad we opted out of the 4 hour bus ride for the 2 hour taxi. I honestly hadn't slept more than 1 hour the entire night so I was beyond exhausted, to the point were I was feeling sick. All-nighters are not very cool! We arrived at a cold hotel run by buddhists monks and stayde there one night until we found the place of our dreams!
It's on the edge of town, and has huge windows that look over the forest so it's very quiet. It's got a gas burner which is my favorite part, we can now boil our own water and even cook some rice and curry. all this for Rs.400. ($10) Actually, the very best part is that we get to share it with Cory, our long-time friend who decided to spend a few weeks in India before he goes off to New Zealand for 3 months. He's a wonderful cook, it works out nicely as I clean the dishes and pick the veggies at the market and he cooks some amazing dishes! Plus we always have tea on the stove!
We've been here for almost a week now and all three of us took a Indian cooking class, and Cory and I are taking a 6-day universal massage course. Our teacher, Mahinder, is such a good guy! We've been keeping busy with lots of reading, exploring our forest and doing some shopping.
Can't tell you how nice it is to have another person to talk to, just having a new energy around (especially Cory's!) is so refreshing.
On a side note, I want to say how amazing the mind is. I had convinced myself (and Logan) that we had giardia. All the symptoms were there so finally we brought some samples to the hospital to get them analyzed. turns out there's nothing there. This took me by surprised...but I instantly started feeling better, and by the end of the next day it had all cleared up. It's crazy how powerful the mind is.
We've also been doing lots of shopping...so many beautiful things!
So this blog was rather dull and narrative, but I'm feeling really good. Just trying to stay myself and interact with that world without judgement and pre-conceived ideas. Living in the now is just so much more fun!
Much love everyone!
Back in Rishikesh, afetr an early morning yoga class, Logan and I decided to follow-up on a contact we got from a 60-year-old Danish man in Kathmandu. He was a wise man and claimed to have sustainable farming units in Australia and planned to buy and in Nepal. He also has a small ayurvedic garden just outside Rishikesh. Our hotel manager, after a crazy and wild motorcycle adventure, brought us to the home of Nautiyal. He spoke little English but we could feel he was very excited to have us in his home, us being friends of Dadu's (the old man), which he referred to as either Mr. Cook or my guru. His wife wipped up a fine meal (everything from their farming) and served us fresh lemon grass tea from the garden....so delicious! He talked about agriculture, Dadu and medicine. I was so fascinated, this man truly lived off the land. He then showed us Dadu's garden, maybe 100 sq feet, and explained that all that plants were for. I realized Dadu must have been a very healthy man! Seeing my enthusiasm, he took us on a 2km walk to the government herb garden up the road. I have never seen such a garden, almost a km worth of aloe vera plants. Everything that could grow in that climate was there, with little signs saying what the plants were and what they were used for. At that moment I realized that herbal medicine was my passion. I suppose I already knew this, but seeing it in action made me decide that, come this spring, I'm building a greenhouse and I'm growing things. There's something powerful about growing and watching a plant and then harvesting it. From there, the possibilities are endless. Teas, tinctures, infusions, concoctions, poultices, rubs, oils, capsules....oh I love it. I bought a book on ayurveda that all bookstores seem to recommend and can't wait to get home to do my research. (So Pa, this is why I asked for a greenhouse for Xmas, even if it's just a stick with some plastic!)
In our last day in Rishikesh (we wasted some days due to food poisoning...I think) we wondered down to the River Ganga...this was the last time we would be so close and it was the purest place other than the glacier itself. I collected some water, some sand (which was so sparkly silver) and several insteresting stones. I soaked my feet and watched the sunset, feeling like a lost child who finally found home. It's difficult to leave such a beautiful place, but once the sun sets it gets awfully chilly.
Onwards to Mcloed Ganj, it was another CRAZY trip. From a bumpy bus ride back to Haridwar then a night train to Pathankot, we were once again put to the test. (I love these little tests!) Thankfully, a large group of Indian teenage girls shared our space (there's 8 bunks per room) on the train and they sang beautiful songs and spoke good english. Logan sang for them (which, of course, they loved) and I declined and showed them some pictures I had drawn. they didn't seem to understand that people don't just sing to themselves in Canada like they do here and so I didn't feel comfortable singing in front of them. Really exposed my insecurities that's for sure. Then, realizing that we hadn't packed supper for the train ride (apparently most people just don't eat!) they pulled out some home-cooked chapati and curry and offered us a serving. Can't tell you how nice it was to eat some food that was made by this young girls mother...you could almost taste the love. Finally we settled (you know how it is with a group of girls!) and woke up at 3.30am to get off at our stop. Wasn't so rough until we found out that the bus to Dharmsala only comes at 630. So we sat around at the train station in the wee hours of the morning...hum, this is familiar, I thought! Three hours later, we go out to catch our bus and see it pulling away, apparently it was 6, not 630. Never trust an Indian who only nods his head. So instead of waiting for the next one, another hour, we splurged on a personal taxi. But after realizing how crazy the switch-backs were on the road, we were glad we opted out of the 4 hour bus ride for the 2 hour taxi. I honestly hadn't slept more than 1 hour the entire night so I was beyond exhausted, to the point were I was feeling sick. All-nighters are not very cool! We arrived at a cold hotel run by buddhists monks and stayde there one night until we found the place of our dreams!
It's on the edge of town, and has huge windows that look over the forest so it's very quiet. It's got a gas burner which is my favorite part, we can now boil our own water and even cook some rice and curry. all this for Rs.400. ($10) Actually, the very best part is that we get to share it with Cory, our long-time friend who decided to spend a few weeks in India before he goes off to New Zealand for 3 months. He's a wonderful cook, it works out nicely as I clean the dishes and pick the veggies at the market and he cooks some amazing dishes! Plus we always have tea on the stove!
We've been here for almost a week now and all three of us took a Indian cooking class, and Cory and I are taking a 6-day universal massage course. Our teacher, Mahinder, is such a good guy! We've been keeping busy with lots of reading, exploring our forest and doing some shopping.
Can't tell you how nice it is to have another person to talk to, just having a new energy around (especially Cory's!) is so refreshing.
On a side note, I want to say how amazing the mind is. I had convinced myself (and Logan) that we had giardia. All the symptoms were there so finally we brought some samples to the hospital to get them analyzed. turns out there's nothing there. This took me by surprised...but I instantly started feeling better, and by the end of the next day it had all cleared up. It's crazy how powerful the mind is.
We've also been doing lots of shopping...so many beautiful things!
So this blog was rather dull and narrative, but I'm feeling really good. Just trying to stay myself and interact with that world without judgement and pre-conceived ideas. Living in the now is just so much more fun!
Much love everyone!
Sounds good, Doe. We can talk about that Greenhouse when you get back - I have some ideas ... but you'll have to do the research!
About that iPod: were you thinking Nano (1 to 4 GB) or 30 or 80GB iPod?
Marc/Pa
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:45 PM
Aren't cooking classes awesome? Chantal and I took one near the end of our trip and I can't wait to come home, buy a wok and start cooking up a thai storm! I say "come home" because right after I got home from Thailand, i found out from work that I am going to Arizona this week....so I'm writing this from my hotel room in Tuscon, AZ. I guess I don't really mind, because it's yet another new place, new people and new experiences, but it didn't really allow me to "bask" in the glow of my Thailand trip nor to do all the things I wanted to do upon my return (people to see and share stories with, spend time reflecting on my experiences etc.)
However, despite the craziness of this week and having been shipped away so soon after returning, I feel at peace and am still in the mindset that I am blessed to be a witness to this world...just being aware of it without judging it. Ahhhhh.
Goodnite my beautiful sister. May you dream of herbs and greenhouses tonight.
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:28 PM