July 21st, 2012 - Mcleod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh, India
Hey everyone! Just a quick update of the last few days... Orion wrote the last email, and we decided to take turns, so its my turn! (Marina)
After a shortish and slightly crammed bus ride we arrived in Mcleod Ganj. Two things that shocked us immensely:
-The amount of white people tourists! They looked so odd next to the locals, and they stuck out terribly. It made us wonder how silly we must look... No wonder we get stared at so often.
-The amount of white people tourists! They looked so odd next to the locals, and they stuck out terribly. It made us wonder how silly we must look... No wonder we get stared at so often.
-The laid-backness of the town. A majority of the population of Mcleod Ganj is Tibetan people, as this is where their Dalai Lama sought refuge after being forced out of Tibet. The Tibetan people are so RELAXED and nobody hassles you or stares at you, and they smile when you look at them! Its amazing.
Unforunately, to contrast the peaceful Tibetan culture, there are some ridiculously obnoxious Indian tourists escaping the heat in the North. They stare openly with disgusting looks on their faces, and approach you saying, "Hellllooo my friend. Excuse me. One snap?" (Snap meaning photo.) When you say no, get lost, they giggle with eachother and say "Why not? PLeeaaassseeee? Just one snap?" while you frantically walk away.
Poor Orion is amazed at how much more hassling he gets being stuck with me, the white girl with crazy hair! He said he couldn't believe how many people stare and approach you or whatever. I told him to imagine how it was for me travelling alone. :) I'm grateful to have him with me because I get hassled less!
The mountains here are AMAZING. Most days have been cloudy, but the weather moves quickly here and glimpses of the surrounding peaks are sometimes visible. We hope to do a day hike tomorrow to the top of a nearby mountain where there is supposedly good bouldering, and epic views of snowy mountains in the distance. We hiked to a nearby town today where there is a trail to a waterfall. The trail was packed with people so we took a turn and walked a little on our own to a nice quiet peaceful spot to relax and enjoy the view. We weren't alone for long however! Some Indians followed us into the bush and approached us asking "Excuse me, one snap?" It was time to go!
Poor Orion is amazed at how much more hassling he gets being stuck with me, the white girl with crazy hair! He said he couldn't believe how many people stare and approach you or whatever. I told him to imagine how it was for me travelling alone. :) I'm grateful to have him with me because I get hassled less!
The mountains here are AMAZING. Most days have been cloudy, but the weather moves quickly here and glimpses of the surrounding peaks are sometimes visible. We hope to do a day hike tomorrow to the top of a nearby mountain where there is supposedly good bouldering, and epic views of snowy mountains in the distance. We hiked to a nearby town today where there is a trail to a waterfall. The trail was packed with people so we took a turn and walked a little on our own to a nice quiet peaceful spot to relax and enjoy the view. We weren't alone for long however! Some Indians followed us into the bush and approached us asking "Excuse me, one snap?" It was time to go!
In our hurry to escape from the nagging Indians, we rushed along a path and not watching my footing properly, I brushed my foot across what appears to be the Indian/Himalayan version of our stinging nettles. OW. It seriously hurt. It immediately swelled up and burned and stung so we walked/hobbled back to town, hoping to catch a rickshaw back to town to get to our room for some remedies. Of course, the tiny road was completely traffic jammed and the walking pace was faster than the cars! So instead we walked the whole way. Luckily the swelling went down and it stopped hurting as bad. The hike tomorrow depends on the healing rate of my silly foot now! Oh well.
So we wanted to mention a little bit about the Tibetan's story. We went to a small museum yesterday and read about what really happened to the Tibetans when their country was occupied by China, and it really moved us to spread awareness about whats going on here. I'm not going to give a history lesson, so I would strongly encourage you to Google some of the facts after you read this email and become educated.
So we wanted to mention a little bit about the Tibetan's story. We went to a small museum yesterday and read about what really happened to the Tibetans when their country was occupied by China, and it really moved us to spread awareness about whats going on here. I'm not going to give a history lesson, so I would strongly encourage you to Google some of the facts after you read this email and become educated.
So basically Tibet is this peace loving culture, that believes strongly in preserving their environment, spirituality, respect for animals and vegetarianism. They lived for many years with their own spiritual democratic government, with equality between men and women, and a very strong balance with nature. Their government system is way more advanced than any other that we've seen or heard of.
When China decided that they suddenly owned Tibet, they invaded without warning with 40,000 soldiers trained to massacre and desecrate the Tibetan people, land, and culture. The peaceful Tibetans had never had use for an army, so with only 6,000 fighters they were defeated. The Chinese government then proceeded to attempt to completely wipe out the Tibetan way of life.
Buddhist monks and nuns and any person who stood up again the Chinese were held prisoner in labor camps and tortured and interrogated. (For what?!) We read one nun's account of what happened to her and some other nuns while they were imprisoned, and it was too awful to repeat here. Like Hitler, or the Khmer Rouge, the Chinese government had started a genocide. In the occupation, around 1.2 million Tibetans died.
Buddhist monks and nuns and any person who stood up again the Chinese were held prisoner in labor camps and tortured and interrogated. (For what?!) We read one nun's account of what happened to her and some other nuns while they were imprisoned, and it was too awful to repeat here. Like Hitler, or the Khmer Rouge, the Chinese government had started a genocide. In the occupation, around 1.2 million Tibetans died.
Tibetan people who tried to remain in the homeland were starved and forced to adopt the Chinese way of living. Any rebellion resulted in torture and often death. That is why the Dalai Lama was finally forced to flee his country and escape to India through insanely high mountain passes. Many Tibetans followed in his path, and died from exposure or suffered extreme frostbite.
We just Googled this site, so check this out for more information or to help out: http://www.savetibet.org/resource-center/all-about-tibet/history-since-chinese-invasion
Anyway, after our hike we're hopefully headed to Leh, Ladakh for some even more intense mountain views! (After a seriously long bus ride..24 hours?) Hope everyone is enjoying our beautiful Canadian summer!
OM Shanti OM!
Love,
Marina (and Orion)
OM Shanti OM!
Love,
Marina (and Orion)
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