McLeod Ganj

Mcleod Ganj is best known for the Dalai Lama's residence. It is a little suburb to the city, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is about 8-10 km away from Dharamshala and can be best reached by a car or a bus. A large part of its population is that of Tibetans and it also has a lot of Buddhist monasteries.

One way of starting this post is by asking, 'Why travel to McLeod Ganj?'

Every time I tried to continue after this question, I hit a dead end. So, that means I couldn't ever write a second line. On about the fifth attempt, I realized I blanked out because I was asking myself the wrong question. I think I'd be better off when I write about "WHAT AWAITS YOU AT MCLEOD GANJ?"

Before I answer that, a few things you should know about how I travelled. It was a trip with a few friends. I travelled in September, so the weather was cool and pleasant. I also like walking around to explore a place. It gives me time to really absorb things and go at my own pace, literally and figuratively, speaking. McLeod Ganj was a perfect fit because it can be best explored on foot. I stayed at a little hotel called 'Bhagsu Heights'. Finally, I love food and I would love a place that helps my dining experience elevate from a customer-food-service level to complement my travelling experience where I'm allowed a relationship with food and to let me think of it as a character to the place. McLeod Ganj let me do that. Every single time I ate.

So what awaits you at McLeod Ganj?

Every time I looked out from the window, I saw mountains thickly-veiled by fog. When the day cleared up at times, I could see a waterfall and it was my first step into three days of serenity. Being a city girl, when I got to McLeod Ganj, the peace of that place struck me. It was comforting. I was not alone, but I had a space to be in touch with myself. I was also travelling in the middle of my ongoing semester in college, so it seemed like such a good break and much needed, too.

Walk to the Mall Road was about looking over cliffs and valleys. You could be an onlooker; experiencing life go on with its unique mundane character. You'd still be on a parallel, slower, calmer mental pace of life. Enter Mall Road and it's a different scene.

You find yourself immersed in a culture that's an amalgam of cafes (with free wi-fi *yes, yes, us 21st-century kids tch-tch*), jewellery or accessories with a Tibetan character to it and lots of shops to buy warm clothing. It is extremely good quality stuff and well priced as opposed to the polarized shopping culture in a lot of cities where either you get flimsy clothing for winters or you succumb to insane prices at the mall. Of course, you can try your hand at bargaining.

If you really like to shop, you'd like to know that when you really look for things that have a Tibetan touch to them, you'll find some interesting stuff. Like the wrap-around long skirts they use have colours that are uniquely yet, generously used in Tibetan culture, and broadly speaking mountainous areas. The prints and aesthetics of these things will also be different from everything else available in great stock with sellers, one after the other, on either sides of the road. They also have dream catchers of all sizes in abundance. The designs, sizes and creativity in these dream catchers is fascinating.

One important thing about the life here is that things start shutting down around 6 p.m. Some cafes will shut down and all the sellers will clear out the road, too. The restaurants will work for a longer time, though, the past nine p.m. culture is not thriving here, to say the least.

If you're not shopping, there's good news because there's so much more!

Food. Between breakfast, lunch and dinner that we had at our hotel, we also managed to have at least (remember: AT LEAST) two more meals or snacks every day. So after lunch on the first day, we had wantons and something to drink at Indique, then apricort tart, chocolate tart, coffee, tea, nana cake and carrot cake at Moonpeak Esspresso Coffee Shop. Gluttony should be struck off from the list of seven sins, I think. I shall list all the places we ate at, at the end of the post.

The vibe. Amongst some stoned people, some monks and some photographers, we also found travellers. They were soaking the place in as much as us and that was the last step for us to really let our hair down and enjoy. So at Jimmy's Italian Restaurant, when we gave a friend her little birthday surprise that was overdue, we sang the birthday song along with the staff and probably every other customer present there. A group of men from some other country sang it thrice. Our best guess is that it was probably drunk excitement.

We probably only struck two patent must-do things when in McLeod Ganj off the list.

First, we went to the Bhagsunag Waterfall. It is a little trek from the main chowk of McLeod Ganj and when you get there, a strong wind greets you there. It feels amazing to sit on the rock and just feel the waterfall's light shower on you as the wind blows past. Much on snacks with your friends there or jump into the water, if you wish. Make sure, you do the trek with sports shoes on because even though the trek isn't long, it is tricky and it will be a test for you if you smoke. My friends made it through the challenge. You can, too.

Then, we went to the Tibet Museum and the Kalachakra Temple. These two are built in the same complex. You're not allowed to take your phones or cameras inside. Did you know that because of Tibet's conflicted status of sovereignty, much of its culture has an increasing threat of extinction even as the culture seems to thrive in some small parts of India? Their 11th Panchen Lama, according to boards around the place, has been declared by the Chinese officials to be in their custody. The Museum tells the vivid tale of Tibet's history, people and culture to all those who would listen. It also depicts the Chinese invasion of Tibet. It can be quite moving to read, and there was more.

"Ohm Mani Padme Hum" may mean something to the Buddhists but to me, it is a way to reminisce and probably return to a bit of the tremendous peace I felt at that place. After touring the entire temple and rotating the wheels around the main shrine's complex, I sat in the large compound under the shades. I wouldn't say I was thinking any remotely philosophical- about life, past, future- but I was feeling something spiritual. It was strange to not really be thinking or introspecting but just feeling like the building blocks for growing up and for moving on were at play. You felt more than you could put to words and the puzzlement that accompanies this failure to explain is not uneasy at all. Instead, I just smile.

The beauty of this place is such that you don't have to wait for aphorisms to dawn upon your conscience. You'd be walking down a street or munching on some pie and sipping some coffee and they will come and go and it will be as simple as that.

Find that subtlety in life. Go to McLeod Ganj!

As promised, here's a list of places I ate at:

1. Indique (Rooftop Restaurant/Cafe):

2. Moonpeak Espresso Coffee Shop and Gallery

3. Four Seasons

4. McLeodganj Waterfall (A stopover for Maggie, anyone?)

5. Tibet Kitchen (You HAVE to have Chicken Momos and all Peach Beer, Lemon Beer and Fruit Beer. And no, it's not beer.)

6. Jimmy's Italian Restaurant

7. Clay Oven (You can miss this)

8. Coffee Talk

9. We also got take-away stuff from places that I can't remember now. Sorry.

Just try as much as you can! Apparently, Gakyi's is really good! It's right next to Jimmy's. Don't repress the gluttony! Let it gooooo!

Tell me more about your trips! Dying to go again. So then, I'd use your suggestions!

September 2014