The Tibetan way...

Street level view,Temple Road,  Dharamsala

So, now I say good bye to Dharamsala.  What a beautiful place.  The last two days, I have had the pleasure of attending the teachings of the Dalai Lama.  A few friends and I sat amongst the monks upstairs in the Buddha Temple, just 30 meters from where His Holiness sits and gives lessons. His Holiness is so amazing, he has quite the presence.  His voice is deep and pure, he is wise and willing to listen and to share his knowledge. I feel very lucky to have been able to attend. 

In addition to these fine teachings, I had a lot of fun.  I hiked to Triund and got amazing views...and got stuck in the rain of the way back down.  But what an awesome hike up there in the sun and then the mist; stopped for, you guessed, Chai! at the half way point of the mountain. Magic view and good chai, can't ask for too much more than that.
Stopping for yoga and to climb a few big knotty trees along the way, the 9 k hike had us gain 1100 m in elevation but I didnt notice the work as the beauty of the surroundings is epic.

Shiva Temple in Bhagsu

I was in Delhi this morning.  Came by bus last night which was an experiance in itself.  The windy mountain roads out of Dharamsala aren't exactly conducive to speeding buses for a 12 hour go.  Ya, people were yaking all around me, I maintained but, whoa, it was a tougher evening than most I have had here in India.  When I arrived in Delhi this morning, I was surprisingly refreshed and per my last visit to Delhi, I was ready for an adventure/ready to get the heck out of Delhi and far from that 12 hour bus ride. 

So, I walked around with some Latvians, took in some sights and some photos and got on a train...to Agra...yup, that's right, I now sit in the shadows of the Taj Mahal.  I will be there for sunrise tomorrow.  And off to Thailand tomorrow night...life ain't bad.