still in Dhamakot

He I'm still in Dhamakot so I'm not effected by the boms in New Delhi.

Meinoud

Another day in paradise ( Dhamakot )

Since 14 days I'm in lovely Dhamakot. Dhamakot is a small village above McLeod Ganji (seat of the Dalai Lama) in the north of India, Himalaya Paradesh. Most of the revenue comes from touris with they stay in relax and cheap guesthouses. But you can still see people on the terrace land spreading the cow shit with their hands. There are no tractors so everything goes by hand and cows. One of the strangest thinks is that most of the work is carried out by the woman of the village they work on the land and make the meals for their familly. It is now off season so there are just a few tourist mostly Europeans and most of the restaurants in Dhmakot are closed. So for dinner I have to walk down in 20 minutes to Mcleod Ganji so every day its about 400 meters in altitude difference.

The weather?

The weather is not so different as in Europe, during the day it is about 24 degree (flipflop weather) and the evenings are very cold with the temperture dropping to 10 degree celcius.

What did I do the last 14 days?

In the morning and in the evening I do vipassana meditation and recently I finished a course in meditation and healing.

So my daily live is very relaxed at the moment I get up 7 AM to see sun rise and do some Tai Chi on the roof. From the roof I look over the valley and watch sunrise. At 8 AM I will be at the Vippasana centre in Dhamakot for an hour of meditation. Then I have breakfast drink some tea and read a book. Late in the afternoon at 6 pm I go again to the Vippasana centre for an hour meditation and after that I meet up with some other travellers for dinner.

From Lahore to New Delhi (12-9-2005 to 18-9-2005)

On the 12 of September I took togetjer with a frenchman a local bus to the border town of Waggah. After the Pakistanies stamped our pasport we walked to the final border. We were suprised to see many camara teams before the border. One of the army officails explained to us that at there is prisoner exchange between India and Pakistan. But it would be no problem to cross the border.

We walked between the prisoner to the Indian site. We wrote down our names in the entry book just behind the entry gate. All the military where in there uniforms looking very impressive. Just after the border we had to go trough custom, normal they check the luggage, but they only did it with the french guy. They stamped our pasport and we walked to the the final gate and from there we took a cycle riksja to the town of Attari (only 10 rupies). From there we took a local bus to Amritsar. This is the cheapest option to Amritsar.

In Amritsar the French guy went to the Railway staion and I walked to the Golden Temple. The most holy place for the Sikhs.

I took a dorm (50 rps) bed inside the golden temple. There is a special dorm for foreigners. The next hours I was sitting and gazing at the splended Golden temple.
Inside the golden temple are some holy people who make prays and sing.

Later in the evening I took a free meal at the huge dinner room in the golden temple complex. The meal is very simple but enough consisting out of Dhal (lentils), rice and chapaties.

On 13 september I woke up in the early morning 4 am because some one was saying she was going to Dhamasala. I planned to go later much later like 8 am. But whynot so I got up and toegether with Amir and laila?? we took a auto riksja to the railway station. Unfortunately we were just 10 minutes late for the train. So we had to wait for an hour for another train. In only 3 hours took us to Pathankot. The weather was bad wich loads of rain. In Pathankot we walked accross the rail tracks to the other side to catch a train to Mc Leod Ganji. In Mc Leod Ganji we took an auto riksja to Dhamakot. In Dhamakot we went looking for our friends. After a short wile I found the hostel were Sander is staing (Zen and Yoga). I stayed here 3 nights? in relaxing and watching the rain (monsoon). Besides it was freezing during the day it was only 23 degree and the night is was to cold I needed two blankets.

On fridaynight 16 september I took a night bus to New Delhi. To be on time to pick up Bouke from the Airport. But Fridaynight was not good night to travel by bus.
It rained like I have never seen before. I waded trough Dhamakot, the tracks and the road in Dhamakot turned into big rivers. I jumped over rivers, before they were tracks and now roaring rivers. Sometimes to knee deep. In front of the Vipassana centre I took a taxi bus down. I was completely wet by now. The raod to MC leod Ganji was a river and if I looked to moauntain side it was a waterfall.

Mc Leod Ganji was no different the road looked liked rivers, rocks cane down the mountain in the beginning litthe rocks but later on even bigger. I walked to the bus who was down the road to Dhamasala. The water poured above my ankle. Everybodey (all wet to their underwear) was seated in the bus. But at the last moment te busdriver decided not to the drive down to Dhamasala because of some trees on the raod and some mud slides. We went down by taxi jeeps to Dhamasala (you will be suprised how many people can be fitted in taxi jeep in India). The rest of the journey was not that interested. In new delhi I checked in Ayaj Hotel at the main bezar little bit more expensive (300 rps) but is has a telly. A good way for Bouke to get used to the budget way of travelling in India. In the evening of the 18 I picked up Bouke from the airpot and I had my first "Drop" oud hollandse Snekers.

Sufi night in Pakistan (10/09/2005)

"Sufi Night is very special here in Lahore. It is very important to the Pakistani religion. You see the Sufis, you see Pakistan. The Sufis are very excited that they will be able to play for foreign guests.

Thursday Sufi Night. Friday in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a day of rest. The stores are closed, no one goes to work, and people just chill out and relax. So Thursday night is like Saturday night in the West, just no bars.

But there is Sufi Night-the most happening place to be on a Thursday in Lahore. We pulled up at Baba Shasmar mosque; a 700-year-old mosque that was packed with people. The air was thick with the blue-grey smoke of cheris.

People use the Cheris because they think it will bring them closer to God, but it is the drumming that truly brings one closer to God According to Melek. The Sufis only need the drumming. He pulled us through the crowds and motioned for us to sit in front.

And so the drumming started. Thick, fast, beats that you could feel resonating through your spine and ribcage.

Hypnotic drumming, some of the men stood up, slowly turning themselves around in a circle. They began to spin around faster, round and round, their bodies becoming a blur, blurring into a movement that seemed physically impossible. I was transfixed.

They do this to get closer to God. When they do this, they feel like they are in heaven.

And they spun like that, on and on, around and around, some of them for an hour straight, and then the drumming stopped and the spinning stopped and it was time for us to leave.

Lahore Pakistan ( 05-09-2005 )

On the 5 of September I arrived in the late evening in Lahore after a 33 hours bus ride in Lahore. Together with Leon and Paula (from Brasil) we looked for a guesthouse.
The first guesthouse inour Lonely planet did not exsist anymore. So we had to walk more in the heat (plus we did not sleep to much in the last hours) for the next one Regale Internet Inn. Fortunally they had 3 dorm beds for 150 rps each.(2 euro). I thought I could not stay in Lahore for one more night because of the humidity and the heat but at the end I stayed 7 nights and left Lahore the 12 of September heading for Amritsar in India the holy city for the Sikhs.

Lahore

Lahore always sounded to me as a mystical city. Not that many people go there, once in a while there is a bom in a mosque or there are some troubles between sunis and Shites. Like in Gilgit, that was the reason I did not stay in Gilgit.

But when I was in Lahore there where no problems only one little strike.

The hostel was very mellow, the first day after I arrived I was just sitting and doing nothing, to hot, to humid. I walked one step and was completely wet (Although it did not rain). Late in the afternoon I decided to do something so I went to Lahore fort, a kind of pinkies building. But it looked great after this little adventure I went back to the hostel to take a shower and then on to the KFC (yes the Kentucky Fried Chicken)hummie after all these kebabs it was chicken time and Air condition (sounds boring but sometimes you need it).

6 september supposed to be my last day, but then I met Mellek the hostel owner and he tells me about that there was a sufi festival the next day (wednesday). So I stayed another day.

The sufi Festival was amazing. We went with most people who stayed at the hostel to this festival using 2 local busses and Mellek was our tour guide. After 2 hours we arrived in this village. This village is full of people, lunaparks etc. We went to a local house where some Japanese were staying. We got some refreshing drinks and we sit down for a rest and smoking cheris (stuff what is legal in the Netherlands and here for free).

Later on we went in to town we were accompanied by some local respectable community people. Every year for the last 7 years Melek takes his foreign guest from the hostel to this event.

We saw some amazing things like sufies getting into trance on music and smoking some stuff, sufies dressed in strange clothes, with bells, to difficult to explain but I took some pictures so I will upload them later. After 45 minutes sitting with the suffies we went to the Luna park. To see a car drive in a kind big barrel. Because he drove very fast he went up to 30 meters high, amazing..too Much to see.

We went back to the muslim shrine with the Sufies. We had some food over there and went to another house for some miranda, cola etc. and live music on drums. We were supposed to dance on the music which we did. The drum music sounded like a house music.

Just after midnight we were back at the hostel. Wauw what a night.

The next day (thursday) I went to a sufi night at a mosque in Lahore. Melek brougt us to this amazing thing. (See also next entry.) Late in the evening we went to a mosque we have take of our shoes (it is a holy place) and in the square we just outside of the shrine we see a lot people sitting and smoking cheris waiting on the drummers. The two drummers played some great drumm music and a holy man danced in trance on the music. Just to the right of me another man got in trance, wobbing with his head in a strange way. After a few hours we went stoned back to the hostel. Because of all these event the most people sleep till 1 pm. Sleeping late is the norm.

On friday I decided to go next day. I played some Command and Conquere on the computer went to the supermarket next door for some real Nestle Yoghurt the fist good yoghurt since I left. Went to the other side of the road (Pashawa) to have my daily mango shake and mango ice cream split/ one of the best in Pakistan. In front of the this ice parlour is a daily traffic jam from Pakistani want a mango ice cream.

Friday evening the Gongasain brothers played for us in the hostel. The musicians were the Gongasain brothers, the most famous Sufi drummers in all of Pakistan, especially famous because one of the drummers is deaf yet is able to play because he has learned to hear through his stomach, sensing the vibrations and relying on eye contact from his brother as when to change beats.

The drumming started. Thick, fast, beats that you could feel resonating through your spine and ribcage. The drumming was amazing.

Hypnotic drumming, one man stood up, slowly turning himselve around in a circle. He began to spin around faster, round and round, his body becoming a blur, blurring into a movement that seemed physically impossible. I was transfixed.

Saterday I was feeling not well I slept the hole day, more people were sick.

Sunday I was feeling mutch better and had my first meal in two days at the Piza hut. One of the other guest who was ill went to the hospital. At the hospital they told him if you go out for food eat only at Piza hut, Mc Donald or KFC. These places are very clean. So I had some food at pizza hut together with a frenchman and some one from Belgium

Monday 12-9-2005 I left Lahore for Amritsar. For the next story read the new entry: from Amritsar to New Delhi. This new entry will appear 08-10-2005

Meinoud