Bye Bye Mundane Life!!: McLeod Ganj

We didn't arrive till 7.30pm after enduring the 7 hr journey passing 2 trucks embedded in trees and another truck lying on its side in the middle of the road - livens up the journey a little bit! Firstthing we noticed about this place was the refreshing climate, at 1800m it was a dramatic change to where we had just left! Checked into scruffy little guesthouse and for the first time in India we were able to enjoy one anothers presence without the uncomfortable heat pushing us apart. When we awoke the next day the town was steeped in low lying cloud making it a 'white-out' , it really felt like we were back up in the mountains. As we started to explore we stumbled across a new hotel with stunning views over the distant valleys, and should the cloud clear we were promised views of the Himalaya themselves....we didn't need to think twice, we promptly checked out of last nights windowless box room and into our delux suite with balcony and Cable TV...only 60p extra! The town is home to the exciled Tibetan government and to his Holiness...The Dalai Lama...and as such it has a strong Tibetan influence. Our firstexpreience of this was discovering a new cheap, tasty snack....Tibetan 'Momos' a small steamed dumpling filled with vege or potato, and at 5 pieces for 12p was reason enough to hang around this place for a long time! With strong traveller / hippy feel to the place it's not our usual cup of tea but it seems to have a magical draw to it and after what we've seen of India in the last week this really was a welcome relief! With walks up into the mountains, cookery courses, cheap bakeries selling wicked treats, the corner Chai seller and numerous souvenir/craft shops (not to mention all the Yoga, Meditaion, Buddist teachings, Reiki, etc) ...I think we may well end up being here a while!
How time flies as we did indeed spend a wee whilely here...6 days to be exact, our longest time ever spent in one place of the travels so far! We managed to get in some Tibetan Cooking, some Indian Cooking, lots of strolls up to and around local villages, many stops for Chai & cake, watching copious amounts of free movies on cable, and seeing as we are in India a little bit of Yoga too - what a stress free and relaxing time we've had enjoying the cool climate and watching the clouds roll in and out of the valley to occassionally reveal glimpses of the high Himalaya behind! But as the saying goes...all good things come to an end...and we head out tonight on an overnight bus still staying in the mountains, heading towards the town of Manali which is up at 2000m (we still don't have any shoes!).