Back to "India"

After almost 3 months in the Himalaya I am finally "back to India" again. Yesterday I arrived in Delhi and it's hot and humid, I am constantly sweaty and oily and my face starts to turn into a pizza. However, a week a ago I was still in Dharamsala - where I wrote my last post - where I attended some excellent Yoga courses. Furthermore, I visited Gyamay, the Tibetan refugee child my parents support. He lives in a SOS children's village close to Bir, around 50 km from Dharamsala (which takes 3 hours by bus - this is standard in India!!!). The visit was really touching and very interesting. It gave me an insight not only into Tibetan exile community life but it also gave me an idea what it means to support a child and therefore have a direct positive impact on the future and perspectives of a another human being. I was definitely very impressed by the dynamics and the organization of the village and the institution. Gyamay's carer Niyma granted me excellent hospitability and was almost sad to leave tha place again. However, back to Dharmasal I packed my things and left the day after. The place is nice for trekking, doing courses in Yoga, meditation, cooking etc. but it's alsways raining which can become quite annoying. The dry season starts only in October. So yesterday I stopped over in Amritsar, the capital of the state of Punjab where the Sikhs come from (the non Hindu-turban Indians!). And after 3 months break (verschnaufpause!!), suddenly, it felt like India again. The main attraction of Amritsar is its Golden Tempel, the holiest site of the Sikh-religion and I must say it really was spectacular. The scene is very exciting; white marble floors and buildings the holy pond and in the middle of it, on a tiny island the ornated, golden main-temple-building, shiny and sparkling in the sun. Moreover the hundreds of Sikh pilgrims, most of them wearing orange or blue turbans gives another colorfoul contrast to the picture. Another exciting part of my visit was the overnight stay in the pilgrims dormitory quarter within the temple complex. There are special rooms for foreigners, guarded by some turbaned bulldoggy Sikhs for that no 'locals' will enter this seperated area. the rooms are shabby and dull, full of mice and cockroaches, but there was this certain exciting atmosphere in the air and there are people staying from all over the world, all sharing and sleeping in one big room; so I kind of enjoyed it. Yesterday night I arrived in Delhi. I am staying at a couchsurfing-accomodation. I'm a bit in the outskirts but it's ok for now. Maja from Switzerland will arrive tonight at the airport and then we will plan our trip, presumably to Rajasthan.
So for now,
cheers.