Macleod Ganj

Thru the ages, lots of women have been picked up at bars and cafes, but how many can honestly say that they've been "hit on" by a Tibetan Buddhist monk? This is the kind of thing that can (and does) happen here in Macleod Ganj. There are more Tibetans here than Indians, and it does change the atmosphere. (For instance, in the rest of India, the guys hitting on you will be Indian...)

The place is a weird combination of Buddhist monks, Indian beggars and Israeli tourists. (OK, they're not ALL Israeli, but there are so many signs and notices in Hebrew that you can easily think they are.) You can very often see monks and tourists together, which I didn't really understand at first. But after a Tibetan Buddhist monk asked to join me while I was having supper, I am a bit wiser.

The idea is that they are all very anxious to practice their English, and I now have my own Tibetan refugee (the monk's friend) who accompanies me almost everywhere. It's almost like the "buddy" system at camp or boarding school, where every new arrival is assigned a buddy to show him around and get him familiar with the place. I've spoken to an English girl who told me that she recently found herself in front of a class of no less than 30 people, teaching English - and she doesn't really know how she got there (needless to say, she is not a teacher, qualified or otherwise).

There are endless signs (Hebrew and English) advertising cooking classes (would you believe I'm doing one?), computer classes, massage classes, and language classes. Foreigners come here to learn Tibetan, but the Tibetan guy who runs my hotel speaks Hebrew.

The atmosphere here is somehow a bit more western, and calmer - even though there are so many more souvenir shops than I've seen up until now. (Granted, I haven't been to the major tourist traps, so probably I don't know what I'm talking about.) Still, I managed to go berserk in one of the shops (which, wouldn't you know it, is run by an Israeli girl who came here 4 or 5 years ago, met a guy from Kashmir, and has stayed here with him ever since).

I've been poking around, and it seems that between Buddhist centers and Yoga centers, there is enough here to keep me busy for the next three or four months (don't worry, kids, I'm still coming home next month). So this afternoon, it will be the last lesson of the cooking class. Tomorrow, it's down to the Tibetan library to hear a lecture on transforming thoughts, and the day after, up to the Himalaya Iyengar Yoga center and the Tushita center to see what they have to offer. And when, you may ask, do I go up to the snowline? Considering that this requires a 15-km walk straight up the mountainside - I think I will leave that for a different era.