The India Adventure Part 3: Dharamsala

After a 14-hour overnight bus trip on winding mountain roads, we finally arrived in the small town of MacLeod Ganj, perched in the Outer Himalayas above Dharamsala. This part of my trip was mostly an internal experience, as I learnt about meditation and Buddhism at Tushita Meditation Centre in nearby Dharamkot. Fortunately, the surroundings were also quite amazing and provided a great backdrop to my internal adventures.

For those of you who aren't aware, Dharamsala (or more accurately, MacLeod Ganj) is the location of the residence of the Dalai Lama, and perhaps 30,000 Tibetans also call it their home. This gives it a very different feel to other parts of India.

After attending a ten-day silent meditation retreat, I was fortunate to attend teachings by the Dalai Lama at his residence, along with many other foreigners, Indians and Tibetans. It is a remarkable place and I am very glad I made the journey there, even despite the long and arduous bus trips!

 Amazing scenery of the Outer Himalayas, near Bhagsu

Chalet-style house, Dharamkot

 Views of MacLeod Ganj

A Buddhist temple in downtown MacLeod Ganj

The remarkable Norbulingka Institute, Dharamsala

A temple in Bhagsu

The forest near Tushita Meditation Centre

Getting to know the locals

My travel buddy, Vicky, and I, after we finished our ten-day silent retreat

More happy post-retreat faces

Going back to India

Some of you may recall that I spent a couple of weeks in India - eleven days in fact - at the start of this year for a wedding. It was an amazing, crazy, stressful, overwhelming, exciting visit. India is one of those places that doesn't do well in short visits. You spend a lot of time sitting in traffic, looking at your watch, or at the airport waiting for a delayed internal flight. Not to mention that trying to understand such a new and different place as India in less than two weeks isn't very realistic. I saw some amazing things, but I also felt bewildered a lot of the time.

The upshot of it all is, that after taking a break from my studies after one hectic semester of textile design, I have decided to go back to India. It has been more an impulse than a carefully considered plan. I feel like I need to go somewhere that is completely not like Melbourne, that will take me out of my comfort zone and throw me into some challenging and unexpected situations. And I like the idea of going somewhere that values introspection and meditation as a new (for me, anyway) way of approaching life.

India is also an amazing place to see textiles. The birthplace of paisley and so many other motifs that are part of our everyday attire these days, last time I was there I saw so much colour, and pattern, and cloth, everywhere I went. If this doesn't inspire me to return to textiles, I don't know what will!

I'm heading off on my big adventure in just a few days time. I'll try to post blogs when I get a chance, and in the meantime I wish you all success and enjoyment in your creative endeavours! I'll be back in December.