India > On the way to Dharamsala

During the night, it rains heavily for a long time. When my luggage is loaded onto the roof of the vans, it is still raining. Fortunately, the luggage is carefully covered with plastic. Originally, we were supposed to leave at seven o’clock, but due to repair work from recent floods along the river, the road is still blocked that early. Therefore, we depart at nine o’clock.

India - The Tsuglagkhang Temple in Dharamsala

This means we will arrive late in McLeod Ganj. The expected travel time for today is around ten hours. We no longer have the option of jeeps, so the journey is made with two vans. As I leave Manali, I follow the Beas River. In several places, asphalt has been washed away. Temporary repairs are underway. As I drive further, the river becomes calmer. I see more and more buildings along the road. Sometimes I drive through the narrow, busy streets of the villages. The driver attracts plenty of attention with his horn. At every turn and with every other road user, he honks loudly. Schoolchildren jump aside with their umbrellas. I notice that most vehicles are smaller cars—either compact models or jeeps. Larger mid-range cars are hardly seen. The roads are also filled with elaborately decorated Tata trucks and buses. It is cloudy, and occasionally there is a heavy shower. Rainwater flows across the road, and the drains along the way can barely cope. I can easily imagine that during a cloudburst it would be overwhelming. By the afternoon, as I approach Dharamsala, it is dry. The sun even peeks through cautiously. Dharamsala is the place where the Dalai Lama fled after China’s occupation of Tibet in 1959. Actually, it is not the city of Dharamsala itself, but the village in the mountains called McLeod Ganj. I am staying in McLeod as well. The bus drives through the narrow streets of McLeod. It looks cozy. The streetscape mainly reminds me of a backpackers’ paradise.