A small bundle peeks out from beneath the crutch of an elbow as an Indian woman lifts her arm like a wing. A torn and dingy blanket slung over her shoulder, tied at the neck, reveals a tiny bundle, a package she carries. “No money, madam, milk for the baby.” I offer rupees, a […]Read Post ›
In Tibetan Buddhism, the monastic communities are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the lay people. They look after the spirit and pray for the soul. They tend to the gardens of the metaphysical, the reincarnations, the next lives, the past and the future. And in turn, the people provide them with the things necessary […]Read Post ›
Ladakh, India 34°08’43.18”N, 77°34’03.63”E , Elevation: 11,500ft The flight from Delhi to Leh, takes just over an hour. Crossing the Himalayas by air is exquisite in its raw beauty. There is a sense of awe evoked from the grandeur of the immense, jagged peaks blanketed in snow that rise and fall, galloping into […]Read Post ›
McLeodganj, Upper Dharamsala, India 34°08’43.18”N, 77°34’03.63”E, Elevation: 5,172 ft The main streets of the village serve as a busy marketplace, a central bazaar, lined with vendors and stalls selling hot steamed buns called momos, chai tea, wool sweaters, incense, postcards, religious objects, instruments of carved wooden flutes and hand drums, prayer flags, silk screened t-shirts […]Read Post ›
My first friend in McLeodganj moved into the Yellow Guesthouse two days after I took up residence. He rented the room directly below mine. We met while each standing on our balconies and looking out at the same vista, one floor apart. I heard him sneeze and, surprised that someone else was around, hung my […]Read Post ›
34°08’43.18”N, 77°34’03.63”E, Elevation: 5,172 ft Passing through lower Dharamsala, the last stop on the road is just shy of six miles (9k) up hill to the upper section of town called Mcleodganj, a hillside village nestled into the side of a mountain. The last stop on the road. The end of the line. It is […]Read Post ›
In the morning, my second morning, I awoke and paced around the flat for a bit, assuring myself that I could handle going out into the world alone. I was sure that I was capable of getting to the train station and back. Fairly sure. And then I laughed, because I had traveled here alone […]Read Post ›
28° 36’49”N, 77°12’31”E Delhi is choking, gasping for air. Haze clouded gray with dust brown are the colors of the thick smog. Men are spitting a brown-red liquid in strings on the ground to mix with the dirt and trickling rivers of urine. A woman, as slim as a broom, approaches and folds over a […]Read Post ›
Postcards from the Perimeter: NOTES ON TRAVEL 