Ellen Besso Coaching

Arriving at Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi is much like arriving at any ’2nd world’ airport…it’s warm, it’s plain & there’s broken roadways as soon as you get outside the building. We arrived at 3 am & had a speedy but long ‘cook’s tour’ thru the backstreets of Delhi on our way to Wonghden House in the New Tebetan Colony in Majnu Ka Tilla, involving lots of horn-honking to let other vehicles know we were passing. My impression was one of decay…light industrial/commercial areas with buildings in disrepair. Many appeared to also be homes. This is similar to what we’ve seen in Mexico. Haven’t seen the downtown tourist areas yet, where the markets & sights are.

The hotel has 26 rooms & is very old. Many of the people staying here are Tibetan, quite a few monks, some with the bright red & mustard colours of the Dalhi Llama, plus a few western tourists. Met people from Vancouver & Toronto checking in during the night with us. Our activity was limited to a short stroll through the very narrow alleyways of the colony yesterday, right beside our hotel, where small market-like stalls make up the commercial area. Didn’t see many beggars yesterday, although this area is known to have quite a few, but one ‘mother’ with an infant with a very enlarged head & stick-legs was was very poignant. (I put mother in parenthesis as one can’t be sure that it is her child; we gave her some money nevertheless).

Later: The bazaar & other downtown stuff

The jetlag seemed to pass fairly quicky. I think the BioPro cactus based pills helped quite a bit. I also wear their necklace to buffer me from energies inc. electromagnetic ones. Travelling such distances is a strange concept…what with the jetlag + the lack of sleep, sometimes it’s hard to tell which way is up. And in that condition one has to deal with the constant harranging from the touts (men who get commission from taking you to stores & travel agents & selling you products) & beggars, disturbing at first! Every day is a challenge!

We left Delhi Wed night & took an overnight trip to the Dharamsala area on a ‘deluxe’ bus w/o airconditioning (fine at night), no washroom & a crazed driver. The bus broke down 2/3 of the way thru the trip. Luckily they put us on another bus, part of our entourage of 4 heading for Dharamsala. McLeod Ganj, 10 km north of Dharamsala, is the home of the Dalhi Llama & the Tibetan government in exile; it’s in the foothills of the Himalayas. It’s a very gentle, mellow-feeling place. The air is very clean, although ‘thin’ as they say; have to be careful walking too far at 1st. Although there are still beggars, they’re a bit less intrusive than Delhi & the only touts were the ones who met us at the bus stop (difficult as we’d had no sleep on the bouncing buses & the air made me dizzy after I climbed just 1 flight of stairs). Re the beggars, it’s hard to know what ‘policy’ to adopt. I’m now giving small amounts of change to women with small children & some people with disabilities (e.g. a woman who appeared to have leprosy in both legs & likely couldn’t walk).

Today we searched out the Astro Tibetan Medical Clinic to see a monk for herbal treatment, but instead were guided to another TMC where we both saw a lovely woman doctor with incredibly soft, healing energy. She & her husband, also a Dr of Tibetan medicine both work & live at the clinic, along with their 3 young children. We felt she was the one we were meant to see. We can continue treatment after our initial 3 months of herbs by e-mailing her. Plus she would like to come to Vancouver for a ‘working’ visit.

After going to the clinic, we went to the Dahli Llama’s complex, an amazing place on the edge of town…a huge yellow temple with courtyard where dozen of monk-trainees were practicing a marial-art based discipline (we thought). The public is allowed in the temple & it is beautiful, many statues & much colour. Beside the temple is a white building where the monks live. The whole thing is indescribable really! The Dahli Llama is away in N. Am. When he’s here he gives public talks every 2-3 wks for several hundred people. But his doctors & others have advised him to cut back on everything (there was a notice on a bulletin board re this). He’s 72 now, I spoke to one of the budhist students.

A quick word on Delhi. I haven’t really written about it as I had blog access problems (forgot to bring link addresses, passwords etc). Delhi is a fascinating experience, not one to be missed (I guess)…but not for the faint of heart! Getting around is a challenge due to the chaos & our hotel was far from the centre of town so we had to take cabs, auto rickshaws & rickshaws. Everyone drives very fast between lanes more than in them, even though the government puts up signs reading ‘stay in your lane, be sane’, & cuts in front of others with inches to spare all the while honking loudly (that’s recommended). Myriad motorcycles & auto rickshaws weave in & amongst cars & loads of bicycles. All motorcycle drivers appear to wear helmets, but not cyclists. Many women ride behind on motorcycles side-saddle, appearing very relaxed in their saris or salware kameez (pants & tunics) with no helmets on! Within the past week I have noticed an odd parallel between Vancouver & Delhi news re bus drivers running over or almost running over people on the street. Quite a few people have been killed this year in Delhi by buses (70+ I think) & passengers rioted & tried to set a bus on fire a few days ago when a young man was killed on his motorcycle.

All for now. It’s about 7 pm & I’m quite tired after the full day I described above.

Pushkar


Varansi


Indian man


Indian women