dharamgaza
their troops might only have just started shifting them a few days ago, but it seems that half of israel decided to take preemptive action and escape to north india a few weeks early. this concentration of yids on tour has been noticeable wherever i've been so far, but surely must have reached its nadir here in mcleod ganj (just above dharamsala) where skullcaps are closely contesting orange monk's robes as the clothing de rigeur. surprisingly (perhaps in the absence of yanks) they are deeply and universally unpopular amongst all the shopkeepers/ hotel staff i've talked too, and indeed the rare israelis who speak to people out of their groups. it seems that three years of enforced military service has created a generation of squaddies, all loud voices and a rudeness that startles even indians. national stereotypes abound all round here however and the brits aren't doing too great either: i was just having dinner when a group of five posh british lads strolled in and one of them tried to order a chicken jalfrezi. scenes of confusion all round, particularly from our brit on tour who , sounding genuinely confused, said 'but we're in india'. priceless.either way mcleod ganj is pretty enough, but the views are completely obscured by thick fog. this is the dalai lama's official place of residence but he's away at the moment (probably catching the end of the ibiza season.... apparently he finds hard house monktastic) so we couldn't go for that beer i'd been planning. i checked out his gompa complex though, and another little gompa (down an unneccessarily steep hill... crazy buddhists), so i am officially gompaed out. going to take it easy tomorrow, then catch the overnight bus for a weekend in delhi.
posted by bicrom @ 3:00 pm
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