What's your dream, Mike?

Mike, 26 years old from Louisianna, US. He's hiking in the Himalayas dreaming about getting enlightened. He speaks Hindi, Tibetan and Nepalese and volenteers as an English teacher. And he was laughing after I filmed him saying 'I must sound like the most pretentious idiot! Hahaha'

New Delhi

When I woke up this morning I was sicker than I ever remember I've been. It's something about those Indian stomach disorders that really shuts down your system. Last time I was in India I was ill for more than two months after I left the country.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to buy a last-minute ticket on a flight to New Delhi, since I realized the option of taking a bus for 14 hours with a 'bad stomach' wasn't really an option. I was really nervous that they would cancel the flight, because they do that quite often because of bad visibility. When I was in the taxi going down the serpentine road leaving Dharamsala, I felt I was panicking by the idea of not being able to leave for some reason. My fever took the last courage away. All of a sudden I just wanted to get away from the dirt, the mold, the smell, the food that made me so ill...you can imagine my relief when the plane took off! When I arrived to New Delhi a driver from The Imperial Hotel picked me up at the airport, with a cold aroma oil towel, spring water and AC. I was in heaven!

Now I'm in a bed with clean sheets, had a dinner that I was able to keep in my body, had some antibiotics and my fever has gone down, and I'm going to have the best sleep in a very long time...

What's your dream, Gus?

Gus, 17 year old working at 'Moonlight Café' in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. He's parents are sick so Gus is running the business alone, which doesn't go down very well. He's dreaming about becoming a bank manager. When I spoke to him for a while he said he had three problems:

1) The biggest problem was that he didn't have any clothes to wear at next weeks school party. He only had one set of clothes, what he was wearing. And he wasn't able to go if he didn't have a pair of jeans like the other kids otherwise they'd tease him (western problems creeping into mountain villages).

2) He didn't have any shoes to wear. He could borrow his dad's shoes, but they were too big.

3) The third biggest problem to Gus was that he couldn't pay the fee for the school, so he'd get thrown out next week.

We calculated that it would cost 1200 rupees (less than 20 €) to solve those three problems. So I left with 20 € less in my pocket and one boy's smile happier.

Dharamsala

Dalai Lama in his temple in McLeod Ganj

Click 'Play' and on the bottom right corner for fullscreen

Your Dharamsala Guide

I met this Australian woman called Sharon Thrupp. She lives in upper Dharamsala and arranges spiritual tours up here. So if you ever need to know where to stay, what to do or where to go - this is a reliable person who's got plenty of experience of India:

Her blog: Nirvanatours
Sharon Thrupp e-mail: info(at)eknoexperience.com

Cat shower

You remember the cat in my room at The Golden Gate Hotel in San Fransisco? Well, check this guy out he's taking it one step further:

See more funny videos and Cute Animals Videos at Today's Big Thing.

His Holyness Dalai Lama

So...what happened was the following. After much hustle getting a presspass from the Foreign Ministry, I wasn't allowed to neither film or take pictures of Dalai Lama. The presspass alowed me to bring my equipment into the Temple though, since I was allowed to use the camera before and after his lectures. My questions I had to leave to his secretary. And like I mentioned before, my special invitation included me and a few thousand (!) Koreans...

But it was great! So many people and monks, and so still and quiet. As soon as he started to talk everyone were silent for hours. People barely went to the bathroom. A quote:

"...--- no matter what is going on, never give up. Develop the heart...-- too much energy in your country is spent developing the mind instead of the heart. Be compassionate, not just to your friends but to everyone. Be compassionate, work for peace. --- and I say it again: never give up! No matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you, never give up."

Oh...I was so lucky to be there and see him! I wanted to see Dalai Lama for so many years, and I didn't know that he would be here when I re-squeduled the trip from Ladakh to Dharamsala. That's what I call syncronisity! And the most touching thing was to see the really old Tibetan men and women kneeling down, touching their heads on the floor in fron of him - the appreciation for what he does for the Tibetan people is immense, and what he said above sort of sums it up. I'm very very moved...

And you know what - once I was there the security let me film for about 30 seconds! So here's the precious clip:

What's your dream, Matt?

Matt, 22 years old from Lousianna, US. Hiking Mt Dhauladhar dreaming about enlightenment. He's studying on the social worker program back in the US and his professor brings a group of students every year to India, pretty good move I'd say...

Every day heroes

There's something about this horrible feeling, being a western person in a poor country never being able help as much as you want. I try to give as much as I can, but it's never going to be enough. Besides, I'm just giving here and now because it's all in my face and as soon as I get home I'll forget about it...or? It's a classic dilemma.

I feel like an idiot talking to people who've done volunteer work for years, when I just felt slightly better after paying the school fee for a boy. There are so many great people out there; teaching English in slum schools, helping out in hospitals, raising money for Tibet. My heart is growing day by day seeing all those amazing things happening. And the real heroes; the boy in the coffee shop running the café alone since both of his parents are sick, the monk living in a shed with no toilet or running water and still smiling in bliss every time you look at him - these people make their life worth living in ways hard to imagine.

Last time I was in India I promised myself to never go back (I was even sicker that time). This time I want to tell everyone to go here - it's for sure a life changing experience!