Jim & Happy : McLeod Ganj 25 Dec Tues

Christmas Day in Dharamsala (McLeod Ganj)

We slept in till 8am then had our normal brekky (normal for the past week or so) of juice, toast and coffee/tea. We bought some local honey to have on our toast. Mum has sent us some Vegemite hopefully it will be waiting in Gulmarg for us.

After breakfast we went for a wander down the end of our street to the temple where the Dalai Lama lives. It is quiet and calm away from the hustle and bustle on Temple Road. No sign of his holiness. On the way out we visited the Tibetan museum. They have been fighting their cause for over fifty years. What a sad state of affairs. Around town there are banners with photos of Tibetans still dying for the cause.

We went out onto Temple Road and cruised the stalls and shops. Nothing like switching from human sadness to commercialism in the blink of an eye. We decided to buy Christmas presents for ourselves Jim bought a puffer jacket ($38). I bought a yak wool hoodie, fleece lined Nepalese socks, fur lined moccasins and a long sleeve tee shirt ($22). Everyone loves a bargain. They will all be handy for Gulmarg. We bought Deepak a torch for his key ring. The locals were thoughtful by saying Merry Christmas wherever we went.

After shopping we went for lunch. Jim had seen a sign yesterday advertising “free beer with hookah”. The smoking pipe not the female version.

Walking up the few flights of stairs to the roof it was obviously a nightclub. Even at 1pm in the afternoon the dance music was pumping out rap music with obscene language as lyrics. I can imagine it turns into a real scene at nighttime. Some youths (because we are old) arrived with their jeans hanging down showing their undies. It seems that trend has been spreading the world. Deepak says it happens in Nepal as well. How tragic!

Food is not their specialty - a tad disappointing to have Maggi 2 minute noodles for Christmas lunch. Jim enjoyed his hookah (herbal mix with mango and beer. I joined Jim in a quarter of glass of beer for a Christmas toast and had a toke on the hookah. It did taste like mango, definitely not tobacco because I didn't cough.

While Jim had an afternoon kip after his Christmas beers and hookah I indulged in chocolate cake and a mocha at the Tibetan Coffee Table café. It was really good – that was my Indian version of Christmas pudding and custard, which I love and missed today.

Before dinner we were chatting with the boys from the hotel. We were standing out the front watching the sunset and Jim was joking with the boys. One of them says “funny man”. I said yes, he thinks he is too.

For Christmas dinner we went to a café recommended in Lonely Planet called Moonpeak Thali. The boys had thalis and I had the yummiest vegetable soup with paneeer (cottage cheese) stuffed prantha (Indian bread).

Christmas Day over.