Kirsty’s Blog

The Voice is following Kirsty Crawford’s blog from India. Here is Kirsty’s latest posting. (Please note that Kirsty’s photographs are subject to copyright)

Way back in July, Lisa and I took a trip to Mcleodganj, home of the Dalai Lama. Landing at the tiny Dharamshala Airport, which is actually in Gaggal, we drove through the beautiful Kangra valley on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

We first stopped at Tatwani hot spring. Unfortunately I can’t locate the cable for my camera, so can’t share a picture, but suffice to say it’s a picturesque little place, the spring is indeed hot, and its home to insects that I’ve never seen the size of before! We had a warm welcome from a drunk / drugged / deranged local, who reminded me a little of Tosh, which was a bit bizarre, and even the taxi driver was nonplussed.

We made our escape, and our next stop was the Masroor Rock Temple.

It’s simply stunning, even though large pieces fell off it during the 1905 earthquake. Built in the 8th century, it is supposed to be carved out of a single rock by the Pandavas. Must have taken them a while…

The carvings that have remained, and haven’t been worn down by the weather are amazing. Again, the lack of camera cable means I don’t have much to show you here, but if you’re in this part of the world, it is well worth a visit.

Then we were off to Mcleodganj. Climbing up the Dhauldhar mountains, through Dharamsala, past St John in the Wilderness (a gothic church, and one of the few indications that the town was ever a “British” hill station), we arrived into a square full of Punjabi tourists, noisier than Delhi!