MCLEODGANJ

Like no other place I'd experienced - a unique blend of strange elements with no seeming connection.  Mcleodganj, or upper Dharamsala, was given by India, to the exiled Dalai Lami in 1959, as a place of refuge, from where he runs 'Tibet in Exile'.  

It's high up and Moon Peak in the Northern Himalayas, is visible sometimes, when the clouds permit.

This Hill Station is small, but each of its three main streets is crammed with traders,  Indian and Tibetan. Tall Tibetan monks in red robes, sandals and yellow canvas shoulder bags, reminded me of Ancient Greek Philosophers.  They would either walk down to their monastery, below the town, or up to the market.  Groups of young people, many with backpacks, from a variety of countries, would shop for handicrafts, or drink coffee at sidewalk stalls and in amongst this crowd, 4-wheel drive vehicles would jostle for space, on the narrow roads passing through the town.

Perched high up above the valley,  Mcleodganj is usually swathed in cloud, which lifts and drops, constantly, changing everything - fir lined contours, become misty and half-seen,  like an oriental painting, or else clearly etched for some moments.  Multi view points emerge in the cloud filled depths or up to the misty peaks - a dematerialised world.

Many Tibetan refugees have come over the mountains - grueling journeys, evading Chinese capture and arrive frost-bitten in Katmandu in the Southern Himalayas - when strong enough, they make their way to Mcleodganj, to be near 'His Holiness, the Dalai Lama' - a firm sense of place in the flux of constantly changing perspectives.