Pure Morning. I Wish You Too.

HH 14th Dalailama had just arrived from US, smiling as usual and waving to the crowd that waited patiently for him for couple hours right out side Namgyal Temple. I am taking a break at One Two cafe where I am not DJing like I did the other day. And just as I wrote that Tashi asked if I wanted to do that now. Sure. Yusef Lateef is on along with monk chants coming from the outside just as in Beastie Boys song Shambala from their legendary album The In Sound From Way Out. I met a nun, which in tibetan is Ani La, a day before who actually met Adam Yauch here in December. Well, Adam, get well pretty soon like nothing happened. We know the surgery went pretty well! 

You can see more westerners flooding in and you keep bumping into crazy people from even more crazier part of the world (in a good way). Somehow the idea of returning home seems as crazy as the idea of coming to India when you're home. That's the fact. Anyway, I decided to put up some random photos from last couple days. Just to add, the days spent here are very nutritious and not necessarily from food, nah mean?

Stars and the Moon in a black substance soup. Miso Universe.

My neighbor Rei, which is actually pronounced Lay since she is Japanese. Obviously I'm Laymond, I was lame she knew that straight up. Well, the moment I met her reminded me the scene in Lost in Translation, you know, the "lip it" part. 

There's something I missed out on. In the photo above is a cafe that I wrote the song for on Tashi's request. That morning it was presented and hugest crowds that was just outside the door started dancing and going wild. Believe it or not. 

I wouldn't know a thing about Black Stupa and I still don't but Carolin knows a lot and is writing a theses on stupas. She interwied the guy who built it and is taking care of it now by renewing the paint, drawings and keeping it clean. This stupa is part of the larger complex of stupas in this area that basically protects it from different things. This specifically is not letting the earth shake to significant amounts.

Streets are filled with maroon color these days as monks arriving from different parts of India for the teaching that will begin this Sunday. 

McLeod in it's beauty. 

Monk's debating between morning and afternoon sessions. It may get as physical as rugby. Not really, but you never see a debate like this where people are raising voices and pushing each other in order to learn. Amazing ay?

My other neighbor Christina doing laundry while I'm trying to fix her phone that dropped in the toilet. And if you've seen the toilets in India that it's pretty gross to imagine yourself putting your arm in there to get out the phone. Well, she did and I fixed it despite the smell. That was coming from its dead body. 

Aight, this is something you should know. This guy finished university at ten and still had to go to highschool till he was 16 when he left and travelled the world ever since. Did I mention that he was in a rock band too playing what he described as stoner rock even though he was more like a Zenbuddhist monk type a thing and not a smoker at all. He just came in the cafe by the way. You can claim such coincidences on the size of the town, but I tell you what, I don't believe in coincidences. 

Christina brought Chinese tea from China, does this make sense even? The Tea drinking that went on was the most ritual thing I experienced here outside the Temple. Needless to say that I got so high from it that I was literally levitating and needed to walk it out or my brain would explode. Last time I remember having similar sensations was when Atis, a good friend that I borrowed a sleeping bag from, got moroccan tea in the house and after emptying a huge pot of greens, sugar and mints I fell in the well. 

This guy looked like Johnny Deep from a certain angle. Maybe because of the hat and turquoise earring that looked really good on a darker skin. 

Chriss, Mandell and I flapjacking and having shots of green tea.

Gusarevs realm. 

Music Deity Rei was painting 2 months and that day she was finished. 

The Teacher from two years ago and Marta from Spain. 

This is Greyson. Volunteering. This is his friend's Trev office. He used to snowboard and stopped after trying rodeo5 to nosepress on a rainbow. 

Having a little party in my room. They were all concerned about black mold which I knew nothing about except of seeing a similar scene in a movie I love Paris where guy was totally paranoid by that. 

Important part of life. Laundry. I do it occasionally cause I don't stink right? 

On Top Of The Hill There Is Snow and a Thrill

    This is my story of Triund which you can read in full on this website in Latvian. Google translator is a tool to have at least some clue what's going on there. On the opposite or in addition to that story here we have a visual documentation of these events. I'd be really glad to upload some videos on YouTube but believe me it's pretty impossible here due to international-extreme-freestyle internet connection. 

Tofu Egg Thukpa at Peace Cafe. I'd be lying saying that this is the best place to have it but I'd be lying if not mentioning that it goes in my top 3 for sho. I walked in there the other day and there were bunch of local middle aged tibettans discussing something wildly. That's the place to get a real tibetan feel, despite indian labour exploitation which they actually don't have in Momo cafe, it's a truly tibetan place. But yeah, Indians work for Tibetans. I don't want to really comment on this, cause you have to go into really deep discussion but to put it simple is that it's so obvious their minds are becoming more and more business driven. I was speechless when I heard The Nationals on the speakers in Moonpeak cafe and was shocked even more to hear Iron and Wine a couple days after when I was chasing internet in this town, which was down after another session of thunders and lightnings.

Now the Tibetan Westernization goes even further. The guy in sunglasses is a Barrista and was showing his portfolio in pictures. "This is one of my girlfriends", he added about the photo amidst really good pictures of even better drawings in cups. Life ain't bad or I am totally confused otherwise. 

Before the monkey attack on my way to Triund. 

This is something that reminded me that I am going to New Zealand after this and made me even happier. 

After monkey attack. Army of 20 gray monkeys with black faces, very beautiful ones started jumping over my head when I walked through this rhododendron alley.

Dusty Wolf Eagle circling above my head thinking monkeys would have killed me and was coming either to rescue me or have a delicious meal! What do you think?

Now that's where I'm heading and you can see a famous cafe which is about halfway to Triund. 

Even on the altitude of 2500 m monks are communicating with outer world. Where's my mobile I have long forgotten, I use it as an alarm though so other functions are excluded from my perception of this device. 

Snow. Houses. And the back of the mountain that goes into emptiness. 

Vietnamese and South Korean nun's first snow experience. It's so exciting watching being so happy about something we usually take for granted. 

Walking in the snow while drying shoes and socks brought up the nostalgic feeling about sauna. 

Gingerlemonicious. 

Well, yes, it's a store where you can buy food, drinks and probably everything else in the world if you wanted to, cause the only world you can get there is that peak. Love it or leave it.

Future home. Can be a recording studio too. 

India Rocks. I saw this one advert once in a skateboarding magazine where there was a trick on a rock and the slogan was "Skating Rocks".

This rock above looked like it was part of some bigger structure once. Nicely shaped and humangus in size. 

Into The Wild. Staring at the wall never been as pleasant and deep.

Vans, now I know what they are legendary for. Their endurance and life saving features. I cut the path to Triund thinking it would be faster and ended up crawling on my all four for twenty meters equally distributing wight on all four limbs. If you look back at the photo with three rooftops you can see the distance in the bottom right I had to measure true alpinist style. The snow condition was bad, it was still a thick layer but with water running underneath so every time you put a full weight on one foot, it slipped together with a good chunk of snow. 

Free Refill.  I tried to melt some snow in a plastic bottle. Despite the heat it took hours and eventually I found this before drying out completely.

After taking rest and eating a healthy peanut-butter sandwich that I brought from home I decided to take an alternate path back. Narrow pathway was curving right on the rocky spine. Breathtaking views. No joke. 

This photo below looks like I'm in Tahiti surfing Teahupoo, which I probably never will have neither guts nor skills to do. Think of ocean somewhere near and put more green to it and it will do it. At least judging from photos and what I've seen in videos. 

I got lost three times on the way back. I crossed multiple dimensions till I reached a place located a couple centuries back in time. Indian family was having a picnic there and invited me for a dinner. I honestly couldn't resist and sat down to empty a couple of plates with rice and most delicious sabji. 

I had no idea where were all the males belonging to this family but I was encircled with women of different age and went on a crazy photo sessions.  Had to erase a couple of videos just to empty up some space for this brilliant opportunity.

It wasn't enough of having pointed a direction to the right path and I got lost again for another couple times. Well this time I couldn't blame it on anything but my foolishness and the beauty of the flowers, trees and valleys.