northest region of India. Between the Buddhist and muslim India

Hi ahimsa followers! We have survived to Himalaya's mountains and we are back!

We have been two weeks without a suitable internet connexion but now we are able to write our last two weeks trip in the northest state of India: Jammu and Kashmir.

After 2 relaxing days in Manali we took a minibus to Ladakh. We knew it would be a hard journey because of the road but we didn't know it would be than much difficult... If our bottom could explain how much pain they suffered during those 19 hours, it would be a long post. You can check in the video some part of our funny jumping trip. But not everything was suffering. In this route Manali- Leh we saw amazing view and we discovered how many hours one Indian driver can drive without any rest through the worst road in India. After this trip we become more believers... For sure something holy protected us to survive during this extreme road.

Once we arrived to Leh our ladaki family was waiting for us with a big smile and one hundred momos to feed our hungry and scared stomachs. They were hosting us during kalachakra ritual and they made us feel like in our own house. We can say we have a new family in the roof of the world.

During these two weeks we felt and lived many different experiences, emotions and sensations with our bodies and minds. Kalachakra is the most powerful and deep initiation of the Tibetan Buddhism but we couldn't understand everything they were doing due to our amateur level, so we tried to take at least the blessings that his holiness Dalai lama was giving during those two weeks. For us it was like a intensive course of Tibetan Buddhist and we could realised how much ladaki people respect dalai lama and how much they try to put in practice Buddhist values such a compassion, patient and respect for every creature. We also had the lucky chance to celebrate dalai lama's 79 birthday. We had a special party full of blessings and good wishes for a inner peace and world peace.

If we had to choose one sentence to define Dalai lama's teachings could be the following:

The best religion is kindness.

We really enjoy speaking and hanging out with local people, monks and Tibetan whom attempted this special Buddhist initiation. After our Ladakh experience we understand why this part of India is also known like a little Tibet.

Once we visited the Kalachakra sand mandala we realised that our time is Ladakh it was close to be over. What did it mean? We had to take another crazy vehicle to get out of the highest mountains in the world. Our button started to become nervous again..

This time our destination was Srinagar, the summer capital city of the Jammu and Kashmir region. Luckily our share taxi's driver was a non risky man and we could enjoy in a very calm mode the amazing sightseen of our journey. Dalai lama's blessing was starting to make effect...

Once we arrived to Srinagar we supposed to sleep and rest our tired bodies in a nice houseboat but the reality was quiet different... It was 11 pm and the owner of the houseboats that we had to sleep in, showed us a dark, scary room where we had to try to sleep for the next hours. This underground place was where we used for first time our mosquitera to protect ourselves from the insects, humidity and other strange beings which that night would share our lovely room ...

In the very early morning we woke up and we run to a couchsurfer house where we would live during the following days. Here we spend two great days living with a traditional Kashmir family and we realised how exciting life takes place in Dal lake every moment of the day. The father of our new family owned a sikara ( traditional boat) which we could enjoy a tour around this amazing lake looking the floating market, the fisherman houses, the huge variety of birds and the floating ecological orchards full of shining vegetables.

After we discovered buddhist India in Ladakh and Muslim India in Kashmir we were ready to discover Sikh India in Amritsar. But this will be in the next post.

Thanks to share with us these experiences.

Peace, love and compassion 

India first week: Adapting our body and mind

We have already spent one week in this huge country, trying to understand this amazing culture, trying to taste every meal and trying to hug these special indian people...

After we step for the very first time India, we realised that at the end of June is very difficult to keep your body whithout swear for more than one minute in Delhi. 42 degrees and 50% of humidity was our welcome party in India.

Chaman picked us up from Indira Gandhi airport to the heart of Delhi ( Shadipur). During this one hour journey we could prove the great skills which Indian drivers move across Delhi's roads. We think they were born with the essencial capacity of escape from the traffic accidents using their favourite car complement: the horn. For us it was amazing to read in some tracks and ricksos the sentence... Please blow horn! For them the horn is like a blessing but for us the Delhi horns were like our first great teaching of patient.

We spent our first three night in Delhi under two funs in Wahoe comune sharing thoughts, chats and music with people from New Zealand, England and India.

Here we met with the first NGO of our trip and we could realised how much pure activities they are doing for children and women in different parts of India. Wahoe commune is a humble local NGO which is really committed to help their people in the best way. 

We are very grateful with Chaman, Surender and Mehar to give us the possibility to be involved during three days in this beautiful project.

Wahoe commune has a huge Ahimsa spirit!

Alok: The best Old Delhi guide

We also had the lucky chance to meet a great Indian musician called Rakesh who introduced us very good friend of him, Alok. This Rakesh's friend was our particular guide in Old Delhi. Thanks to him we could live and feel the real Delhi daily life and we could try many different Indian meals like chaat, dosa, coconut chutney, sambar, kofta malai,paneer, Gulag jamun,etc... The most exciting thing of this is that we didn't get sick after eating everything in the streets of old Delhi...Our stomachs also have a very good Ahimsa spirit!

The last day in Delhi we met with Oscar, a spanish-tibetan guy who took us to a gastronomic walk across a Tibetan neighbourhood called Majnu Ka Tila.

After three intense and very hot days in the capital we took a bus to Manali. At the beginning the bus company told us that our journey would take 8 or 9 hours but at the end we spent 15 long and moved hours inside that bus... In India you know when you take a bus but you never know when you will leave it...

Once we arrived to Manali we could see such a different view comparing with Delhi. In this mountain city there are amazing green mountains, very clean rivers, deep huge forests and plenty of marihuana wild plants. Manali gave us back the oxigen we had lost in Delhi.

Four km away from Manali we visited a nice small town called Vashisht where you can take a thermal bath in a hinduism temple and you can do a comfy trekking to a sacred waterfalls.

Tonight we are traveling to Ladakh to join the 33th Kalachakra with His Holiness Dalai Lama.

After our first adapting week in India we are ready to discover the Buddhist part of this incredible country.

Here you have some picture of this first India week.

Namaste 

Surender: The best cook in Wahoe Commune

Chaman

traditional house in Manali

first jam in Manali