As I write this post, we are winding through the precipitous mountains of Himachal Pradesh, in a car artfully commanded by our driver Pema. Himachal Pradesh is poised at the foothills of the Himalayas, and the terrain allows for stunning snapshots as well as potential carsickness.

We’ve spent the past two days learning about Tibetan Buddhist culture by exploring Dharamsala/Mcleod Ganj (home of the Dalai Lama) and staying at the Sherabling Monastery. When we were wandering around Mcleod Ganj, we realized that the hippie shopkeepers in Berkeley are making a pretty penny marking up hemp ponchos and “Free Tibet” swag. Up here a “Free Tibet” hat goes for about 50 Rupees, or a dollar.

Sherabling is located about four hours from the nearest major train station (Pathankot) and the fresh, clean air there was a welcome reprieve from the smoky, smoggy city. As we meandered through the monastic buildings and surrounding trails, I was struck by the variety of intense colors — the green and brown of the tiered rice paddies, the slate of the rocks in the dried riverbed, the deep red and saffron of the monks’ robes, the electric lime of Jamie’s fleece, the rainbow of Tibetan prayer flags billowing in the breeze. I was glad that we were able to take day to sit back and enjoy the beauty in our surroundings.

Sadly, amidst all of that beauty, I must confirm that my worst fear has come true — Crocs have completely permeated global society. I saw a monk sporting a pair with his robes at the monastery this morning. Thankfully, there have been no Ugg sightings yet so there is still hope for mankind.

By the end of today we will have covered nearly 500 km (300 miles) travelling by road between Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. But these roads are a far cry from the New Jersey Turnpike, and each mile offers a new source of amusement, visual/auditory/olfactory stimulation, and absolute gut-wrenching terror.

Amusement comes in the form of animals wandering through the streets and highways — cows, dogs and even monkeys — totally unphased by the honking vehicles navigating around them. The animals truly own the roads here. 9 or 10 people on an auto-rickshaw is not an uncommon sight, nor is a tractor towing a bicycle or a donkey hauling a cart with half a dozen grown men on it — generally right down the middle of the highway.

The senses are overwhelmed by the every imaginable color — in dress, on billboards (99% of which are painted, not printed), and in painted designs on the sides of almost every truck. The never-ending symphony of horns (drivers honk pretty much everytime they pass another car or truck) ranges from lorry baritone to Toyota soprano, and even includes musical clown horns to calm the nerves. And distinct smells waft into the car along every stretch of road — incense, smoke from controlled brushfires in the countryside, noxious fumes in the cities, and raw sewage pretty much anywhere.

Lastly fright, with one seeming “near miss” after another, as bicyclists, tractors, pedestrians, trucks and cars all share the same road, each moving at their own pace. The operating norm seems to be that one has the right-of-way so long as oncoming traffic can stop/slow down in time to avoid collision. This made things particularly interesting this morning when the road from Jaipur to Agra was shrouded in the thickest fog I’ve ever seen, and our driver would skillfully hit the brakes just in time to avoid a vehicle suddenly emerging from the white. Given these challenging traffic norms, I have been incredibly impressed with the skill of our drivers, whose seeming near misses would be crushing metal if instead it was me behind the wheel.

Today we visited the magnificent palace and former Mughal capital at Fatehpur Sikri, and the even more incredible Taj Mahal in Agra, before parting with my family to commence the next leg of our trip. Both of these sites deserve a lot more ink than I’m giving them here (and a lot more time than we were able to spend visiting them), but just trust that they were both incredibly fascinating and spectacular, and that my poor photography skills do not do them justice. Nevertheless, we’ll try to get the photos up ASAP.

We’re almost to Delhi, where we will catch an overnight train to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and a large Tibetan exile community. Stay tuned for our next update from the Himalayas!

A few photos from my phone: