Today I saw the Dalai Lama!

From: Tommy Hermansen
Date: Mon Apr 30, 2001 7:42am
Subject: Today I saw the Dalai Lama!

We’ve now finally hit upon some clean fresh air again, in McLeod Ganj – Dharamsala. But quite thin though, even at only 1800 meters. New Delhi depressed the hell out of me, first I had to wait for my friend Trude to arrive, then we waited for our Chinese visas to come through. It was 44 centigrades and extremely dusty. I was happy to see the Indian Himalayas yesterday, while sitting/laying on the roof of a speeding bus dodging powerlines and low branches.

I have some difficulties breathing in this altitude and I’m quite dizzy all the time. Think maybe my long lost asthma is acting up again, I will have to take it easy, and just see how it develops. On top of this the room has wet spots on the walls, the owner has built his guesthouse with only a flat concrete roof. Not very good against rain. I’ll probably have to move, the stale air is not good for me.

Tomorrow I’ll do a dry run on trekking in higher altitude, I’ll walk up to the snow line at around 3500 meters. The weather is very nice today, I just hope it will be the same tomorrow during the first big trek.