Dharamsala and Mcleod Ganj

I don't even know where to begin. Now I know why people say there is no place in the world like India. In the 5 countries that I visited before coming here nothing came close to my journey here. I'll just have to pick up where I left off, in Delhi...
leaving Delhi was a big relief. We spent a lot of time in the different bazaars and got to see the Red Fort, of which pictures I will put up later. I left my friend to go home a little early and had a little bi of a bad experience with a bicycle rickshaw driver. He kind of followed me after I got out of his rickshaw(as he did not know where I wanted to go) and so I went into a shop. He came in and argued with the owners of the shop who told me that he wanted 20 rupees. I told them what happened and then just gave the driver 10 Rp to go away. Although it was an overwhelming experience it was really good because it made me realize how India works. For every beggar or hassaler there are two respectful and helpful people right by to help you out.
The next morning Mo and I headed to the train station planning to go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Well we quickly found out that train tickets needed to be booked at least 4 hours in advance and that going to Agra would not be possible. So we pulled out our map and decided to go to another of our top destinations, Dharamsala. We had to wait until the 9:30pm train and then got off the next morning at 7:30am only to catch a 3 hour bus to our destination. Talk about the "real Indian experience."
Well Dharamsala is in the far north west and it is the current residence of His Holiness, the Dali Lama. We are in the small village of Mcleod Gani staying just a few hundred meters from the temple. We are actually in the Himalayas!! It is so beautiful here and the people are sooo giving and kind. We have made many friends, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist etc. and love to have chai with them and are invited to a home cooked dinner tonight! There are more tourist here as there is a big yoga center here as well as the Dali Lama (whose house I went to today!). The vibe here is just so relaxed and although it rains a lot I like I am high up in the heavens.
So change of subject I am trying to extend my trip. Monique is returning to the states on Sept 10 after returning to Thailand and I realized that the only thing I have to go back to is my job (at a bar, whoo hoo...) so why not try and stay a little longer??? More details on that to come later. The important thing to know is that I am safe, happy, having the best time of my life and having once in a lifetime experiences!!!