After corresponding for 18 months with an old friend of mine, Dr. Adrian Feldmann who had taken ordination as a Tibetan Buddhist monk I went to Nepal to travel overland with him for his full ordination in the Himalayan small town of McLeod Ganj, which is just above Dharamsala.


This is the Kathmandu Valley in 1977.  

Kopan Monastery lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. Kopan was rudimentary back then, but so very peaceful, loving and beautiful. One day I strolled into the courtyard which was empty of people, but several water buffalo were there eating out of huge troughs. I tried to walk quietly past them, but one did not like me at all and began chasing me - I ran as fast as I could up to the higher hill and rounding a sharp corner, I had fortunately lost him and myself too. Not knowing precisely where I was, I headed back in the general direction of the Gompa, still slightly out of breath from my escape from the water buffalo.

Suddenly, a savage barking froze me in my tracks! My mind pictured one of the Tibetan Mastiffs somewhere in the bushes and I certainly did not want to meet one of them without a Lama being about!
Gingerly I walked on, then arrested in my steps as I came upon a small wire pen semi-hidden in the trees. Inside the pen was the most remarkable dog I had ever seen. He stood proudly and strongly, barking at me, while behind him his 'wife and children' stood back as she protected her young.
These were the first Lhasa Apsos I ever saw! My heart was captivated by their eyes which reminded me of the soft, alert and gentle eyes of the Kelpies I had grown up with at home in Australia. But they were small! I had never liked small dogs, but these were so very different to anything I had ever seen or known before. They belonged to the Abbot, Lama Thubten Yeshe who was not there at the time.


 Kopan Monastery, 1977


First thing in the morning, the Nepalese water carriers carried water from the well below Kopan up to the Monastery. Beyond are the mists of the valleys below.



My room - you can see the little short "broom" leaning against the window which I used each morning to sweep out my room.




The Stupa at Boudanath, taken from the Tarragoan Hotel




One of the many breaks on the journey by old bus through the Himalayas in Nepal - you can see the roofline of the chai shop to the right.



INDIA


I was amazed to see this camel train, right in the centre of the large city of Benares!


A beautiful beggar boy in Benares.  I loved the beggars, old and young alike - so many had eyes that radiated love.


From Benares we travelled by this wonderful little horse and cart to Sarnath, just 9 miles from Benares.


VEN. GESHE JAMPA TIGCHOCK

Geshe-la invited us to his house for tea. When he opened the high metal gates there was a raucous sound of dogs barking and to my amazement there were so many Lhasa Apsos I could not count them - over one hundred!   Geshe-la turned to me and smiled, then laughed and clapped his hands and they all obediently ran to the wide verandah and piled one on top of each other.   Three piles of Lhasas along the verandah, like little pyramids - what an amazing sight!   I knew then I would never forget these dogs.

As Geshe-la pounded the butter churn for tea, a small Apso puppy ran into the kitchen somehow getting through the door. Geshe-la smiled and laughed as it stood on its hind legs and he gave it a tidbit and spoke to it kindly in Tibetan. The little pup did not even look at us as we sat around the huge kitchen table, it just took its prized possession in its mouth and ran outside again. Geshe-la was love, laughter and total kindness all in one.




The Deer Park at Sarnath Park where the Buddha taught. They say these are of the lineage of the original deer that were there thousands of years ago when Guru Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha) taught.

I have no surviving photos of all the journey in between Benares (Varanasi) and up to Delhi by train, where I then travelled once more on the famous Indian railways to the tiny town of Patankot. From there we took an old bus which ground and grated its way slowly up the Himalayas in Northern India through seemingly impossible passes, to the small town of Dharamsala.


A shop in the jungle!


Sign at the shop. Notice the old stone which has been painted with a Hindu religious icon - that's the beauty of India, wherever you go someone has painted something or anything with a holy image.



After changing buses again at Dharamsala we travelled straight up the mountain to the tiny town of McLeod Ganj where His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many of the greatest Lamas to escape from Tibet, reside. It is called "little Tibet" and it all seemed so beautifully familiar - like coming home.

This is a view from above the town of McLeod Ganj at the retreat centre called Tushita! The white clouds in the background are hiding the white Himalayas which tower over McLeod Ganj, once a Raj hill station where the British would come in the heat season to get away from the intesity of the heat on the plains for some respite.




This is me feeding the monkeys some breakfast I saved for them.



Tibetan boys 'sprung' playing cards on the remains of an ancient pillar!



VEN. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, the Spiritual Advisor to HH Dalai Lama. He was the resident Teacher at the Library of Tibetan Archives and Works at that time.