Dharamsala

Monsoon can be severe in Dharamsala

Kashmir Cottage remains serene

The new Rato abbot has come from Korea

the stupa of our late abbot, Chuwar Rinpoche, my teacher when I first joined Rato

View from the apartment I was so kindly lent

Temple Road, McLeod Ganj

a shave

chai with the cobbler who repaired my umbrella

a Rajasthani serenade

the best samosa and chai in town, their maker in the background

I see Heiko who photographed my ordination many years ago,

the man who guards the ATM,

and two happy lamas, Lelung Rinpoche and Ngagchen Rinpoche

I visit Prakash who cared for us at Deodar Villa during covid and now has his own tea stall

then a dinner party, Khyongla Rinpoche-style, on the eve of my departure.

A quick stop at the Amritsar Ritz

and to Delhi where life is laid back