The People You Meet

The other day in the internet centre we were seated next to a couple of monks in full burgundy robes and the whole deal. Ian's sense of communty prompted him to pay for their internet access for an hour... a whole $1.

Today one of the monks stopped us in the street and although his English is very basic and our Tibetan non-existant, we managed to have a small discussion and we found he is studying medicine at a school here in Darjeeling. He was very eager to thank Ian for his generosity and he gave us a photo of himself which we reckon was a type of honour.

Anyway, later in the day Tamkey called into the net centre where we were checking emails, and he gave us each a photo of himself WITH THE DALAI LAMA in Dharamsala where the Dalai Lama has established the Tibetan government in exile. He also gave us a page outlining his life, obviiously written for him by someone who understands English. We've not been asked for money or anything else. Altogether a very special experience for us.