10 Favorite Photos

 Here are my 10 favorite photos from Dharamsala, India (2025)

Home at Last

The worst thing about travel is the traveling.  Sitting in one place for a long time can be boring, tiring and uncomfortable.

After the 8 hour flight from Delhi (departure time was 3 am) to Frankfurt, the 10 hour flight from Frankfurt to Seattle was uneventful, except for the crying baby immediately behind me. Unlike the SpiceJet flight from Dharamsala to Delhi, this last leg of my journey was very smooth.  As we descended through the clouds on approach to Seattle, I took a look out of the plane's window for a view of the south side of Mt. Rainier.

The Seattle Airport (Sea-Tac) has a new international terminal that welcomes visitors from around the world. On the day I arrived, the airport was very busy.  Because I carried on all of my bags (just one small backpack and one piece of carry-on luggage), I did not have to wait at baggage claim.  Instead, I went directly to immigrations/customs. Because I have something called "Global Entry," I went directly to a special area for quick service.  In fact, there was no one in line!  It took me 30 seconds to show my passport to the immigration agent and I was done.

Well, almost done.  I still had to get from the airport to my house and decided to take the light rail (train) from the airport.  Because of construction on the light rail system, I had to change trains twice; usually there is no change at all.  The changes added an extra 30 minutes to the trip, but after all the traveling, it did not seem like much time at all.

Total door to door journey:

Departure time in Dharamsala:  7 am (India time) on Monday morning
Arrival time in Seattle: 2 am (India time) on Wednesday morning

      Total travel time:  43 hours

It's nice to be home.

In Transit

 

I was prepared for a long wait in the Delhi Airport for the trip home so I left my hotel at midnight for my 3 am flight to Seattle via Frankfurt.  To my surprise,  it took me only 1.5 hours from the time I arrived at the airport to the time I was sitting at my departure gate.   And that included exchanging my remaining rupees back into dollars. 

The flight into Frankfurt was uneventful and arrived early.  The Frankfurt airport is large and I had to take a tram from the arrival gate to the departure gate.  I had to go through security again.  The Germans are very,  should I say, careful.  I received one of the most thorough pat down searches of my life.  Let's just say that the security officer knows me quite well now.

On The Way Home

Science for Monks and Nuns staff arranged for a car to pick me and two other science teachers up at the hotel at 7 am.  The Kangra Airport is about a 30 minute drive from McLeod Ganj.  Right on time, the car showed up and we started our descent to the valley below.

When we got to the airport, we found out that the flight to Delhi would be delayed for three hours.  Many other flights leaving Kangra airport were cancelled, so I felt lucky that I did not need to make other travel plans.  To appease its customers, the SpiceJet airline provided a cup of instant ramen (Masala flavor) and mango juice.

Finally, the passengers boarded the plane and we took off.  I must admit that this 1.5 hour flight to Delhi was one of the bumpier ones I have had in a long time.  As the plane door opened when we landed, a rush of hot air entered the plane.  I turned on my phone and noticed the temperature display: 104 degrees F.

A short walk to a car waiting for me and I was off to a hotel for about 10 hours before I must return to the airport for my flight back to Seattle (via Frankfurt, Germany). 

Conference Day 6

The final day of the conference was Sunday, April 20.  The weather for the day started dark and stormy with thunder, lightning and rain around daybreak.  However, by 9 am, the skies cleared and I started my walk down to the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives for the last time.  As I made my way down the street, I joined a group of nuns who were also headed to the library.  We stayed mostly on the street on our walk until the end when we traveled on a small trail.

Inside the Tibet Museum

First on the agenda was a tour of the Tibet Museum.  The Tibet Museum, located just across from the library, is a multimedia exhibit of the people, land and culture of Tibet.  I strongly suggest that if you are in Dharamsala that you visit this excellent museum.

When everyone made it through the museum, the monks and nuns gathered on the grass of the Central Tibetan Administration to showcase their debate method for a film crew.  The monks took turns making their points.  Then it was the nuns turn to debate.

After lunch, conference participants divided into four groups: nuns, monks, abbots and western science teachers. Our charge was to discuss our ideas for the future of the Science for Monks and Nuns Monks program.  The program has been around for 25 years and staff wanted to know where we all thought the program should go in the next years. The afternoon ended with a cultural dance and song show put on by the library staff.  They not only danced and sang, but some performers played traditional Tibetan instruments. 

Finally, it was time to say goodbye.  I thanked the conference organizers and bid farewell to some monks I had not seen for 15 years and to some monks and nuns who I just met this trip.

My Nemesis

I had my suspicions, but I could never prove it...until now.  Everyone morning between 6 and 7 am, I would hear loud, booming noises.  It sounded like a metal garage door or metal shutter opening.  Sometimes it happened more than once.  I thought perhaps construction or a shop opening.  But 6-7 am seemed a bit early. Sometimes I saw monkeys on the deck or tree outside my room, but could not pin the blame on them.

But now I have video evidence of the culprits: it was the monkeys!  My new nemesis!!

 

Conference Day 5

The 25th Anniversary of the Science for Monks and Nuns conference continued today at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA).  The LTWA is about 1.5 km down the hill from McLeod Ganj.  I decided to walk the distance and as I started my trip, I saw a group of participating science teachers and monks up ahead.  I caught up to them and joined them on the trail through the forest to the LTWA.

Once at the LTWA, everyone was ushered into a small auditorium where we watched a video of the history of the LTWA.  After tea break, we toured the three-floor museum associated with the LTWA.  The museum holds many artifacts that were carried over the Himalaya mountains by Tibetans who escaped in the late 1950s.  I spoke with some of the museum personnel about the paper and ink used in the old texts because the materials were in very good shape for being several hundred years old. Museum staff archives many of the relics and is in the process of digitizing ancient texts that survive (see video below).

We then went back into the auditorium to watch another video, with some recordings from just last week, describing the history and possible future of the Science for Monks and Nuns program.

McLeod Ganj Scenes

I've been staying in McLeod Ganj, up the hill from the city of Dharamsala, for the past week or so.  McLeod Ganj is home to the Dalai Lama where he lives in a large temple complex.  The temple, a working monastery, is open to the public and gets many tourists.

Because McLeod Ganj draws so many tourists, it has all of the tourist traps:  many restaurants, street vendors and shop, after shop, after shop.  If you visit, be aware of your surroundings because the roads are very narrow with crowds of people, motorcycles, cars, dogs, and cows.  I even witnessed a motorcycle-pedestrian accident one morning on my way to the conference.  Seemed like there were no serious injuries. 

And monkeys too.  In fact, I have not needed an alarm clock because a group of monkeys visit outside my window between 5-6 am every morning.  They like to grab and shake a piece of loose metal that makes a very loud noise like the opening of a metal shutter or garage door.  The monkeys appear to avoid people too.  Perhaps the monkeys are not fed by people and therefore do not associate people with free handouts of food? 

Conference Day 4

After breakfast, I was invited by Bobby Sager to walk up to a monastery where the monks had started their morning chanting.  The 100 or so monks had seemed to be quite young, ranging in age from about 6 years old to 16 years old. I stayed for about 15 minutes before heading up to the Dalai Lama's temple for the last day of the conference.

The final conference day of the 25th Anniversary of the Science for Monks and Nuns program started with the sun shining brightly.  The topic of the day was "particles." It was fascinating to hear monks' and western scientists' perspectives about quantum mechanics.  Much of the discussion covered material unfamiliar to me, but it seemed to generate much interest from the monastics.

Monk I have known for 15 years; he helped with
the "World of Your Senses" Exhibit.

When the morning session of the conference concluded, everyone was dismissed for lunch.  The abbots and western scientists were ushered into a separate room for a catered lunch of India and Tibetan dishes.  After lunch, I headed into the temple courtyard where students from the Tibetan Children's Village School had gathered.  Eventually some the students approached me to ask questions.  They asked if I had a favorite exhibit and I, of course, answered "The World of Your Senses." I mentioned that I thought the panels about vision were especially nice.  I quickly drew a blind spot tester on a piece of paper to show how one of the panels drew the optic nerve connection on the eyeball.  The students were quite impressed.

The day ended with a group photo of all attendees:  about 200 monks, nuns, science center staff and western scientists.

Conference Day 3

The storm from the previous night resulted in a beautiful morning in Dharamsala.  The sun was bright and the air was clear.

Day 3 of the conference focused on the theme "My Earth, My Responsibility," This topic is not my area of expertise, but I enjoyed listening to the western scientists and Tibetan Buddhist monks talk about climate change and what the future may hold for Earth.  The two panel discussions during the day had audience members ask the speakers about what they could do within their own communities to reduce the damaging effects of climate change.

At the end of the day, the monks demonstrated their method of debate.  A large circle of monks and nuns sat around six monks, three standing and three sitting, who debated.  I am not sure what the debate was about, but the monks were very animated and even a bit physical with each other pushing each other back and forth.  And that was between the monks who, I think, were on the same side of the debate!

The debate ended at about 5 pm, so I decided to go on the 1 mile walk that circles the Dalai Lama Temple complex.  The walk is very relaxing and has views of the valley below and passes small temples, prayer wheels, memorials and stupas.  During this late afternoon walk, the trail had few people except some monks and a few dogs and cows.

Conference Day 2

The second day of the conference started with a tour of three exhibits developed by the Science for Monks and Nuns program.  The first exhibit, “The World of Your Senses” describes the five senses through the western science perspective and the Tibetan Buddhist prospective.  The second exhibit, “My World, My Responsibility focuses on climate change the environment.  The newest exhibit, “Particles” explores particles from the quantum mechanics perspective and Tibetan Buddhist perspective. I spent most of my time at the Senses exhibit.

My presentation was to be held later in the day and I thought I could use a necktie.  I went from store to store looking for a tie, but could not find one anywhere. My nice shirt and clean black pants would have to do.

As the time of my session approached, I was asked to come up to the stage with two Tibetan geshes who were also going to speak. Like the day before, I was given a FM radio for real-time translation of Tibetan into English.  This geshe spoke about his involvement with the development of the Senses exhibit.  After his talk, it was my turn.  I was fitted with a headset microphone and a computer with my PowerPoint presentation in English.  Another computer with the Tibetan version of my PowerPoint displayed my slides to the audience.

My talk focused on the importance for everyone to learn about their brain.  I think the presentation went over well and saw people nodding their heads in agreement when I made a certain point. It was time for a tea break after my talk.

In the evening, a group of monkeys gathered outside my window.  I had been wondering what was making a loud noise at random times of the day.  Then I saw the monkeys shaking a metal sheet, creating quite the racket.  They have visited me several times this week, sometimes waking me up at 5 am.

Conference Begins

The day of the conference to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Science for Monks and Nuns program started with a Tibetan prayer in the Dalai Lama Temple, Tsuglagkhang Complex. With several hundred people in the audience, mostly monks and nuns, the chanting vibrated the room.  The prayer was followed by several speeches to welcome everyone and an award to Bobby Sager, the primary benefactor of the Science for Monks and Nuns program.

After a group lunch, the conference continued with a panel of 10 abbots from various monasteries and nunneries who have collaborated with the Science for Monks and Nuns program.  The abbots discussed the successes and challenges of incorporating science into the monks and nuns education.  Because the abbots spoke in Tibetan only, I was given an FM radio and earbuds that provided a real-time translation of the discussion into English.

At the conclusion of the conference's first day, an announcement was made to invite everyone to the Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts (TIPA) for a Tibetan dance performance.  TIPA has an excellent facility with a large auditorium and stage and an great sound system.  Everyone enjoyed dinner after the performance.  More momos for everyone!

Conference Prep / Monkey Business

On Monday afternoon I walked over to the Dalai Lama temple where the conference will take place starting tomorrow. About 400 chairs have been set up off to one side of the main area.  People were also setting up some exhibits that will accompany the lectures. The first day of the conference is mainly welcomes and a panel discussion with the abbots of several monasteries.  The second day, Wednesday, is when I will talk about how important it is that all people learn about their brain.

As I was walking around the temple, a saw some motion in my peripheral vision.  It was a group of monkeys that had dropped by the temple to play.

Hike to Bhagsu Falls

Bhagsu Falls

With one more day off before the conference begins, there was time to explore McLeod Ganj.  Two years ago when I was in the area, I took a hike to Bhagsu Falls. I invited the other two science teachers to join me on the short trek to the falls.

Bhagsu Falls is about 3.5 km from the center of McLeod Ganj.  We all met at 10 am in from of the Dalai Lama's temple to start our adventure.  Traffic through the main parts of town was heavy, but other sections of the walk were relatively free of cars, truck and motorcycles.  Once we entered the town of Bhagsu, the traffic increased and the number of people walking around exploded.  We passed a swimming pool just before the final trail up to the base of the waterfall.

The waterfall does not have much water in it, but people enjoy dipping their feet in the pools at its base.  There are also many small food stalls, so we stopped to rest and enjoy a lemon soda.

The walk back was mostly downhill, so it was a bit easier.  We also stopped to have lunch at a small restaurant serving northern Indian specialties.   I opted for the paneer biryani (250 rupees; about $3) which could serve at least 2 people.

View of McLeod Ganj from the road to Bhagsu Falls

Up to McLeod Ganj

Sunset view from my room in McLeod Ganj.

Because the upcoming conference will be held in the main temple of the Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj, it made sense to move closer to the site.  I have been teaching at the Sagar Science Center near the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.  The science center is about 2 km below McLeod Ganj.

On Sunday, after lunch at the science center, the other two teachers and I planned our move.  We told that traffic up to McLeod Ganj was terrible and the drive to go just 2 km would take 1 hour.  Instead, we decided to pack small backpacks with the essentials and then have someone ferry our larger bags in a car later that evening when the traffic improved.

The hike took about 30 minutes and one of the science center staff met us to escort us to hotels.  McLeod Ganj on a Sunday afternoon was very busy.  I could see why the traffic was so bad.  People, cars, motorcycles moving in every direction with the honk of horns coming every few seconds.  I hope things quiet down during the week!

McLeod Ganj street scene.

Back on the Court

On Sunday, many of the nuns moved out of the Science Center to different housing for the upcoming conference.  I will also be moving to a hotel up in McLeod Ganj later in the day.

Because I had no responsibilities before the move, I took time to get back on the local basketball court. After breakfast I put on a t-shirt on headed to the outside court.  There were a few players at one end of the court so I joined them.  We did not have enough players for a full game so we took turns playing one and one. Then I taught them how to play “HORSE” and we played a few rounds.

The sun was quite intense, even in the morning.  I asked if other people will show up and was told that most people play earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon. With my upcoming move, I may not have another chance to play.

Special Dinner

After the last class, I received a WhatsApp message from the program inviting me to a dinner hosted by Bobby Sager and his family.  Bobby is the primary benefactor of the Science for Monks and Nuns program and in fact, the science center here is named after him. Everyone was invited including all 36 nuns.

The restaurant chosen for dinner was at the Chonor House Hotel in McLeod Ganj.  McLeod Ganj is about 2 kilometers up a steep hill from where everyone has been staying.  Most of the nuns were going to walk to the restaurant and I decided to join them.

The walk (really a hike) took us on up the hill on a trail through the forest.  We took the forest trail instead of the road because it was safer, without cars and motorcycles to avoid.  The trail ends on the pathway around the main temple in McLeod Ganj. It was nice to get some exercise after being in class for several days.

Eventually we all made it and enjoyed a nice dinner of rice, noodles, cake and best of all momos.

Day 5

Today was the last day of class and I knew that I was not going to get to all the material I had planned.  I decided instead to hit the highlights, skip the details and do as many activities as possible.  As with all of my classes, I started with a questions and answer session.  One question asked “What causes snoring and is there anything you can do to stop it?”  I got a laugh when I asked if this question was because someone was having a problem with their current roommate.

After the questions, it was off for a whirlwind of activities and demonstrations:

Distribution of rods and cones in the retina:  The nuns drew a protractor on a piece of paper and then brought a small, colored letter or number into the peripheral and central vision.  They had to note when they observed motion, color and detail.

Visual Illusions:  We looked at several visual illusions to show how the brain responds tries to interpret the outside world.

Sound Localization: To illustrate the benefits of two ears, I asked the nuns to close their eyes.  I then tapped on a glass container to produce a sound.  I moved quietly around the room and asked the nuns to point where the sound came from using two ears.  I moved to a different place in the room and had the nuns close one ear and tapped on the glass again.

Two-point Discrimination Test:  Using a pair of toothpicks attached to a ruler, the nuns mapped different parts of the body to illustrated the different density of touch receptors.

Ruler Drop Reaction Time:  The nuns used a ruler to test their reaction time to visual, auditory and touch stimulation.

For most of the experiments, the nuns recorded their data in their notebooks and on the white board.  After each activity, we discussed the results and focused on anything they observed that was surprising.

At the end of the last class of the day, there was a short ceremony to thank all of the teachers (two teachers from the San Francisco area who taught biology and astronomy, and me for neuroscience). And of course, we went outside to take a group photograph.

I think the nuns enjoyed learning about neuroscience.  They did not disappoint me with all of their questions and their enthusiasm for learning. 

Next week I will be given a short presentation at a conference to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the Science for Monks and Nuns program.  I’ve been told that 400 people will attend including some monks and nuns from prior years.  I look forward to seeing some of my Tibetan monastic students and friends from the past.

Nuns with Bobby Sager and Geshe Lhakdor, the Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Day 4

Another thunderstorm rolled through overnight knocking out power.  So it was no instant coffee and I had to improvise my lesson on neurotransmission. Before class, I looked around the available supplies to find materials to make a long “rope” neuron.  I did find some nylon string, some ribbons, some ping-pong balls and a plastic container.  Used a thick roll of old calculator paper for the action potential.

But it was not yet time to see the rope neuron in action.  I asked the nuns to build neurons from colored clay that I found.  When everyone was finished, the nuns visited with each other to explain their creations.

Then it was time for the rope neuron demonstration.  I asked several nuns to volunteer to hold different parts of the model.  The dendrites were ribbons, the cell body was some rope, the axon was the nylon string, the plastic container was the terminal and the ping-pong balls inside the container were neurotransmitters.  I threw some small beads to the dendrites.  When these were “bound by receptors on dendrites”, I threw the roll of paper (the action potential) down the axon where it caused the ping-pong balls to be released by the terminal.

I did not get the explosion of the neurotransmitters as I have with other models I have built, but the nuns all gave out a loud laugh.

With only a few periods of class remaining, it was time to turn to the senses. I started by explaining the anatomy of the eye by drawing an eyeball on the white board. I mentioned how the cornea and lens bend light.  I gave groups of nuns magnifying glasses and told them find a wall.  Then holding a piece of white paper against the wall, the nuns drew the image that went through the magnifying glass.  When we go back together in the classroom, we discussed the results of the experiment.  All of the nuns noticed that the image projected onto the paper was upside and reversed left and right.  I explained this is just like the lens of their eyes.

Further discussion centered around the retina of the eye and photoreceptors.  We talk about rods and cones, but I mentioned that there is one spot of the eye where there are no photoreceptors, the blind spot.  I showed the nuns how to put an image into their blind spots and they spent about 15 minutes experimenting with different drawing to show how the brain fills in the blind spot with what it expects.

We ended class with another question and answer session.  Before leaving for tea, I told the nuns that we had only one more day of class, but still had to discuss touch, taste, smell, memory, the autonomic nervous system and much, much more to discuss.  Of course, it will be impossible to cover everything.

I ended the day with a spirited game of badminton just outside the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.  Games were first to seven points, but if you hit the birdie over the wall, you automatically forfeit the game.

Day 3

After a solid 8 hours of sleep (the dogs were unusually quiet), I woke up at 5 am with a room without electricity.  Power outages are somewhat common here in north India and I hoped that this one would not last long.  I do use PowerPoint slides to teach, but know that the power can go out at any time.

When the first class of the day began, the power was still out.  Nevertheless, class must go on.  The nuns continued to build their brain hats and when everyone was finished, we went outside to the steps of the Sager Science Center for a group photo.

After we returned from the group photo, I answered a few of the questions that were submitted in the question box.  The first question asked about the best way to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.  Another question asked about laws against drugs of abuse.  The last question asked about imagination.  All of these questions elicited much discussion.

I then tried a new activity. Yesterday, the nuns did an experiment with mirrors to show how the brain pays attention to movement.  The brain also pays attention to faces and many people see faces in inanimate objects.  So, I sent the nuns outside to record (on their phones or in their notebooks) objects with faces.  They had 15 minutes to find as many “faces” as possible.  Everyone then returned to the classroom to share what they found.

We were still without power, so it was on to the next topic: Comparative Neuroanatomy.  We had already discussed brain size and basic brain anatomy, but now we were going to compare the brains of different animals.  I gave groups of nuns 8 cards with photos of different animals and 8 cards with photos of these animals’ brain.  The object of the game was to match the brain with the animal.  I told the nuns to use the size of the brains, the appearance of the cortex (smooth or folded), and orientation of the brain with the spinal cord to help with the match. It told time for each group to make the correct matches, but eventually all groups were successful.

After tea break, the electricity was back on and it was time to discuss neurons and neurotransmission.  We talked about the basic parts of a neuron (dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals) and how neurons communicate with each other.  To model a neuron, we built string neurons.  Then it was upstairs to an open room to play the neurotransmission game where each nun became a neuron passing a bead (a neurotransmitter) in a chain of neurons. We set up two teams and had a race to see which team could pass their “message” the fastest.

Tomorrow we will get into the specifics of how electrical impulses (action potentials) are sent along axons and how chemical messages are used to communicate between neurons.

Day 2

I continued to be impressed with the nun’s knowledge about the brain on day two.  During the “Brain, Brain” activity, the nuns were asked to compare and contrast a common object to the brain.  Some of their comments focused on the structure of the objects, other comments focused on the function of the objects.

We continued by discussing how some brain areas of specialized for a function, for example Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.  We also talked about Roger Sperry’s work where the corpus callosum was cut and the resulting behavioral problems when information is restricted to either the right or left side of the brain.

This led to a discussion about laterality.  The nuns all knew if they were right or left-handed (only 1 of 30 nuns was left-handed), but few knew if they had dominant feet, eyes or ears.  So, we tested for dominance using some simple tests.

The day ended with brain hats.  The construction of brain hats is one of my favorite activities.  The nuns were given two papers with an outline of the right and left hemispheres of the brain.  After coloring the hemispheres, the nuns started to cut around the outside of each drawing.  We did not get to finish the construction of the brain hat and I told the nuns not to forget to bring their “brains” back to class tomorrow.