Birthday Adventure!

I dont have much time left online, but I wanted to make a brief mention of one of the highlights of my trip thus far! My mountain bike venture down from the World's Highest Motorable pass was truly brilliant! I was joined by two wonderful new friends and we hired a truck to take us and our trusty steeds to the top (we saw a few brave souls riding UP the mountain and at one point I even got off my bike and bowed to one man that looked like he was taking his life to the top of the world! So impressed!) where it was actually snowing in mid July!

I was a bit nervous about the beginning of the road because that was the least developed and my fingers were so frozen I could barely grip the breaks but once we got going and the adrenaline kicked in, it was a thrilling combination of flying and skiing a fantastic set of moguls! I absolutely savored every twist and turn, the view morphing with every switchback and as the afternoon drew nigh, the morning light punctured the mountain shadows through the peaks until they slowly drained from the valley below.

My M.O. was to hang back so that I could get shots of the other two girls biking down and take in the majestic landscape and then I would race down to catch up, soaring through the divets and streams that coursed over the path. Oh, this was freedom! I watched some donkeys play on the slopes and a couple came down to greet me- they were just like little puppy dogs nuzzling up against me - so cute!

About half way down, the road became somewhat paved and it was smooth sailing. Occasionally we were waylaid by an army caravan that seemed ammused to see three girls out on the road and we salluted eachother with giant smiles. We even took the time to get a couple no-handed pictures for our collection :). Once near the bottom, Leh revealed itself, cradled proudly between the mighty Himalayas and the Karakoram mountain ranges. We rolled into town and watched some ladakhi women spin string and gather grasses... what an amazing day - if every day were like this, culture and challenging athletic feats, I would be in heaven!:)

I want to say thanks to all those that remembered my birthday! It really means so much to me to hear from all of you! Thanks also to Tina for the early birthday gift and to Emma and Ange for the surprise birthday cake - they made the day complete!

On the (Indian) road again

Being on the road again means something entirely different in India than it does in the states. I remember one road trip in particular, driving from New York to LA in TWO very long days, stopping just once in the Texas panhandle for a few hours rest. That trip was made in a cozy SUV with a DVD player, AC, heated seats and a navigation system on a perfectly paved Highway (holla to Rhi and Chris!)... This last trip, from Leh in the high northern Kashimir region of India to Manali, just 500k south, took a full 24 hours (it was only supposed to take 16) and we stopped a mere 3 times during the gruelling journey(2:30am departure, 9:30am 15min chai break, 3pm 30min lunch break and 9pm 30min dinner break - but the power was out so there was no food, just another cup of chai). Yes, this was a different trip altogether.

The road from Leh to Manali undulates from one extreme to the other; now its an open rocky field that we pick our way across and the next thing you know, you are ejected from you seat as an announcement that you have begun the half paved, half wrinkled dirt path, half crumbled remnants of a road that has since fallen down the side of the cliff. Our "Super Deluxe Bus" *laugh* lumbered down each section like a drunk hippopotamus, swaying from side to side, tossing us inside its upset belly. Our driver for this second trip was unbelievably slow which unfortunately did not make the ride any smoother.

The scenery was some consolation as it was just as stunning as the last trip and this time I felt like I was getting to see the half I missed with my eyes shut last time. The mountains resembled the hands of Avalokiteśvara, the thousand armed god of compassion, each of his ten thousand fingers intertwining in prayer for our safety - clearly we were going to need it! Later, the landscape unfolded and the waters gathered to create patches of green valley where tiny villages popped up. It facinated me to watch the ant-sized human figures working the fields or carrying loads as tall as they were up precarious, 80degree slopes and the kids happy as ever. Trying to imagine living that life, knowing nothing different and then recognizing I come from such a vastly different reality and I only get to glimpse theirs from behind the glass of my rolling observatory. Ahh, there is so much that I will never know! It is impossible... and captivating...

Now, back in Manali, one of the most popular destination for Indian tourists, especially honeymooners and set at the base of evergreen mountains, I am getting ready for my next trip. I will be taking another night bus down to Shimla, once the summer capital of the British Raj and then soon after will book a ticket on the famous 'toy train' that runs from there to Chandigar, famous for its beautiful rock gardens and architecture. As a bonus, I wanted to post some of the most hilarious road signs I have ever seen in my life! A purely Indian concept produced to diminish accidents along the unpoliced roads, here are some of my favorite examples:
If Marriage, Divorce Speed
Don't Gossip, Let Him Drive
Drinking Whiskey, Makes Driving Risky
Thanks
I'm Curvaceous, Go Slow
Slow Drive, Long Life
Better Late Than Never
and my personal favorite... You May Be American or African, but All Are Human Being!

Phew, what a relief!! :)

Another short one

I find myself drawn back into the internet cafe although it is so expensive for one reason or another so as a quick note, my trip up to the World's Highest Motorable Pass was AMAZING! I had a thrilling time racing down 42k back to Leh with two very cool girls. I promise to write more later, but check out the pics to get an idea!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2012463&l=f0a56&id=60100993

Ladakhi Update

The internet went down in Manali and I was not able to post the rest of the entry I had written so for those of you that already ready my last post, there is yet a little more to go! :)

The internet here in Leh is more than 3 times the price I have found anywhere else so I will keep the computer time to a minimum. Just know that the trip from Manali lasted 20 hours in a small bus and... boy was it an adventure within itself!! Some of the most striking scenery I have ever seen. If harsh can be beautiful, this trip, through rocky valleys, desert-like open ground, rivers and jagged cliffs is that. Nature to me is usually so gentle and curvaceous and beauty comes from color and lush life. This "Tibetan moonscape" so it is called, is nothing of that and yet no less stunning. The down side is that little of the road is paved and at times you are simply making your way through open land, trying to avoid the deepest holes or the softest ground. I was almost sick twice, the worst of the two was mixed with the overpowering scent of tar that was being mixed and used in that area as if my nose was being coated as well for the new road. The upside were the tent villages that were set up in the middle of nowhere serving various dishes and hot tea. Many even had comfy places relax and recharge, but oh... there really was not much recharging when I had the back seat and was regularly bounced out of that seat! My head must have hit the window maybe 10 times every half hour. I had to laugh at the inevitability of it, even with my futile efforts to create a padded bonnet out of my blanket! :)

I have met a couple of great girls, a scot and an aussie and once we get used to the altitude (about 3505m but one of the passes was more than 5,500m!) we've made plans to explore Leh and the surrounding area thoroughly!

Where to begin??!

Phew! I have had one amazing day after another! I'm not sure I can keep up at this pace, its almost overwhelming! I suppose I shall work my way backwards so that if the power goes out or something else comes up, at least you will all know where I am now.

I am currently in Manali, a honeymoon destination for Indians and a trekkers paradise. I'm just staying the day since I am racing my way north in order to get to Leh, in Ladakh, in time for my Birthday!! For those of you that know me well, Ive got a tradition of planning some sort of adventure every 16th of July and this one, of all goes according to plan... and I suppose if it doesnt its got just as much potential to be epic :)! Without giving too much away, Ill save that for the after story, I'm planning on making the 18 hour journey up to Leh starting at 2am tonight over one of the most harrowing roads (and the second highest in the world!) to Leh which is in the Kashmir area. From there I will hop in a jeep, grab a bike and ride up to the worlds highest motorable pass, Kardung La and bike the 42K back down where I might just highjack... or maybe hire a camel for a trek... :) Im beyond excited!

I arrived in Manali after a 15hr local bus ride from Amritsar, all by myself... thats right, Im officially on my own and thrilled for some freedom from anyone elses schedule (especially 18 little ducklings!) I was met at the bus station by a man touting his hotel and although I was hesitant, it was early in the AM, I was tired and figured that checking it out wouldnt hurt. It was indeed a nice place and he asked a fair price for a room for the day (about $3.50), plus he booked my ticket to Leh AND offered a free ayurvedic massage!! How could I say no? He zipped me off on a motorcycle and soon enough I was kneeded and showered and ready for a day exploring Manali!

Difference between Day and Night

Upon arriving in Delhi for my last day on the job, Tina, another Rustic staff and now one of my dear friends, asked if I would join her to Amritsar for a couple days before going our seperate ways. My schedule was pretty tight with the 16th coming up quickly but we looked at the calendar and decided I could squeeze it in. Yay! Amritsar, near the western border of India is home the the Golden Temple, the Sikh's mecca and also, an hour bus ride further west brings you to the actual Pakistan border and a guard changing spectacle like Ive never seen before!

After the new batch of kids left at 4am, Tina and I, barely able to control our feeling of freedom, went to bed and slept in for the first time in quite a while. After packing up and leaving our things in the hotel, we took a rickshaw to the bus station, booked a first class ticket and then went for a celebratory lunch of mexican food (best in India I believe :) and margaritas!! We met a pilot from Alabama that bought us each a mojito and the day was turning out perfect! No stopping the indulgence there, we decided to catch a movie before our night bus ride and our only option being Hancock, bought 2 tickets and strolled on in. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to bring a bag in, we had to check it outside in the "private lockers". We went arounf back and just found a parking lot... hmm. We returned with another foreign couple and ran into someone that said it was all the way around, look for a guy with a big metal box. Once more around the back of the theatre and sure enough, there was a man set up in the lot with a tarp over a table and a big metal box. This is India Security for you. Here we have to check our "valuables" with this shady character, tell him exactly how many cameras etc you have which he writes on the bag in chalk and cross your fingers while you are knowingly gone for 2 or so hours. Nice. The movie was alright, Will Smith carried it, but for a brief moment in the AC, comfy chairs and booming sound, I forgot I was in India. Once it was out, we returned to the Secure "lockers" to find a crowd waiting for their belongings. Oh! But what luck! I didnt have to wait because my bag was sitting on the table, away from the man in charge where I could just pick it up and walk away. Mind you, he had written proof that he took my bag... ON my bag so when I took it... ahhh India. I waited for a moment to indicate that I had my bag, dont worry, but he was too preoccupied with the others to worry so we headed off to the station.

A successful navigation of the ultra-modern metro system, led us to our packs and back to the bus station with time to spare for the neccesary cup of chai. What a surprisingly easy day in Delhi!... Does anyone else feel the foreboding? After a superb cup of piping hot chai, we went to the office and were ushered by a teenaged kid to follow him outside the grounds to where the busses where. We waited with a group of people until a minivan came to pick us up and take us to an undisclosed location... Something felt wrong. We should have already been on our bus. We pull up to a string of about 30 "travel agencies" or makeshift wood cubbie holes big enough for a table and chair each. This is wrong. Alas, we knew we had no choice but to allow someone to get us to Amritsar so we waited while a man rambled in Hindi (I vow to learn Hindi at the earliest possible convenience) on the phone. He took half our ticket and while we struggled to communicate and ask for the ticket and write down any important numbers in a feeble attempt to protect ourselves from the scam we were already deep into, a man that spoke some english who was also going towards Amritsar offered to help. Eventually the "agent" exclaimed he had found us seats on a bus! Oh good news! We followed the second man that truly was trying to help, laden with our packs perhaps a half K down the road to a bus lot and he found the right one. We each took a sleeper berth and the driver shook his head and motioned that we had to share one. No, we paid extra rupees, more than anyone else on this old dilapidated bus, we were staying right where we were. Its about an hour after our scheduled departure at this time and for another good hour we put our feet firmly down on the dirty ground. We started to crack as we looked around and saw the other busses had all left and even the man who agreed we had been tricked and appologized, pleaded with us to take the one sleeper and he would help us if one opened up. Exasperated, we gave in and piled all our bags and all of our tired body parts into one berth. Grrr - It was not that we had to have luxury, it was the principal of the matter and we were forced into that, not by choice. It also bothered me than so soon into my Indian foray I had been duped and was not sure if I was learning from it... where had I gone wrong and how could I prevent it from happening again?

One very long, hot and uncomfortable ride, met with a brief reprieve when I did actually get my own sleeper for a tenth of the trip, carried us into pouring rain in Amritsar. We sloshed through flooded streets, jumped on a bus that called for us but we had no idea where it was going, rooted out a rickshaw driver that knew where the only hotel we could remember the name of was and FINALLY, rested our heads in a 200 rupee room (about $5). Phew! As splendid as Delhi day had been, India just had to remind us where we were by night!

In Contrast

Everything is in contrast. Easy day, difficult night. Delicious food, Disgusting garbage. Golden Temples, Greying and decaying slums. Amritsar is no exception. After recharging a bit (of course that included a cup of chai, which may actually have been our downfall in Delhi - Tina "Never!"), we checked out a couple local temples and as the sun returned to dry up the streets, we made the spontaneous decision of heading out to the border to watch the much hyped changing of the guard. Boy were we pleasantly surprised! Not only was it worth it, its a must-see spectacle in our minds! There is a pervasive circus-like atmostphere with Indian and foreign tourists alike buy plastic Indian flags and bags of popcorn, streaming into the 'stadium' seating. Foreigners get special seating near the front and you would have though you were about to witness a championship cricket match or something! Indians proudly waving giant banners and much to our even more pleasant surprise there was a massive dance off in the middle of the street! Ladies and kids only! Naturally we quickly joined the rainbow clad dancers and one could not supress the giant smile that danced its way to you. Long live India! We were surrounded on 3 sides by thousands of spectators, clapping and singing and on the 4th side we could look through the gate to the Pakistani side and see as many "fans" waving flags and eagerly anticipating the show, minus the color and minus the dance party.

For more than an hour, Tina and I danced among the mostle Indian women who grabbed our hands to dance with them and show us various bollywoodesque moves. We even started making up our own for them to copy! One day I'll have to show you "sewing", "Place on the shelf/Put in the drawer" and my personal favorite "Double Dancing A-Okays"! Hehe I wish you could have seen the face of one woman, probably in her 50s - so proud to still "have it" :)

Guards, dressed in dapper uniforms, pants too short and hats with fans on them (for the heat I assume) strolled up and down, half the time practicing their looks of intimidation (for the upcoming stare-down) and half the time enjoying the dancing ladies and even posing for a picture or two. Once it was time to begin, we all took our seats and cheered for our side. A regiment of men took turns high kicking (actually knocking their own hats off!) and speed marching to the gate where they stomped with such force you would think they were trying to send a shock wave across. Ha, the pomp was so entertaining! The Pakistani men, dressed in nearly identical outfits only a bit more menacing in black vs tan, strutted and stomped with equal vigor and even sent over a couple 'He-man' arm poses. Ah, you just have to see it for yourself! Tina and I wished we could sneak over to the other side, just to say we'd been there but then thought better of it in light of all the swords and daggers and barbed wire ;). Oh and that scary stomping... that was the killer.

As I suspected, this entry is becoming somewhat verbose. I just want to share everything with you, its all so amazing! I'll try to summarize from here on out to get myself caught up!

The next day we made reservations at the Golden temple to stay in their free dorm. The Sikh religion is so interesting - more than I ever would have thought and they are also known for feeding anyone that comes and also housing anyone for up to 3 days. We booked 2 beds in the wing reserved for foreigners and went to visit the Mata Temple. This temple was incredibly interesting, dedicated to a female saint that passed away in 1994, it was like a funhouse! Mirrored walls, fake flower garlands everywhere, hundreds of deities and demi-gods from around India represented as you walk a circuit that included caves that you had to crawl through, passing under a cow (and praying/donating to the udders if you like), walking through ankle deep waterways and receiving a tika (blessed paint marking on your forhead) from a devotee! Ahhh, another thing you just have to experience. I sat down near someone that looked important that turned out to be Mata's successor, saint himself. He sat upon cushions eating candies (that he also doled out to kids that came to honor him) and spoke with his own devotees that surrounded him. Suddenly I was brought a bottle of soda and a young girl asked if I wanted some lunch. I declined but she insisted that he was offering it to me and it was really no problem! After a while I aquiesced and grabbed Tina from another part of the hall. We shared a plate of chipati and mystery sauce and even a little dessert. We learned more from the young girl, so sweet and then when I brought out my camera, the saint directed us to take one in front of the Mata idol. He then blessed bracelets of red string that we had seen and tied them on each of us!! We were so honored! We had to leave to get our things from the hotel but that was truly a moment that will stay with me for some time!

After dropping our things at the temple we left our shoes, washed our feet and entered the magnificent grounds of the Golden Temple. I cannot express how clean and absolutely glowing this place was. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, with such a peaceful and content air throughout. People circumambulated the great lake, barefoot, taking their time, taking it in. People bathed, stripping down to their "loose underwear" as dictated by Sikh custom and holding a chain if they were afraid of falling in. Despite Tina and I wearing headscarves just as the others, we were still spotted as foreigners and almost as celebrities! Kids came up to us with sheepish smiles and offered their hands, sometimes even prodded by their parents. We were asked the same questions over and over and each conversation went something like this: "Hello!" "Hello!" *Big smiles exchanged* "How are you?" "Im good and you?" "I am fine thanks" "What your country?" or "Where are you coming from?" "America" "Oh, good country! What is your name?" "Jessie, what is yours?". At this point, they would fill in their name, we would say nice to meet you and usually they had exhausted their english repertoire. They would smile at us for a while, Tina would offer them a sticker which they happily accepted and then they would scamped off. I loved it! It was so cute, even they adults would approach us, it just wasnt nearly as cute when it was the teenaged boys that wanted "One snap?!" which inevitably turned into a photoshoot. On several occasions I had a husband around there somewhere, now where did he get off to? :)
Towards the end of the evening, we were patiently awaiting the night view of the temple when 3 girls and a woman came and joined us. We went through the usual script and they seemed to enjoy it so. We tried to venture into deeper conversation like "What do you like to eat?" but an answer of "I like pizza" took about 20 minutes so we regressed a little. Suddenly we were invited to their home for dinner. "You must come TK (Hindi for okay)?" We hesitated for a moment but decided it was another great offer and left with them to grab our shoes. I had happened to buy a mini pizza at a bakery we ran across earlier for dinner and brought that along as a gift. The image of the 6 of us women, scarves flapping in the breeze made by our 2 cycle rickshaw drivers huffing down the road as the sun was setting is burned into my memory. We giggled and passed eachother waving as we crossed town, one of the girls of about 20 year old, hand rested on my arm. Once in their humble home, music was queued and yet another dance party ensued! While we danced the door would open and close and one more person that had been notified of our presence would join what was beginning to be a crowd. Brothers, neighbors, friends and an adorable puppy that had a matching tika of his own! Come see the Americans we brought home! Snacks appeared and water that we couldnt drink. I had thought to grab a learn hindi book with me but it turned out to be of little use unfortunately and so what was lacking in speech, was definitely made up for in body language. We were told how happy they were and that we were "Sisters now, friends, is it not?" Without knowing why, we were ushered upstairs, the girls all clammoring excitedly and the boys following suit where they showed us 2 incredible hand embroidered bed covers strung up on looms. Again, I was without words "Bahud Sindhar!" I repeated, Very Beautiful! After enough admiring time passed, a cupboard was flung open and plastic gemstones produced. They wanted to sew them onto our outfits! What a perfect memory! We each got a few new jewels specially chosen and sewn on plus a few for the road. I thought my cheeks would be sore the next morning from the breadth of my smile! I had only just that day strung some beads around my ankle that Id purchased from a child street vendor and once we returned downstairs, I offered it to the girls and Tina followed with one of her anklets... I love it!! They were so happy! After a tasty dinner and many many pictures with every member of the group we had to beg our leave. The pizza I had given them was brought out as dessert and we learned it was Monika's first time eating pizza (the same who had told us she liked it!). Haha, what was lost in translation was found in mutual laughing eyes expressive smiles. Two of the boys escorted us all the way home and even bought us icecream! What a day!!!
Okay, okay, I have spent far too much time in this inet cafe (with only one cup of chai! :) so if you managed to make it this far, please do leave your feedback. As I said before, I miss all my friends and wish so much you could all be here to experience this!!!