The Journey has begun!

It’s already been two weeks since I’ve begun my India travels.  It gone by alarmingly fast and at the same time at a snails pace.  Looking back, I can’t believe I’ve been traveling already for two weeks.  The days go by slow here and I’ve found plenty of time to sit in cafes and read.

My first taste of India was Delhi.  I was picked up from the airport by a small man who seemed friendly enough.  We hopped in his tiny car and headed out into the Delhi traffic.  In India there seems to be no traffic laws besides announcing your presence in a rather aggressive and obnoxious way by laying on your horn.  Turn signals are not used and I believe the lanes are merely suggestions.  There’s a number of roundabouts where bikes, rickshaws, cars, and pedestrians all converge.  I’m watching scooters go by that have a man driving, a child on the seat in front of him, a woman behind sitting side saddle while holding a toddler in her lap.  I’m watching astonished as my cab driver is making small talk with me and I cannot understand a word he says.  I am unable to understand most of what he says, although he makes it very clear that I need to give him a generous tip and his job is very stressful.  Huh.  Funny that I’ve just gone to the ATM to get rupees and I only have large bills…   Needless to say the cab driver got a very generous tip and my course of learning how to handle India has begun.

I stayed very briefly in Delhi.  I arranged a ride the following morning back to the airport as I was flying to Leh very early.  My flight took off at 5:45am and the man at the front desk told me I was going to have to leave for the airport at 2:30am.  Embarking back out on the Delhi streets, it was much more quiet and serene.  More than I imagined it would be.  The streets were empty of cars.  There were people sleeping on the streets, but overall there was a very quiet nature to the night.

The flight to Leh was absolutely beautiful.  The Himalayas are as striking as you would imagine them to be.  Leh is situated about 12,000 feet up and has the nickname of “moonland” or “moonscape” something of that sort.  The Himalayas here are barren.  It’s a semi arid climate and the mountains are sheer rock.  Leh is like a little oasis.   There’s trees that look like aspens, though have very different leaves.  Apples grow here and it’s the land of apricots.  I’ve had amazing apricot jam and apricot juice.  Hay is being harvested, there’s a feeling of fall in the air.

I’ve managed to find an amazing guesthouse that is run by a Mongolian family.  The Zeepata guesthouse, in case any of you are ever in the area.  The couple who runs the guesthouse has an eight-year-old daughter and then there’s the Great Aunt who is absolutely adorable.  She has the sweetest round face, braids that run down her back to her waist, and she wears her traditional Ledakhi dress everyday.   She reads prayers during the day in the families living room while counting her prayer beads.  At night she likes to watch Hindi soap operas, as does the eight-year-old.  Each night all the guests in the guesthouse eat dinner together in the families living room.  We get in animated conversation about where we’re from, travel,  the economy, government… conspiracy theories, you name it.  Sometimes I look up and the Great Aunt is watching us with a half curious half repelled expression on her face (she speaks no English).  She’s somewhat grumpy and when people show up to the guesthouse looking for rooms she gives them an exasperated “no!” with a dismissive wave of her hand.  We guests here at the Zeepata love her!  We laugh because she is so adorable and enduring.

I’ve met so many people from around the world in this guesthouse.  Thibault, the French Swiss upstairs, hosts us each night on his balcony for some beers and his opinion on many things such as how to travel in India (this is his fifth time here), how to get a job in Geneva, and why Israeli girls are the best.  Thibault has adventure stories from all over the world.  My favorite of his stories is when he was in Nepal and the people who ran the guesthouse he stayed in were completely convinced he was Captain Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean.  Haha!  Makes me laugh out loud writing it right now!  He insisted that he was not Johnny Depp, showing them his passport which they dismissed as his fake passport he used so he wouldn’t attract too much attention.

There were amazing people  continuously coming and going from the guesthouse.  Eran from Israel, Louisa from Newcastle, Yu from Japan who I particularly enjoyed spending time with.  I have felt so privileged to spend time with these folks.  Everyone is down-to-earth and intelligent.  I’ve had amazing conversations with these guys in an amazingly beautiful place.  I hope to run into any of them again, though I’m sure the extent of my time with my friends here is but a few evenings.

Leh is gorgeous, but besides the few Buddhist monasteries there are to visit there is not much to do.  I can really only go to the same coffee shop so many times and eat dinner at the guesthouse for so long before it’s time to move on.

I flew back to Delhi and hopped a bus to Dharamsala.  My bus to Dharamsala is one of these “tourist” buses.  It’s not a government run bus so it is supposed to be plush and comfortable and luxurious.  I feel this bus is none of those things.  I have a comfortable seat, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely not comfortable to sleep in overnight.  We take off and the screen at the front of the bus is showing a Bollywood movie.  At about 10 pm, after getting through horrendous Delhi traffic (they hand out barf bags.  Joy!), our bus stops for dinner.  We’re at the Indian equivalent to a truck stop.  There are tables outside under blaringly bright street lights.  The food is greasy, I get one look at this place, and I know I’m not eating here.  I’m standing around, trying to look casual while waiting for our bus to take off again, when I’m approached by a young guy who says, “sweet bag.”  He’s American and I’m sure just out of college.  He confirms, yes, just out of college and traveling India on a scholarship.  He’s just gotten his degree in Psychology and is studying how Indian’s society/culture treats people with mental illness.

I end up sharing a cab with our young college grad after our bus drops us off in Dharamsala.  Everyone stays in the town above Dharamsala, Mcleod Ganj.  Because we’re both American and share some common interests, I now have an instant buddy and traveling companion.  And I am grateful.  Colin and I have a rather large age difference to contend with, but we both somehow make it work.  We basically meet early each morning to grab breakfast and head down to the Dalai Lama temple to go the Dalai Lama’s public teachings.

The night before the first day of the teachings Colin and I buy cushions to reserve us some seats.  People have been going to the temple and laying down cushions and blankets with their names on them in hopes that they get that seat for the teachings.  We try to find the best place that isn’t already covered by other’s cushions.  We find a spot that if we crane our necks just so, we might be able to see the Dalai Lama.

The next morning when we arrive at the temple and it is packed.  Everyone is already in their seat and the Dalai Lama is already speaking!  We climb our way over many people to our seats that have now been reduced to a space that is about two square feet (for the two of us).  We narrowly sit in our spots and try to get comfortable.  But!  We can see the Dalai Lama!

As the morning goes on I am attempting to not knee the man in front of me.  The little Taiwanese woman who sits behind me has her little foot tucked under my leg (too bad it doesn‘t smell so good!).  I have an elderly monk to my left.  He has about 3 brown teeth but he gives me huge smiles none the less.  He’s concerned about me having enough space and starts to push people aside a bit.  I am also struggling to find the English translation on my radio.  He attempts to help me find the right station, puts on my headphones, listens a bit and hands my radio back to me with a huge smile.  I put my headphones on.  Uh!  Still no luck.  I spend the first day of the teachings simply taking in the surroundings and the people.  It’s ok that I don’t know what the Dalai Lama is talking about, I have the monk next to me giving me knowing looks and I can just people watch.