Monday, November 7, 2011

Independent Travel

Most vivid memory:

Hearing the Muslim call to prayer in the middle of a country club in Delhi near the bus station, that we may or may not have snuck into through a gap in the fence, sitting on the grass with a very special recreational apple near a more or less abandoned mysterious temple. The music was coming through so clear and surreal amidst the grass in this completely surreal place, an oasis in the middle of the bustling city where the city noise was almost completely blocked off by the barrier of the trees. Trash was virtually non-existent which is practically impossible in Delhi, trust me. Instead there was a clean lawn to relax on, birds and trees, old buildings to explore, and eucre to be played.

Other impressions? In Mukteshwar we flew. Went paragliding. I felt like I could see the whole world. Bought two sweaters at the same shop where I found my gem of a sweater last year. Saw dear old friends. Had my first one-on-one encounter with a threatening dog that involved scrambling to find and throw three rocks while getting out of the territory that dog was protecting. Collapsed into a giggling fit with Manoj's friends while attempting to wring my towel out over the fire. Took a nine hour bus to Delhi. Haggled with rickshaw drivers and hotel owners at midnight. Got on a "VOLVO" tourist bus to go to McLeod Ganj after being very sketchily driven there from the main bus station and tricked into taking the (SWELTERING) AC bus for an extra 100 rupees. Took sleeping pill on said bus at 7:30 PM and spent the good portion of the rest of the ride passed out. Arrived in an awesome town at 5 AM, two cups of espresso and five hours later we have found a hotel, found our friends, explored, and my graduate school applications are one small step closer to being completely done.

Namaste!

No comments:

Post a Comment