Last Post

I leave tomorrow at 5 am to take a bus to Amritsar where we will see the Golden Temple.  After that we board an overnight train to Agra where the Taj Mahal is located.  Then a bus to Delhi and a flight to Detroit via Amsterdam.  The end is nigh.

Some random tidbits

It's been awhile since I posted and I though I'd post some things that wouldn't warrant a post of their own.

   1) Mundane things for Indians but entertainment for me

          a. Seeing a cow lead a procession of cars down the road, walking perfectly in its lane and boxed in by the oncoming traffic is among my favorite sights to see.  Cows wander where ever they please so when traffic picks up they become part of the ebb and flow.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is the cow knows the situation it is in because it is clearly moving faster than it would like, its head is bobbing up and down which I interpret as some road rage.

          b.  Water buffaloes are my favorite cows to see.  I think they are some hybrid mix of your standard cow but with some buffalo features.  They have a big hump on their back which is presumably filled with water.  They have enormous horns and when they are exhibiting signs of road rage you'd best look out.

        c. The system of whistling between the driver and the conductor, the guy who takes the money, to communicate when to go/stop/back up, etc.

        d. Riding the bus is a great way to practice reading Hindi.  Each bus has a yellow board with red letters saying the main route, with smaller letters for the in-between stops.  I usually try to get a seat with a view of the sign so I can put my limited skills to the test.

  2) Good ways to prevent getting ripped off

         a. Look at a product and usually you'll see in small letters the MRP followed by number.  Maximum rupee purchase is what I think it stands for and when you ask the shop owner how much and their answer exceeds the listed price it's time to leave.

         b. If you see something you like, act like you want to buy a similar product next to it.  When you buck at their initial offer which is bound to err on the high side, consider leaving but give them a chance to make a more fair offer on what it was you actually wanted.

         c. If they're selling too hard it's not worth it.  If they jump up when a honky walks in the store it's probably because they've experienced whitey overpaying and not caring.

 3) Good ways to catch the bus

          a. Stand near the bus stop.

          b. If bus stop isn't on a busy road wait on the other side of the road and when the bus comes around the corner cross the road and point at the bus; keep you hand outstretched.

          c. When the bus is nearing your stop motion your arm downwards to the ground, repeatedly if necessary.  On a few occasions I've done that motion only to realize it wasn't going to Palampur (relatively easy to distinguish when the sign is visible) and then switched the motion to waving the bus through, nobody was confused.

          d. Be at least a foot taller than everyone else and dye your hair blonde.

Until next time.

What I’ve been up to these days.

My “official” internship has started and I have been placed at a store called “My Earth.”  They offer organic  products made by local villages and distributed by NGOs (non-governmental organizations).  They have organic peanut butter so I’m content.  I’ve been helping them by creating information inserts to put into packages of essential oils.  Pretty soon I will be assisting, I guess, in the construction of their website.  I know little about this other than the good ol’ blog but I think I may be able to convey the opposite impression.

One of my favorite things about this change is the amazing bus ride I take to get to the store.  The store is located 7 kms short of Dharmshala from Palampur (the state is Himachal Pradesh).  The total distance is around 35 kms; it takes about 50-60 minutes on the bus.  My legs of course don’t fit in the rows so they are usually obstructing the column aisles.  When I stand on some buses I’m taller than the ceiling; hanging on to both hand rails and still being capable of elbowing somebody in the face is something I don’t think most Indians are used to seeing.  My Hindi has also improved during this experience.  Not all of the buses from Dharamshala head for Palampur, so I have to try and read the cities in the front window while flagging down the bus (sometimes if you don’t try hard enough they won’t bother to stop) as it is coming to a screeching halt.  So far I haven’t had any close calls with running and having to jump on a moving bus, which is the result of sticking out like a honky thumb.

The downside to all of this is that I no longer go to Dhared everyday but I’m okay with a change of scenery and I still know the way to.  My opportunity to speak Hindi with people outside the village seems like a better way to learn since most people can speak some English, but can’t understand you because you don’t sound British or Indian-English-speaking so they tend to assume you might be an American.  And when they find out you actually know a little Hindi and that despite my limited language skills am capable of relaying basic concepts the conversations become much clearer.  I walked home today from the bus stand and this kid started following/leading me down the road.  We spoke 2 words of English (Hello, Hello) and the rest of the conversation was in Hindi.  I like to throw the Hindi form of “hello” back at kids sometimes.  I also occasionally answer my phone “ha-ji” (literally yes sir in English but doesn’t come across like that in Hindi) if I don’t recognize the number calling.  Usually there’s silence because they instantly know I’m not Indian but aren’t sure if they should respond in English.

Price Conversions now before I go.  I bought a USB memory stick (2 GBs) for…

a)      $3.42

b)      $7.95

c)      $11.57

Hint: my continental breakfast + 2 cups of black tea + multiple hours on wifi cost $1.59.

(Pictures of the store on “Post-Waterfall Minali” slideshow link on the right side of the page.)

http://myearthstore.blogspot.com/

$7.95

Where can you find the missing photos?

I've found that making a photo album slideshow link is the best way to avoid having to load all 500+ megabytes of the photos I had posted.  Those that have been removed are available in the two links on the right hand side.  Also, there are some new photos posted there.  I've decided to keep a few of the better images at the bottom of the blog.  In the upcoming days I'm going to narrow down my top 10 and post those in the right column with the runners-up at the bottom.  If people want to opine in the comments about their favorites I'll take that into consideration.

I've posted some pictures of my travels to a town called Manali which is located in Kulu District in Himachal Pradesh.  There are some great sights and a giant waterfall.  I've got more to post, also I'm going to take down some of the older pictures that I can spare.  The blog is taking too long to load.  The removed pictures will be part of a slide show at the bottom.  If anyone wants individual pictures (they are 2-3.5 megabytes each) send me an email.  Sending more than 5 at a time warrants caution, I don't want to be responsible for putting anyone's pc out of commission.

About my commute...

So time for another post, this time about my travels to work.  I had planned to take pictures of the walk today since I usually do not carry my camera.  Today happened to be a ride to work in the "Montyvan" so that provided a different experience to photograph, but still worthwhile.  Monty usually drives us in GSC (the company that places interns) vehicles but recently he hit a rather large piece of cement while backing up.  It didn't cause any damage but the first words out of my mouth when it happened was "No problem, company car company car" which cracked up everyone in the vehicle and has become a running joke anytime we hit a pothole.  Consequently or maybe coincidently Monty has been driving his van around since then.

For the pictures on the trip to work I'm going to number them as I mention them and place them at the bottom of the page with the number in the caption since I don't want to bump my trek photos.  (1) We're pulling out of the driveway as Shemi walks into the frame as I'm taking the picture.  He is our extremely talented chef and a funny guy to be around, I think the word "jolly" describes him the best.  I have no idea why he had to speak to Chaman or Monty but it meant that he was in the photo wearing sweatpants, which is the only day I've ever seen him not in dress pants.  (2) Monty our driver and (3) Chaman riding in style.  (4) We have a shared driveway to get to the road which is about 200 feet long.  (5) And we're on the road now, the pictures are taken through Monty's windshield which you'll be seeing soon.  Once you've seen it you'll know what the wavy lines are at the top and bottom.  (6) More road and a restaurant under construction on the left.  (7) Next stretch of road, this place is called Neugal Cafe.  There is a small inn on the right as well as a wine shop out of frame.  (8) Some more road, ordinarily I wouldn't walk down this road since there is a shortcut at Neugal Cafe I can take which saves some time.  (9) Some stores, the STD sign is an advertisement for Standard Telephone Dial; something lost in translation there.  (10) We turned left at the end of that street on a road that cuts through a tea garden (on the left).  (11) Monty and Chaman posing for a picture in front of Monty's epic windshield.  (12) As we turned the corner a bus was jugging along and we had to yield.  This is also the point that the shortcut would spit me back onto the main road.  (13) We drive along this road for 1 kilometer or so which brings us to a fork.  The left path continues along the river while the right goes uphill towards houses etc.  This is the part of town featured in the photos from the trekking mountain.  It is a minor establishment 15 stores or so, the "downtown" of Palampur is a 3 km stretch of shops, clothing stores, book stores, cell phone stores, digital photo developers, etc.  That part of Palampur is to the south-east of our current position.  At the fork there is a Samosa shop on the left.  It is the type of place that could be considered a "hole in the wall."  It is quite dark and frequented by many of the same customers and the occasional tourist.  Chaman and I tend to hang out there quite a bit when we are walking to or from since it is a great place to get out of the sun and have water, tea, or a delicious samosa.  A samosa is potato and a few daal (beans) that is wrapped in dough and then deep fried.  It is like a bigger version of Crab-Rangoon but with potato sitting on a plate with a very spicy red sauce pooled at the bottom.  One samosa costs 5 rupees which is comparable to what you might find underneath your couch cushions ($1USD = 44 rupees) aka great deal.  (14) The next picture skips ahead to us crossing the bridge, we took some stairs down to a walkway next to an aqua duct which takes you to the base of the bridge.  (15) The village side of the bridge.  (16) The path up to Dhared begins on the two big limbs from this tree onto a stairway carved from stone.  (17) Up we go, I put away my camera for the next stretch because at the top of this staircase a crowd of 10 or so were gathered.  I don't like people seeing me do touristy things although I've found that I am in the minority on that subject.  At this point I was able to collect 3 separate responses for my questionnaire which makes this a very productive day.  (18) Me.  (19) More walking to a stairway up to the gravel road.  (20-27) Lots of road.  (28) A nice waterfall to break the monotony.  (29) And more road.  (30) We climb some rocks to get up onto the foot trails.  (31)  Grass to feed the livestock during winter.  (32)  Once it is bundled it is placed in a tree to stay dry.  (33) Ahh the power of perspective.  (34) We cross a little stream where water is held in a concrete enclosed area.  I've posted a video of the walk-up to Chaman's house here.  (35) Mrs. Lal and (36) Chaman's youngest daughter who enjoys dipping my gift of chocolate in her tea and eating it.

Enjoy the pictures.

Day 2

I awoke the next morning extremely sore which should be no surprise.  Luckily one of my fellow interns named Zach (pronounced Jack-ji by the porters and by myself as a joke) brought me breakfast which was a bread and butter sandwich with sugar on it.  However, the morning lacked a spark until Chaman finally got me to arise from my slumber.  We were out of water again, but since it was daylight and we were only going down the hill it was no big concern.

I should note that previous treks similar to this one set out for water at a higher point on the mountain whereas Chaman decided it would be best to go downhill and fill up the water as opposed to carry the extra weight on the way down.  The word did not reach all parties though.  I was following Harmit and Lopzang and realized that they were going at a rate I wasn't going to keep up so I figured I would wait for the rest of the group and rejoin.  I sat there quite awhile and realized that the group must have taken a different course because I could hear their voices but they were not coming closer.  This was the point that they diverged and began going down to the base of the mountain.  I eventually caught up to them but by that time Harmit and Lopzang were long gone.

Our trek continued without much thought our concern for the missing members, they had been on the mountain multiple times and were competent trekkers.  However, after some time Chaman sent one of the porters Suresh (Sir-resh) and myself to find them.  We hiked for a bit and came upon a beautiful and what looked to be dry waterfall (see pic).  At closer look there was a good bit of water moving down towards a muddy grassland at the bottom.  Suresh told me to wait there as he would climb the fall and locate Harmit and Lopzang, I wasn't going to argue.  I had 20+ minutes to sit there and do nothing but admire how beautiful and undisturbed this corner of the mountain was.  The only signs of human existence were the bags Suresh and I carried (he didn't take it up the falls w/ him) and the footprints I left in the wetland to get to the flowing water.  I can now say that this is my favorite spot in India, I suspected as much when I was there which made it all the more special, as opposed to realizing post-trek.

When I saw Suresh at the very top of the mountain with Harmit and Lopzang I knew that my time there was limited.  I filled my water tin and took as many pics and videos (on my youtube channel, click link at top of blog) as I could warrant.  The path we took when we set out was not the same one we came in on.  We were going to trek around the side of the mountain and try to find our way down to rejoin the group.  This turned into a debacle.  There are no pictures.  This became the most difficult stretch of our journey.  Suresh had to use a hatchet to hack away vegetation while we slowly made our way across steeply slanted rocks or loose soil, clinging to anything we could.  This became a game of its own, knowing which things you could grab onto and not go tumbling down the slope.  Green roots are a good source, unless they're the kind with pointed needles which should only be grabbed when you're on a cliff and getting poked in the hands or arm is a good problem to have when a hefty fall to your death is the alternative.  Our movement on this "trail" was restricted to what nature offered.  At times going 30 feet might last 10 minutes or more, hurrying would only increase our chances of falling.  We continued to make our way slowly around the mountain, but with each corner we turned it seemed like we were back to square one: no trail and still another edge of the mountain to go before we could descend.  At times Suresh would move ahead of us (the danger I described does not apply to him, he carried a heavier bag and was 3x as fast as us without tiring himself) and then return to tell us to go back to where we came because there was not a way down the mountain, only a dangerous cliff.

This excursion must have lasted 2.5 hours and when we finally made our way to the rest of the group my arms were covered in dirt as was my shirt and pants.  I had scratches on my arms from the less friendly plants I brushed against and had vegetation stuck in the top of my pack.  I was told that the path we were on was only used by leopards and bears, which doesn't surprise me.  Any human choosing that route is competing for a Darwin award.  Despite the grueling nature of the trail, my stamina held up remarkably well.  I could chalk that up to adrenaline or the shade from a roof of trees and plants, but I think that the slow but demanding pace is more suited for my build.  I could climb over things easily, use my Inspector Gadget arms to grab hold of things.  Also, I could shimmy butt first across a dangerously narrow part of the trail so I could keep my feet flat on the ground and transfer my weight without much danger of slipping.  All in all, I enjoyed it much more than the 3 km walks up consistently slanted ground in the sun and dust.  At times descending down the trail felt like I was sliding into home plate, one foot extended to brace for impact while the other leg was bent with my boot on the ground prevent any rocks from catching my underside.

When we arrived at the base of the waterfall everyone kind of gave us a blank stare wondering what had happened while we tried the futile task of explaining something that could only be experienced.

So the trek went..

Our destination for this trek was a tiny herding village at the top of one of the mountains overlooking Palampur.  The village consists of 5 or 6 mud huts, stone walkways in between, and a lot of animal shit under some straw.  Once we arrived no one was energized enough to care where they stepped.  The huts are used when herders take their flock up the mountains to feed the herd the natural vegetation before it dies from the seasonal change.

Our ascent took a long time, it was very hot, dusty for parts, and long.  I was exhausted way before I should have been.  I attribute some of that to my habitual laziness, unfamiliarity with the altitude, and the heavy pack I was carrying.  I don't have many pictures because I was too tired to care.  I do have some memories though.  One of the stops I remember was at this herder's house who was generous enough to offer us some cucumbers.  I actually enjoyed vegetables.  I don't have any pictures but I can tell you these guys were legit mountain folk/herders.  All of them except this guy who looked like he stole Gregory Peck's eyebrows. see for yourself

I'm going to skip to the point that we reached the summit, since the rest of the story is a regurgitation of the paragraph above, except for the eyebrow stealing part.  So we arrive and file into the huts and the porters and Chaman start a fire in the corner of the hut and begin to prepare dinner.  The presence of smoke did not bother me as much as others.  I'm not going to question century old techniques of cooking dinner in a mud hut.  Dinner was great.

During the meal I was asked by Chaman and the porters if I would go with them to get water.  I agreed thinking that carrying water was something easy enough that I could contribute.  When the "journey" began I realized what had become lost in translation.  I had actually agreed to go with the porters to find the water.  It had rained and hailed after we first arrived in the huts so the ground was a little damp and there was bound to be some running water somewhere.  The psychological challenge of walking somewhere and not knowing if it is bringing you any closer to your destination is something to experience, especially with the onset of darkness.  Our journey lasted about 2 hours -- 40 minutes descending and the rest carrying the water back up.  I was dead tired for most of the journey, but the presence of some leopard poo served as a great motivator.  It was not a mud pie like the sheep/horse/cattle droppings and there was definitely some white hairs interwoven.

I'm going to publish the return journey on a separate post....it deserves some time to compose. 

Update

So it has been awhile since my last post and although I'm in touch with people individually I thought it best to recap and preview this weekend.  This weekend we are planning a trek up through Chaman's village and then on to some higher peaks, I am anticipating some terrific pictures.

Recently in Palampur I have been recovering from a sinus infection aka getting caught up on unseen Mad Men episodes.  I've now returned to the field toting the financial survey I created.  The survey takes down a  household's savings/income/insurance/debts in an attempt to ascertain who may want a loan but not sure how to get one.  What I've found is that bank loans are available, but at an absurd rate of 12.5% interest.  However, savings accounts accrue anywhere from 4% upon maturity and checking accounts somewhere near 8%.  I might end up recommending them buying short-term Pakistani bonds which kick 13% interests.  I doubt that will go over well, so it'll have to come in the form of a joke.  So far I've only taken down info from 2 families and will be returning daily to add to those profiles.

So some time for some random things/factoids about India:
1. India has the most billionaires in the world and the largest population living in poverty.
2. Toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet...garbage can.
3. Indian shower is a drain on your bathroom floor.  The shower head usually sends water into a bucket and you use a cup to scoop water and rinse.
4. Taxis charge a flat rate.  More passengers doesn't mean a higher fare.
5. People drive on the left.
6. Mopeds are more common than cars in most areas.
7. Cows have the right away.

Hello Palampur

After a 14 hour bus ride we made it to Palampur in time to see the sun rise.  The bus was an experience of its own.  If a vehicle is capable of hitting more potholes than it has tires, it was the bus we rode.  Not because the bus was special in some way, it was quite ordinary; the roads on the other hand were not so special.  The only thing that compares is being in the middle of Grand Traverse Bay with 6 ft. waves slapping against the side of the boat, I'm surprised the axles didn't break.  The rest of the time it was like riding a washboard, which was nice because at least it was consistent jolting.  At one point I tried to fall asleep with my index finger in my mouth to avoid the rattling of my teeth, or a concussion.  Despite all of this, I actually enjoyed it (perhaps my amusement for and enjoyment of turbulence on airplanes explains this).  As we got further north (I presume) we encountered some roads that were the equivalent of pavement, except they were packed dirt cut through the middle of a forest.  For those of you struggling to imagine this think I696 + Deadwood.  At this point the bus became more like a freight train amongst other heavy vehicles (which are rare because of narrow streets).  It's hard to describe, but in the middle of the forest small shops and other buildings supplied light that reminds me of the lights they would use for construction work in darkness.  This continued for 100miles or so eventually leading to pavement.  Then the bus took on the characteristics of a wooden roller coaster navigating the S shape pattern of our road as we continued north.  This bus trip beats any Greyhound experience I could conceive of.  I didn't get much sleep and am tired.  Staying awake through the next day I was reminded of my 14 consecutive hours of doing nothing and staying awake all night/day when I was home, who would have thought that was actually preparation for my eventual travel.

I don't have any pics of the bus ride, having a camera would have been a boldly stupid thing to do.  I am going to post some pics of a place called Happy Valley.  Also, I'm going to post some remaining pics of Mussoorie.

Sitting in a hotel with a name eerily similar to my own...

I am at the luxurious Rokesby Inn, situated above the towns of Mussoorie and Landour with a view similar to the first picture I posted.  I am not posting any pictures because I am using a public computer (Windows 7 no less); I have purchased 1 hour of internet use which cost 44rupees = $1USD.  Now that I am aware of how awesome this location is, mostly because it is immune from the monsoon dampness of my quarters, I will be returning with my laptop and *recently snapped pictures*.  Also, when (it will happen) the power goes out, this hotel most likely has a backup generator; losing internet in the middle of conversations or when I'm about to post something can become quite frustrating.  The reason for the power outages varies from weather related issues (lightning strikes) to an overburdened power station.  The power situation in Uttarakhand  is quite good relative to other states; power outages usually last 5-15 minutes, however this morning we awoke to no power which lasted well into the morning Hindi lessons.  Uttarakhand has a lot of hydroelectric dams, which are the primary source of power (the people around here recognize its natural beauty and are naturally hesitant to build a power structure around burning coal).

*The recently taken pictures I am referring to are among the best yet.  We traveled to a peak called "Cloud's end" (the name is....spot on) which is estimated to be about 8000 ft/ sea level.  The journey up the mountain first began with a descent to the valley which allowed us access to our eventual tectonic ladder.  The views on the way up the mountain were pretty nice but visibility was not great.  Mountains outlined the background, yet the left something more desired.  We continued our ascent despite the fact that the weather showed no indication that it would cooperate.  Our party traveled in 2 groups (fast and slow) with me tagging along behind the "fast" group.  We made our way to the peak which also had a nice observation post in a little over an hour.  Our trekker/guide/cook/cigarette fiend Chamin (rhymes with Ramen as in noodles) told us that an average accent was expected to last at least 2 hours, we made it in a little over 1 hour; he also estimated our elevation at 8000ft.  Despite our ahead of schedule pace, we were greeted with white clouds in all directions.  The view was such that I considered not making the final 100+ ft of the climb in protest.  We were well ahead of the "slow" group so there was no real hurry to leave, which turned out to be one of the greatest inconviences of all.  After about 40 minutes of consternation at the weather our final group arrived and within 15 minutes of that the clouds began to part.  To the west we could see the setting sun burning through the thinning layers of clouds as good visibility altered in all 4 directions giving us a chance to shoot pictures in a given direction, depending which end was clear.  To give you an indication of the variability; a window of opportunity to shoot pictures might last 120 seconds before it clouded up again (opening a new window in a new direction).  This routine continued for a bit until we were lucky enough to see in all directions.  I shot a video of the 360` view and a ton of pictures.  Our patience or stubborn refusal to leave finally paid off.  We had about 20 minutes of unadulterated views in all 4 directions.  Although we could not see any whitecaps of the distant mountains, nobody felt disappointed as we began our descent, hastened by the onset of darkness.

When we finally returned to our point of origin it felt as though the descent took longer than the ascent itself, which is probably true given the slow nature of travelling by flashlight near 100+ ft cliffs.  Our exhaustion was combated by a full meal prepared by the out of season resort staff who agreed to stick around late and cook us dinner.  I had Butter Chicken (I don't know why they call it butter) which consisted of a bowl of spicy brown/orange sauce housing 4 pieces of chicken.  Rice and naan (tortilla like but way more edible in my opinion) were also provided, as was a nice bottle of scotch; which warmed me up better than my plastic, sweat drenched raincoat (it drops to about 60F by dark).  The meal will be one I will never forget not only for its deliciousness but the way in which it was consumed.  The members of our group (4) and the Global Students Consultants employees (2) ate first.  Chamin, the cab driver, and our "house mother" Rajinder (he doesn't like this title but has a good sense of humor, he is actually the GSC accountant) did not join us until we had finished our food.  Harmit explained that even if we had invited them that their perception of class difference would have prevented them from feeling comfortable at the table with us.  Even though we all would have welcomed them and eventually did we they agreed to finally join us, their perception of inequality could only come from centuries of inter-racial and intra-racial subjugation.  Indians who belonged to a lower caste were subjugated by those who look similar to themselves.  If the cab driver had not been there we probably would have been able to strong arm Rajinder and Chamin to eat with us, but their concern for the comfort of the cab driver kept us separated for part of the meal.  When they did join, I hope they found their anxieties unfounded as we shared food. 

My hour of internet use is almost up.  After writing this I realize that these posts are going to contain explanations and stories beyond physical beauty and acknowledge the less beautiful aspects of life here.  Those that exist below the surface, ones that naturalize inequality from childhood in a society trying to rid itself of these endemic, but outdated roles from India's colonial history and societal structures.

Where am I?

In the mountains above Mussoorie and Landour in the state of Himachal Pradesh.  Elevation: 7000 ft above sea level.  The only reason this area is accessible to the outside world are the roads left over from the British,  Bridge on the River Kwai would shrivel at these imperial relics.  British soldiers with malaria and other tropical diseases were brought here to "recover," but were more likely to die peacefully.  Now this area attracts the wealthy and retired.  It's not like there is anything imperial about rich people on a mountain towering over impoverished towns.