Back from India!

I am back from India! I had a good time. It certainly was an adventure. I had to change plans midway through. I originally was going to Gaumukh (mouth of the Ganges). They required permission to go and I, of course, did not have the permission. Fortunately, I met a fellow traveller who told me about a great hike not far from from Gangotri. I should say a word or two about Tom, the guy I met in Gangotri. He was a breath of fresh air and I was very glad to have met him. He had been a securities trader on Wall Street when he felt compelled to drastically change his lifestyle. He was not happy and knew that there were many other things in life to explore and learn about. He sold most of his possessions. For the last 3 years he and his wife have been living in various countries and immersing themselves in the respective cultures. He is very much into trekking and everywhere he and his wife went he would go trekking for long periods of time by himself. They have lived in several countries including Samoa, Indonesia, Nepal, and India. Probably more but those were the ones I remember. He (and his wife apparently) is very spiritual and it seems to me that he is attracted to the ascetic lifestyle of a guru who pursues higher consciousness by shedding the material lifestyle. We had a long conversation about such issues while waiting in Gangotri to find out about permission. I think it takes lots of guts to make life-altering decisions such as the one Tom made. Lots of people are confronted with decisions such as these and choose to take the easier (but ultimately less satisfying) route.

The new destination, recommended to me by Tom, was Dodital. This is supposed to be the site where Ganesh, a major figure in Hinduism, was born. It is about 3300 meters up and is basically a pretty little lake that rests up against mountains. One could continue up the mountains over the pass and continue trekking. While hiking up to the Dodital I stayed in Agore the first night. It was a little village on the mountain side. It was incredibly picturesque and idyllic. I stayed in a great resthouse. After arriving at the resthouse the woman of the establishment made me some delicious food and prepared my room in between periods of threshing. It had a great view and was accented with rose bushes in the front yard area.

The second day to Dodital was 16km. It was a great hike and saw some wildlife. Notably, I came across a troop of Common Langurs. That is new! I was fed at a little 'daba' which is a shelter for travelers which may or may not have somebody there to make food. What I discovered was how easy it is to backpack/trek in this region. You don't really have to bring food or a tent. They have little villages and dabas everywhere that can provide food and shelter. In fact, in places like this, providing shelter and food is probably a great source of local revenue. Once in Dodital, I stayed in the temple dedicated to Ganesh for one night. The monk came to me and asked me to stay there and told me it was free of charge. He prayed for me. He prayed at the tiny alter all day and ate very little. That is a tough life. The next day I went up to the pass (Darwa Pass) to see the view. It was only 5km from Dodital but it was a really tough hike for me. It went up to 4150m. I saw some lots of eagles. In fact, on several occasions, a combination of eagles and vultures got REALLY close to me. I got to thinking that they were just waiting until I keeled over. I was having to stop to catch my breath every few minutes and they were probably thinking that I was good meat. hehe. I stayed another night in Dodital this time at a really pleasant daba. The guy who ran it always had a fire going and was cooking food constantly for other travelers. It was comfortable staying there.

Then I had to go 22km and roughly 2km (6,000 ft) back down the mountain. That was a tough hike and my new boots did a number on my heels. The next couple days were a mess of buses, trains, and automobiles to get me back to India/Nepal border. All in all, I had a blast and am glad that I had the opportunity to explore north eastern (state of Uttarakhand) India. I will post pictures soon at the picasa web album site (http://picasaweb.google.com/nhcarter07).

Now it is time to take care of business!