It's now day 3 in Haridwar, and I'm still officially the only white girl walking around town. (Or guy, for that matter. There was Eola on the balcony and a man at internet, but out on the streets, it's just me.) The relentless and shameless stares started getting to me by the end of yesterday, but given what I just wrote, they are of course to be expected.
(In response to a request, I will be skipping lines between paragraphs to make my lengthy blogs easier to read... I'm sure many will appreciate this besides the requester!)
So, back to two nights ago... bumped into Eola at internet (she was leaving the sole computer in the tiny room, just in time for me to take over). I went to internet with the intention of writing a post, but by the time I got through all the Swati responses and answered them all (wanted to reply personally to each), I had been reading and typing for almost 2 hours. Can't thank you all enough!
Found my way back to my guesthouse through the dark roads, bought a chocolate bar as a tv snack, and went up to my room. As I was reading through some e-mails earlier, a few people mentioned the Oscars coming up. Pffff, I thought. I'm so beyond caring about all that western glitzy gibberish. But then as I was eating chocolate and flipping channels in my room, I didn't stop on a Bollywood movie. I stopped on the Oscars. Yes, I confess, I watched them from beginning to end. While I'm a little ashamed of this, especially given my mental response to the mention of them in the e-mails, I have to admit it was kinda nice to travel back west for a few hours. And I have to say, it was one of the best Oscar shows I've seen in a long time. Billy Crystal was a great host as usual, and I had to laugh when, after the musical intro, as the awards were about to start, he said, "Enjoy! 'Cause there's nothing like watching millionaires hand each other golden statues!" Hahaha. I particularly liked Christopher Plummer's win and speech (at 82, the oldest man to ever win an Oscar), and kept trying to picture him as the young and handsome Captain Von Trapp (Sound of Music reference, for you poor souls who don't know). The Cirque du Soleil performance was quite impressive, and Meryl Streep's win and speech were classic of course. Ok, ok, back to India!!!
Found my way back to my guesthouse through the dark roads, bought a chocolate bar as a tv snack, and went up to my room. As I was reading through some e-mails earlier, a few people mentioned the Oscars coming up. Pffff, I thought. I'm so beyond caring about all that western glitzy gibberish. But then as I was eating chocolate and flipping channels in my room, I didn't stop on a Bollywood movie. I stopped on the Oscars. Yes, I confess, I watched them from beginning to end. While I'm a little ashamed of this, especially given my mental response to the mention of them in the e-mails, I have to admit it was kinda nice to travel back west for a few hours. And I have to say, it was one of the best Oscar shows I've seen in a long time. Billy Crystal was a great host as usual, and I had to laugh when, after the musical intro, as the awards were about to start, he said, "Enjoy! 'Cause there's nothing like watching millionaires hand each other golden statues!" Hahaha. I particularly liked Christopher Plummer's win and speech (at 82, the oldest man to ever win an Oscar), and kept trying to picture him as the young and handsome Captain Von Trapp (Sound of Music reference, for you poor souls who don't know). The Cirque du Soleil performance was quite impressive, and Meryl Streep's win and speech were classic of course. Ok, ok, back to India!!!
Wait, one more thing... I realized how much work Rishikesh had done on opening up my emotions when, at several different moments during the show, I exploded with laughter or swelled up with tears.
I didn't get much sleep that night. Turned the tv off at 12:30am when the show was over, and went in and out of sleep for the next several hours. Wake-up reasons: 1) The bed is the hardest I've had yet (guidebook even warned about that), and I kept awaking to my bones painfully pushing against the plank I was lying on. 2) My room here is quite a bit cooler than the one in Rishikesh, since it doesn't get any sunlight to warm it up during the day. Since I'm only here for 3 nights, I didn't want to unpack my sleeping bag, and just used my light fuzzy shawl to cover myself. Not enough. Felt chilly every time I woke up. (The room did provide a blanket, but since the bed was so hard, I used its minimal thickness as extra padding under me, rather than over.) And 3) Had to pee, but since I was cold, didn't want to get up to go to the bathroom.
Despite the interrupted rest, I had a packed day yesterday. Got up around 8 and headed into town at 9. Walked over to the main road to find a breakfast spot recommended in my guidebook. Walked in, and who do I bump into again? Eola. I'm filled with joy every time I see her. She is incredibly sweet, bubbly, alive, friendly, and has a stunningly kind and happy face :) She was finishing up, so we only chatted for a few minutes. She had the Times of India in front of her, and pointed to the Oscar news on the front page. She confessed to watching it too. She even got up early in the morning the day before to watch them live, not knowing they'd be replayed in the evening. We exchanged a few comments about the show, and then she was off to the bus station to inquire about her trip to the Nepalese border. I had my chai, parantha and curd (most typical Indian breakfast), as I watched the busy street outside. This is much more like the India we hear about and expect than Rishikesh was (or at least the part of it that I was in). It's busy, loud and crowded. (But I'm sure I'll think back on it is as calm and peaceful when I arrive in Mumbai tomorrow!)
Speaking of Mumbai, though it was not my initial plan, I will be flying there from Delhi. I went to my Rishikesh travel guy a couple weeks ago to book my train ticket, feeling good about reserving in advance. In advance?? he said. For the busy line between Delhi and Mumbai, you need to book 90 days ahead of time!! 90 days?!?! Geez, how do people plan so far ahead? Indeed, the trains all had waiting lists of 50-100 people. (I should specify that this is for "decent" trains. I could have got a spot on the ones that are are so packed that people are hanging out the windows, sitting on the roof, rubbing up against each others sweat, and possibly stepping in animal shit. I might have a go on one of those at some point, but figured I'd save the experience for a journey that wasn't an overnight 16hr ride.) So, my only other option was to fly. 2 hours and only double the cost of a good train. And that's what allowed me the extra couple days to stop in Haridwar. Everything happens for a reason :)
Back to Haridwar... after breakfast I stopped by an internet place to transfer my full memory card of pics and vids onto a DVD (have emptied my 8gig card twice already, and hope to have a photo blog up soon... I know, I know, I keep postponing, but there just aren't enough hours in a day!). Explored town a little more, then it was back to my room for a change of clothes and a warm shower. Morning clothes get too warm by noon, and afternoon clothes get too light by dinnertime. For the first time in India, I went leggingless that afternoon, wearing only my light flowy Indian pants for the steep half hour hike up the mountain to Mansa Devi temple (yes, I was also wearing a shirt). Amazing views over the city and surrounding area. Got "scammed" into several donations and blessings as I kneeled before a variety of holy men who chanted prayers while patting my head and marking the center of my forehead with red and orange powder. Then, for less than a dollar, I took the cable car back down to town. (Hike up and cable car down is what Eola had done and recommended to me as I saw her off to Nepal earlier that afternoon.) Walked along the river, watched bathers dip into the holy water, checked out the ghats and temples, then made my way back through the city's bazaars. Bought my first bindis and bangles. Another stop at internet, then grabbed snacks for my room and headed home. I had a special outing planned for that evening, but I was pretty pooped and getting slightly irritated with the stares, so I'm keeping it for tonight instead.
Back in my room, I did some organizing, reading, writing and channel surfing. Then listened to Snatam Kaur on my iPod as I fell asleep around 10. Happy to report that I didn't wake up till 6 :) I mentioned the hard bed, but forgot to say that in exchange, they've got the most amazing pillows! Guess you can't have it all... Cocooned myself under my shawl, head included, and had a good sleep. Got up at 7, after lazing around in bed, thinking, for an hour. Then, again, I'm ashamed of what I watched: CNN. It's the only English news channel available, and I feel soooo out of the loop of current events. The election primaries were on, and while a lot of it was junk, I did enjoy a few wise and thoughtful words from Ron Paul. Too bad he's not on top. Wake up, people!
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