Am I A Space Time Continuum?

Well fortunately the Vogons decided to spare our lives and post-pone the destruction of planet Earth to build the intergalactic space highway (if you don't believe me you can check out the demolition orders on display in Alpha Centauri for yourself) so I can now safely continue onward with my travels :D Over the course of the last 10 days I've been to 3 different regions of India; Punjab, Himchal Pradesh, and now Uttarkhand. I've travelled to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, trekked up to Triund high in the Himalayas, and now i'm staying at a yoga ashram in Rishikesh. My time in McLeod Ganj was well spent however I needed to move onto my next destination so I wouldn't become complacent. So with that said I boarded a bus at 4:00 AM with my Australian buddy Rob and headed towards Amritsar. Ive travelled by bus enough now to know that it absolutely sucks and after 6 long hours of bumpy roads and uncomfortable turns we finally made it to the station. We got off the bus and made a feeble attempt to find our way around but gave up after 5 minutes of wading through the hordes of unpleasant traffic. Eventually we found a rickshaw to the Golden Temple where we ended up staying for 3 nights in the dorms. Among us there were two dozen other travelers from all over of the world, some we had even met previously in Mcleod Ganj. Its really cool to unexpectedly see someone you met awhile back at some random place in India, it actually happens more then you'd think. I was exhausted from the overnight bus ride and wanted to catch up on some sleep but Rob decided he wanted to attack the day with more ambition then a puppy in a dog park. Of course I couldn't say no for long thinking about food, so we made our way across the road and to the entrance of the Golden Temple (not real gold for those of you whom are curious). Before entering any of the sacred sights barefoot we had to first cover out hair with a bandana (or shawl for women) and wash our feet so as to not tract in any dirt. The view from the front of the temple is something extra dazzling especially at night when its all lit up, although my pic doesn't do it justice. I began to follow a long mat laid out upon an immaculate marble floor surrounding the emerald green lake of the temple until I found myself inside. It was amazing beyond belief and I had picked the perfect time to go, a ceremony was in progress (which made sense why there was so many people standing in line) and I had just stumbled upon it by accident. Afterwards I walked back around the other side of the lake and to the dining hall or Guru-Ka-Langar as they call it which serves thousands of Sikhs, Hindus and foreigners like myself free food each and every day. For me this was the most fascinating sight of all, not just because I love food but also because ive never witnessed something as effortlessly efficient as this before. As you walk through the gates you are handed a plate, bowl, and spoon (with a warm smile might I add) and then follow a large group of people down a corridor to the dining hall itself. Everyone looks identical as they sit down together in a long, orderly row with they're legs crossed and palms wide open as if praying for holy intervention. A few dozen men, some young and some old, come down the line of people tossing chapati into the open hands of those patiently waiting to be fed. Not to far behind them are more men carrying large metal pales of hot dhal and deliciously sweet rice pudding (my favorite), each ladling equal portions into their plates. Prior to anyone even picking up their spoon a mantra is echoed throughout the massive room and everyone says their blessings for the beautiful food in front of them. But the most amazing part is that there is not one person that is discriminated against or denied food here, rich or poor, white or brown, Muslim or Christian, low Caste or high, everyone is treated as equals and rejoices in the splendor of a wonderfully tasty and filling meal.

Its important to note that this system is run solely by donations, devotion and volunteers. Without these three key ingredients the kitchen that serves thousands of people a day, and the temple that is worshipped by millions would cease to exist. This is when I began to notice the cycle of life unfolding before my eyes. The same person whom hands out spoons or cleans dishes or chops potatoes is also the same person sitting next to you eating lunch each afternoon. Sometimes I even saw the same person handing out plates in the morning as I did at night like they hadn't moved from that one spot the entire day. Its a constant cycle and for many people this is their every day life, their jobs. It gives them purpose and they are completely happy doing it, not a hint of remorse in they're eyes whatsoever. Then you realize how utterly devoted these people are (of course you'd have to be for any of this to be possible). Many of them don't even have a house to live in but instead sleep in the middle of the courtyard at night with hundreds of other homeless people. But to be completely fair they all treat this place as they're one and only true home and in reality it is. They eat, sleep, worship and even die here. As a matter of fact one day while walking back to the dorms I noticed a large crowd of people forming around a window blocked by guards. I was curious to know what had happened so I asked around abit but couldn't find any answer. I would later find out that someone had drowned trying to swim in the lake surrounding the temple that people use to bathe themselves in. I couldn't believe it, at first I was upset at security for not keeping a stricter eye on people swimming but shortly after I realized that they wouldn't have it any other way if it was their time. That's not even the most astonishing part though, its the fact that the government doesn't support the temple or the Sikhs whom inhabit it at all. They don't even want them to be there in honesty however its still alive and thriving.

Each day after I ate I would take the utmost pleasure in jumping right into the wash area and start cleaning dishes with 50 other people, men and women. I'd always get some curious looks from the locals as I began to scrub the scum off silverware, for awhile I assumed I was doing something wrong or maybe my hair was showing but I later realized that for them it was intriguing to see a foreigner help out with the dirty work, and not care about getting a little wet. But nobody ever said that I couldn't help just because my skin was white or because I spoke a different language. It was always fun sharing laughs with everyone while completely loosing track of time and myself in the meditation of cleaning. I forgot about everything else and just washed plates, bowls and spoons for hours on end. It was so simple yet felt so good knowing that I was somehow apart of making this awesome place run smoothly, being apart of something bigger then myself. Something truly special. Plus it was the least I could do for all the free food. And if it wasn't standing and washing dishes it was sitting and chopping vegetables. There was always something for someone to do, no prior experience or special talent needed. As long as you were willing and able there was always a task that could use the help. The the other cool thing about this place is the fact that it is open to the public all day and night, meaning it never closes. Yes its true it never closes. Seriously, think about that. There is always going to be someone there to serve you food 24/7, 365 days a year even if you had just come from the middle of nowhere and it was 2:54 AM they'd still willingly feed you, even if they had to wake someone up to do so. That's like an all you can eat buffet that's always open and doesn't slap you with a bill at the end of the night! As you can probably tell I'm still utterly confounded by this, but I'm also falling in love. It makes me so tremendously happy to know that places such as this exist in the world, that there truly is hope for humanity. If only there were more places like this where a community could come together as one big family and take part in something as truly meaningful and special as this, then the world would be a better place for sure.

For all those whom are reading I say to you that this place and its people are truly unique and if at all possible I highly recommended you to spend a few days here if not longer. I guarantee that you will find happiness in the simplest of things and leave with a feeling of wellbeing not just for yourself but also for the planet.

Rainy Day Randomness

I know I haven't updated my blog in awhile now, I'm either not motivated to write anything because I'm to busy enjoying myself or I just can't think of anything to write. So instead I think I will just post some random pictures of my time here in Mcleod Ganj before I leave on Monday to Amritsar. Enjoy and beware of the Holy Cow!

Welcome To Mcleod Ganj

Just above the well known town of Dharamsala also known as the home of the Dali Lama, lies the smaller more condensed town of Mcleod Ganj where backpackers from all parts of the world come to find enlightenment and entertainment. When I first arrived at the Dharamsala bus station at 5 in the morning after a 9 hour trip through the rocky mountains I couldn't see anything beyond the platform. After 3 hours of waiting in the cold for the local bus, the sky finally began to clear and the landscape around me became apparent. Now I'm not usually one to judge just based off looks but I will say that when I do it is a pretty good indicator of how somethings going to be, not all the time but enough to be reliable. Well to put it simple the bus station and drive to Mcleod Ganj wasn't the prettiest thing that I've seen. I tried to stay as open as possible during the ride but I had high expectations coming from a place as clean and nice as Manali. The road was covered in trash and the town of Dharamsala looked more like a slum then a holy place for someone like the Dali Lama. However I turned my attention to the moving landscape in the horizon. Given that it was still morning I could see the sun just barely peering through the orange tinted clouds next to an almost surreal looking mountain. It was a comforting sight among all of the ugliness. The bus struggled to make it up the narrow and windy road but within 15 minutes we eventually made it to the middle of Mcleod Ganj. I was anxious to get away from the blaring Balliwood music , find my hotel and pass out. When I got off the bus I was almost immediately approached by two people whom asked if I needed a place to stay, and as usual I graciously declined and started to walk in the opposite direction. However as is custom with these people they don't take no for an answer and followed me aimlessly down the street for 300 yards. I finally had to turn around and tell them that I already booked a hotel and didn't want anything from them. They wouldn't budge though. I am beginning to loose my patients with people like this. I quickly cut across an ally and walked back in the opposite direction, I wasn't sure where my hotel was nor did I want to take out my guide book and stand out even more. So I just walked around in an attempt to locate my hotel. I began to realize how different Mcleod Ganj was to Manali. The roads were very congested, packed full of cows, cars and people some much so that it felt very superficial, not like a mountain town should. I hugged the shoulder of the road to avoid the ear ringing horns of the cars passing by. Several more people stopped me and tried to sell me something like hash or give them money, but I just ignored them. You wouldn't believe how many beggars and scam artists there are here, it's fucking ridiculous. Anyways I had a feeling that I was getting closer to my hotel and kept on walking despite all the shady characters when eventually I found exactly what I was looking for, the Green Hotel. My senses hadn't led me astray this time. Once inside I saw a deli case full of delicious looking cakes of every flavor; lemon cheesecake, banana cake, chocolate walnut cake, carrot cake, fudge cake, etc. My stomach seized my brain and called for me to come to the dark side. Tempting but I still had to see the room before I settled down. There was a young looking asian women sitting behind the front desk who would say things like "yes sir" and "thank you please" which was quite funny to me. She was very kind though and I would later find out her name was Chicky, almost a perfect characterization of her cheery and chipper attitude. She showed me the room that I would be staying in which was 800 ($15) rupees a night, a little pricy for my pocketbook but I wanted to at least check it out after all the trouble. Well it was absolutely gorgeous and not just the room but the view from the balcony! Extraordinary! Set perfectly in view of the deep valley and the endless fog covered mountains that reminded me of a ukiyo-e painting. "Sold!" And just as simple as that I found the perfect room. I set everything down and thought of resting, there was so to many things to do however that I decided to sit outside instead and enjoy the phenomenal scenery. "I could sit here for days" I thought. All of Mcleod Ganj came was infront of my room. It was quite an interesting sight to see all of these ramshackle buildings sticking out of the emerald green forest, almost as if someone just dropped them here. It was definitely a backpackers ghetto but it was still quite stunning. I had never seen anything like it before. Although I was tired from the bus ride my curiosity began to fester and I decided to sacrifice rest for a little adventure through town. I grabbed what I needed from my room then headed back to the street. Fortunately I was able to blend in better without my backpack however I still got approached by beggars and such. Theres one particular situation that stands out in my mind. I was walking down the street trying to find the local post office but couldn't seem to locate it. Within moments time a women wearing a deep red shawl no older then me came up with a baby in her arms. My almost instinctual reaction was to put my hand up, shake my head and say "no no no"! But before I could even move my hand she grabbed it, looked in my eyes and said "no money, I don't want". She proceeded to say her baby needed powdered milk because he had colostrum. I noticed that there were a few other women near by wearing the same garmets and holding babies in there arms. She led me down the street for a little ways but I had to stop her and tell her that I didn't want to buy anything. "No no no just come". "Where is the post office?@ I said, "I'm looking for the post office" once again she said "come" I followed a little more then realized that something was wrong. I stopped again and looked around. She pointed to a door and said that it was the post office but that there was a shop not to far away. "Here here" she pointed to a place right next to the mail office. I walked in and was greeted by the owner. Something felt fishy about the entire situation. I was on high alert for a scam. The women pointed to a bag of powdered milk on the shelf "You buy". At this stage in the game I had learned that parting with your money doesnt always have to be an option. Saying no and meaning it is good enough because at the end of the day it's your money. Although I had sympathy for this women and her possible child, I had found out that if people off the streets are coming up to you begging you to buy something then chances are that it's a scam or a some sort of trick. Now with that said I was contemplating buying this bag of powdered milk anyways for this mother and her child, yes I have a soft spot and I thought well how expensive could powdered milk be in India after all its like the milk epicenter of the world. The owner grabbed it off the shelf and said 350 rupees. "What!?! Was my instant reaction. "That's ridiculous!" I told her that it was to expensive and offered her what little money I had on me. She declined my offer. That's when I realized something's wrong, why would someone decline an offer for money but want someone else to buy something for them? After that I said my prays for them and left the store walking back to my hotel. For awhile it tore my heart apart. "How could I deny this child the necessities he needed to stay alive, what kind of person am I to not give someone the equivalent of $7 to help keep her child alive and healthy?" I contemplated going back and finding the women to buy her the milk. However I just wanted to check online first to see if it was a possible scam. I felt weird searching the Internet for such an odd and fucked up thing thinking that I was the only person who thought it could be a trick. But then I came across hundreds of hits. "I can't fucking believe it, they were trying to scam me." I read that these mothers were not even mothers, they just "rented" these babies from there family members for the day in order to scam travelers into believing that it was there child and they were sick. They actually cut a deal with store owner and when someone buys the outrageously priced powdered milk then they will give it back to the shop for a portion of the price. This is apparently a huge scam in Nepal. Well after that I was pretty outraged, putting it nicely. So when you come to India just know that many people don't give a fuck about morality or sacredness. Just saying. Though I have met many nice people here as well so it's really about just being wise about who you trust and that goes for anywhere. Lesson well learned.

Technology Is Pretty Sweet

To be able to watch one of your all time favorite films in a foreign country is simply put, amazing. The fact that I'm thousands of miles from home makes no difference, I can still watch the Matrix: Reloaded on my flat screen tv just as I would if I were in America. There may not be clean running water but ill be damned if I can't watch tv in my room. Another great luxury is being able to listen to any music I want at anytime. If I start to get sick of Balliwood anthems and just need something a little more uplifting I can put on my headphones and momentarily transport myself to a different place in space and time. I must say that's pretty sweet. When im homesick these things help me find my bearings on life. If I'm feeling lonely, I can go online and chat with my friends on Facebook. If I'm bored I can read a book on health and nutrition through an app. I don't know how long I would have made it here without having such technological advancements at my disposal. And I can say without a doubt that my phone is the most valuable tool I have on this trip. If I'm lost I can call one of my friends for help, if I need light in the dark I just use my phone, if I need help translating something then I just use my phone, when I want to research places to stay I just use my phone etc... It literally does everything for me, but when I don't have Internet access (which is a lot) I tend to feel slightly helpless without it. It just goes to show how much we really do rely on these things. Some can't live without them (for example people on life support) while others say they can't live without them (some people who play video games). Either way I can't imagine my life without such luxuries.

Here in India most everyone has cellphones (even monks need to talk to other people too) and Internet cafes can be found in many small towns everywhere. A lot of teenagers and adults alike (mostly men) have Facebook's as well. Which at first was very surprising to me but it makes sense, its a dating site. It's really interesting to see sometimes as India tries to make a push to become a more advance society with iPads and iPods and flat screen tv but still so much of it is stuck in the 1900's. Something that I saw once comes to mind, there was this teenage boy walking down the street talking on his handy dandy smart phone and a beggar proceeded to graciously ask for a few rupees. the teenage boy completely ignored this women, literally didnt even make eye contact or acknowledge her miserable life, just kept on talking and smiling on his phone like it never happened. It's still considered a third world country and for a reason. Poverty and disease are rampant here and doesn't seem to be getting much better. I have been told that the middle class is slowly rising, however while its true that it is growing its only making a significant difference for those who can keep up with it. More things become more expensive and thus unaffordable for those less fortunate, which means that once again the class gap is beginning to separate the poor and not so poor, with fewer people actually making more money. The Caste system is still alive and thriving here so poverty won't soon to become eradicated in the near future. And for the most part the government is completely fucked. No support and all corruption, which a large portion of the culture has seemed to take after. What a shame. So as I watch a commercial about some shiny new core processing Hp Laptop I wonder to myself "Where is India heading?". At times I feel as though not even Indians know in what direction the country is trying to move? Or care for that matter. Many people live on a day to day basis, doing only what they need to get by and not caring about anything else. Is it a world leader or will it just become another capitalistic society that feeds the rich but not the starving? It's hard to say from my point of view. I have been here for little less then a month but so far I have witnessed so many hypocrisies. So I will continue to ponder this question until I find the proper answer that I'm looking for, until then however I will keep on listening to great music like Moby's 93-98 Best Selected Works and enjoy myself.

The Importance of Relaxation And Play For The Soul

Whatever I ate on Thanksgiving night has caused me to be stuck in bed for the past 4 days with the most severe and intensely excruciating stomach ache of my entire life. It was pretty crippling to say the least. The pain got so bad that I couldn't help but squeeze my sheets as tight as possible and let out an outcry of agony. Within those 4 days I spent a majority of my time either in bed by myself or getting up to go to the bathroom. Not really my idea of a dream vacation to be honest. But something that I was not expecting to find amongst all the discomfort was a period of rest, the relaxation part only came on the 3rd day after the stomach ache had subsided. For so long I had been treating rest as something that my body would do on its own if given a certain amount of time. But after battling exhaustion for much of my adult life I realized that was not the case, however I never found a steady solution to this constant problem. Until now. When your body exerts a certain amount of energy each given day, to which we will refer to as E for now, we assume that we will need an equal or greater amount of time resting the body, to which we will refer to as R. Energy or E can be considered negative since it is energy spent or exerted (something we don't have) and Rest or R can be considered positive since its energy that will recharge our batteries so to speak (something we constantly need). Well when you have equal amounts of R & E, then your body can sustain itself for a longer period of time. But the truth is most people only get an accumulated 8 hours of sleep on average, some even less. So what are you doing for those 16 hours your awake? You are using energy, sometimes energy your body doesn't have. Many of us go to work for 8 hours a day which would be equivalent to the amount of sleep one would get on a daily basis (you hope) but we tend to forget that being awake is being at work too. Every action, every movement, every thought requires energy just as does that of work. So if on average we spend 8 hours sleeping (not always good deep sleep either which is the best) and 16 hours awake then I don't have to tell you that we are exerting energy for twice as long as we are replenishing it. And I'm not just talking about resting because to some that means watching tv, which although you are not exerting as much energy as you would if you were moving, your body isn't reenergizing itself like it would if it were asleep. Nothing can really substantiate true sleep. Relaxing is more of an in between period in which the body wishes to sleep and it can lead to exhaustion if not used properly, for example to much stimuli.

Sleep is very important to the body but play is very important to the soul. What is meant by this is that we can all have equal amounts of sleep and exertion but without play we are depriving the soul of its needs and wants. If we did not sleep enough on a regular basis our bodies would get weak, pail, pasty, cranky, sick, unhappy, lethargic, slow, disoriented and a whole long list of destructive traits. That is our body telling us that we need more sleep, and just as our body states its needs and wants to stay alive and healthy so does our soul. There are countless incidents when I have mistaken my souls needs as my bodies needs and supplemented sleep for play. Although my body probably could have used the sleep regardless it was still yearning for something else but I couldn't put my finger on it. Just as the body begins to fail from lack of sleep so does the soul from lack of play. Ones soul can be described as dull or boaring without this essential piece of life, but sometimes it's just a shear lack of happiness. The soul is the bodies emotional center, with it we would be emotionless and without fulfillment our happiness would cease to exist. Now what is meant by fulfillment is not the same for everyone nor is it what we always think it is. We sometimes search for fulfillment in others or from instant self gratification. This could take a me a whole nother week to try and explain play from fulfillment but I will just leave it up to the reader to decided what is what to them. I will say that sometimes fulfillment comes in the form of play and sometimes play comes in the form of fulfillment. However they are not always the same. Confusing huh. To play is to be completely free and unhinged to any beliefs or constraining factors of ones life and just enjoy ones life as it is, whole heartedly with no reason whatsoever, just being alive and able to enjoy life's beauties. This is what feeds the soul, unconditional love and happiness. To many this is fulfillment, but I separate the two because ones fulfillments may not always be geared to there souls prosperity. Which is not a bad thing. We as humans need fulfillment from many different areas. We search for it at our jobs, in our lovers and in our lives. But it should not be mixed up with the souls fulfillment which is a completely different type of fulfillment altogether. Less of a goal or objective but more of a way of life. In order to constantly maintain our soul and thus who we are as humans we need to cherish the soul as well as the body and listen to what it is telling us. Denying them is only denying ourselves. If we are to be at harmony with ourselves and truly know thy self then we must hone in on exactly what it is that they are both telling us. Sometimes it's to pursue a more inspiring and challenging job or relationship. But whatever it is we must always come back to that child like play which brought so much joy and happiness to us when we were young. There's no reason why we can't have that now, no matter what age we are. Just free uncaring fun, no restraints and no bars. I hope this will become a reminder to all reading that we are more then just vessels on this planet meant to live and then die. There is so much love here that we would be silly to ignore it and not bask in its beautiful pleasures. So take sometime to rest and enjoy your life, and if theres nothing that you can enjoy then your not playing enough. And what better way to capture that in a picture then the great Buddha laughing with his hands in the air?

Manali, The Place of Magic

Its been 13 days since I first found myself in the small town of Manali tucked away deep down in the bosom of the Himalayas. Its a truly amazing place here, better then I'd ever have imagined. Its funny because originally I had no intention of coming to this place but I can whole-heartedly say that I am so glad I listened to my crazy taxi drivers advice. The town of Manali itself is split into two parts: Old Manali and New Manali. However they are quite a bit different from each other. New Manali is very busy with a myriad of small shops and stalls ubiquitously strung across every inch of land. One on top of another on top of another sandwiched next to each other. It is in most cases packed full of people and rickshaws during the day but it seems to get even busier at night when the main street is lit up like Vegas. Still there are some very interesting places to check out in New Manali or down town as I like to call it since its situated below Old Manali. Things like street vendors selling various deep fried Indian foods, produce shacks and stalls brimming with a variety of local fruits and veggies, Tibetan Temples stocked fully with working prayer wheels and huge colorfully decorated Buddha, and the mystical Manali Forest. Old Manali is somewhat of the polar opposite. In order to get there one must cross a bridge from New Manali over a wide running stream full of clean mountain water. At times it feels as though your entering a completely different world once you cross that bridge. Old Manali harbors alot of Manalis vestigial heritage such as Manu Temple (which is a popular tourist attraction here) and the still thriving villages from 100 years ago. Old Manali is very calm and mellow, compared to its brother and has maybe less then a tenth of the shops and stores that downtown Manali has. Fortunately during this time of the year there are still alot of places open given that it is the off season, but there are only a handful of tourists at one time... which is nice. When a place is crowded by people wearing polos and shorts taking pictures, it kind of loses its touch. I think thats also reason why there is so much beauty and magic here. It's untainted (for the most part) by the modern world. Yes there is television, computer cafes and trash obscurely scattered in the most reserved parts of nature but it still remains to be an absolutely beautiful place full of culture and character. The Himalayas themselves are a spectacle to say the least. Sometimes I'll find myself walking around town and totally forget I'm surrounded by these goliaths until I pull my head away from the commotion and look up. The mountains by themselves hold a lot of powerful ancient magic. If I'm feeling off or home sick I will just look up and bask in the magnificence of these snow topped marvels. There are so many things for backpackers like myself to do here as well. One could easily get entangled in the mess of things to do but never be able to finish it all in 2 short weeks. Between hiking in the Himalayas, paragliding, rock climbing, camping, and enjoying the every day adventure it would be difficult to get board here. If anything you could just sit in your room and watch a 24 hour marathon of senseless Bollywood videos. The other interesting thing about Manali is that it has become quite the destination for hippies and travelers alike to trip out on drugs and smoke pot. Actually pot grows wild all over Manali like... Well an actual weed, but no one seems to mind at all that its just growing on the side of the road. Seeing that at first was very bizarre to me but then I realized that because it is a weed people treat it as one more or less. If you want some then there are better sources then on the side of the road.

In a couple days here I will be making my way to Dharamsala/ McLeod Ganj which will be another 10 hour bus ride through rocky mountain roads. I have become quite attached to this place and it will be hard for me to leave but it's time to move on to my next exciting adventure. I feel good knowing that I've made some life long friends here as well as having many good first time experiences. With that said I will also say I'm certain I will be returning to this place again in the future, there is no doubt in my mind about that. So until next time my friends, I will bid you farewell.

Things To Be Thankful For

As I enjoy my continental breakfast of eggs, sausage and french toast in a quite cafe with the power out, I think to myself "What am I grateful for on this Thanksgiving?" The first thing that comes to mind is of course electricity. Electricity powers my phone that I use on a daily basis, lights that help me to see at night, internet that allows me to stay connected with my family and friends half way across the world and last but not least toasters, that without power my continental breakfast would never be complete. Clean water is also very important and something that I have always took for granted until in India where clean water, though affordable, is still quite the luxury for most people. Good food also comes to mind which we in America take for granted as well. Being able to have whatever you want whenever you want is a beautiful thing however realizing its beauty can be very difficult at times and thus we neglect its extravagance. I'm thankful for meeting such awesome people here in India, I can tell that I have made some life long friends already in my first 2 weeks here. I'm also very thankful for all my friends and family in America and all my brothers and sisters around the globe. I think the idea of Thanksgiving should be shared with everyone, neighbors, friends and acquaintances because we are all one big family living together on our home, Earth. We mustn't forget that ever. With that said I will wish everybody to have an filling turkey dinner in a warm home with stellar people. There's no turkey's here in Manali so I think I will indulge in some pizza for the first time this Thanksgiving among good friends. Namaste.

The First Steps A Doozie... Pt. 3!

I turned my head almost in exaggeration to ask the man next to me if we were in Manali yet. I'm sure he was absolutely sick of my pestering. "No no no.." I saw some signs that said Manali hotel, so this must be Manali! Right? The bus kept going. Seriously if this isn't Manali what is? The bus rambled up a tiny street where only one car could fit at a time, but still cars managed to get by somehow. I noticed more and more hotels as we ascended through the crowded road in the middle of the night. I began to get excited mainly because I wanted to get out off this death trap of a vehicle and breathe fresh air. There were more bright flashy lights in the distance. "Could this be?" At this point I doubted that this place even existed since every time I thought we were there it turned out that we weren't. But shortly thereafter we found ourselves submerged in a small but noisy town full of bright colorful lights. We had finally arrived in Manali! I got up from my seat with my backpack and sat down next to the bus driver in anticipation of getting off. However if there was one thing I learned from this trip its that it is wise to wait until the bus has made a complete stop before departing. Someone from the street must have seen me get up with my backpack and decided to jump on the bus while it was still moving. I thought nothing of it. He then tried to initiate a conversation with me, but I was far to tired and angry to care. When that didn't work he moved to the seat directly across from me and started smiling at me. "What does this guy want!" I wondered. Without even uttering a "Hello" or "How are you?" he casually said "You need a hotel? I can get you one" I took one look at him and in disgust got up from my seat, walked to the folding doors and jumped off the bus. I didn't care if it hadn't come to a complete stop yet or if it still had a mile to go, I just needed to get off. I didn't know where I was going at the time but I just needed to find this Inn and get away from everybody. I had my Lonely Planet book in hand and tried to make sense of the map but I found it quite difficult to understand. I looked around a bit trying to find Old Manali where the Inn supposedly was. A couple people saw me with my backpack on and Lonely Planet book and offered to help me find a hotel to which I immediately declined and walked away. I wasn't sure if they were trying to help me or scam me but either way I wasn't going to trust them. I started to follow a long dark street away from the loud, crowded town in order to collect my thoughts. I honestly had no idea how to get to this place, and thought of asking for help but then thought that I might be scammed again. Needless to say I had lost what little trust I still had for people. The only light illuminating the street came from cars and auto-rickshaws that bolted pass me. They came so close that I could almost feel them and each time one would honk I would instinctively jump out of the way as if I were about to get hit. I kept walking and walking and eventually came to a bridge that crossed a wide river. There were signs on the other side of the bridge for shops and hotels, however no Drifters. Referring back to my Lonely Planet book I tried to figure out where I was, no such luck and tucked it back under my jacket as if too hide the fact that I was lost. No too far away was a Himalayan Tourist Center but I was very weary of entering such a place after my first experience but my choices were very limited at this point. I didn't want to get taken advantage of again so I started thinking of a good lullaby to tell the service man so he'd assume I was a seasoned traveler. Walking up to the door I realized just how brightly lit this place was and stepped inside where I was greeted by the service man. "Drifters Hotel" I said in a somewhat Indian ascent trying to blend in. He probably took me for an idiot. He told me that he didn't know where the Inn was but his driver might, then yelled something across the hall. I was a little bit concerned that he hadn't heard of the Inn being that it was such a small town and all. A driver with a very reserved demeanor walked over and quietly asked where I was going which led to a back and forth conversation between the two men that I couldn't understand. "Yes I can take you" he said to which I had become savvy on and asked how much. 100 rupees, it was a deal! I quickly rushed out the door with the driver, jumped in the rickshaw and drove off. We found ourselves driving up hill on what seemed to be a small street but quickly turned into a dirt road then back to a street. I saw acouple really nice hotels on the way that were lit up like a christmas tree. If I couldn't find this place then I was just going to walk back and beg them for a room. I was quite worried that this place would turn out to be a sham and I would be S.O.L. I stuck my head out from the rickshaw to try and see where we were going and from far away I could make out a red illuminated sign that said something... Drifters!!! I was almost there, after everything that had happened to me in the span of one day (the longest day of my life) I was almost to the finish line. The driver made an abrupt stop right outside the downstairs cafe. I almost rubbed my eyes in amazement. I stepped out of the rickshaw, gave the driver 100 rupees and just starred for a few seconds. The cafe was beautiful to say the least. I could see people inside laughing and having a good time while playing various board games and smoking Sheesha. I couldn't wait outside any longer and proceeded to walk through the front door. Once inside I took a longer gander. I felt like i had stepped into a completely different world. The cafe had a very Feng Shui vibe to it, the lighting was very mellow and peaceful, the furniture was gorgeous, nice and sturdy wood chairs and tables, even the music was enjoyable. There was a group of people sitting against the back wall on some traditional flat cushions smoking out of a Hookah and enjoying themselves. Nobody seemed to pay me any mind which for the first time in my life was a relieving sight, I was kinda tired of getting weird looks. The owner of the Inn, Nishant, probably saw me and thought that I had never seen a cafe before. I turned my attention to the front desk where he was standing and walked over to introduce myself but before I could he said "You must be Richie". I grabbed his hand and graciously shook it as if I was graduating from college. "Yes" I said. He was a very nice man that looked like he could be in his late to mid 20's with a shaved head and a clean appearance, I almost mistook him as an American. We talked for a bit in the warm cafe before we went to his office to fill out paper work. It was almost 9 PM when I had arrived which meant that the cafe and staff were going to close for the night so I had arrived just in the nick of time. It was funny I thought, that if my taxi driver or bus driver decided to drive at the speed limit then I would probably would have to camp outside for the night or find a different hotel. Nishant inquired about my travels and I told him of my journey up to Manali in an exhausted voice. I think he was in disbelief at the time but I later filled him in on what had happened. We laughed about it and I eventually filled out all of the paper work for the room. I was so tired from all the traveling that I took an extra few moments resting on his comfortable grey couch with my head against the wall and starred at the ceiling. I was finally relaxing. He asked if I wanted help carrying my backpack up to my room, I accepted the generous offer and pulled myself from the couch. A porter around my age was waiting outside the door for me to follow him to my room. As I began to follow him Nishant told me that the kitchen was about to close pretty soon but considering my situation he'd keep it open for another 15 minutes. I felt blessed to say the least, I hadn't eaten for almost a day and was very weak. I walked up three flight of stairs and was showed to room 105 (I knew of course that there wasn't 105 rooms in the medium sized hotel). The porter handed me the key and my backpack, to which I bowed and said with the utmost gratitude "Namaste". I then unlocked the door and pushed it open, then searched for the light. There it is...Click! The room was better then I had ever imagined. I felt like collapsing on the bed and passing out but knew my body needed sustenance. I threw my back pack up against the wall, locked the door and walked downstairs almost in a daze. I once again entered the cozy cafe, and sat down at the closest table I could find. A humble server gave me a menu and told me that he'd give me a few minutes to decide, he could tell that I was pooped. I took a glance at the menu and knew what I wanted. Pizza and Curry. I handed the menu back to the server with a smile and he gave me a quirky head nod which seems to be a custom in India (I haven't got it down yet though). I wanted to fall asleep on the sofa like chair. The place was so nice, I was amazed that everything had worked out so perfectly almost like it all had a purpose. Within a couple minutes the server returned with a plate of delicious looking food. He set it down and said "Enjoy". I wanted to hug him but couldn't move away from my dinner, it looked too good. I plowed through the food with utter satisfaction. I felt complete. Each plate was polished off and cleaned in a fast manner. I held my stomach, enjoyed the atmosphere, and talked for a little longer before saying my thank you's and goodnight's then went back too my room and passed out immediately. That night I slept for 13 hours straight, I haven't done that in years. My first day in India was over, and I couldn't have picked a better spot to end up in.

The First Steps A Doozie... Pt. 2!

As I sat in seat #45 on the tattered teal colored bus headed for a place called "Manali" I began to look back on my trip so far. It had felt like everything had happened so quickly, like it was out of my control. No matter how much preparing I could have done I would have never been ready for any of what had happened to me. How did I end up in this crazy bus station? "Oh ya, my crazy taxi driver brought me here"... Even more reason to be suspicious. I started to see more and more people fill up the empty seats on the bus. Slowly but surely everyone filed in line and found their seat number, mine fortunately being next to a window so I wasn't sandwiched in between random people. Once everyone packed in I realized how crowded the bus really was, the phrase "sardines in a can" came to mind. Well atleast I can guarantee where I'm going this time. Shortly after all the passengers were seated a man wearing a brown woven sweater vest and a white turban walked down the busy isle making sure everyone had tickets. I gripped the ticket that the official had given me hoping that it was real and not another scam set up by my taxi driver. Eventually the fancy dressed man found his way to the end of the bus where seats #45-#50 were. When he finally got to me he gave me an insincere look and put his hand out as if saying "give me your ticket!" I looked at the ticket once again praying that it wasn't a fake then handed it over to the bus attendant. He gave it a quick look over and then handed it back to me. I was waiting for him to start saying something to me in a very angry tone and then usher me off the bus. But he just went back to checking the rest of the tickets. A sigh of relief washed over me, I was actually going to go to Manali! After everything that had happened I just wanted to go somewhere safe and quite to rest for a long time. I hadn't eaten anything for 12 hours and I began to hear my stomach growl, I thought of getting the
dried fruit out of my backpack and munching on it but within seconds the bus started its loud engines and we sputtered out of the hectic bus station towards Manali. The back seat was so crammed that I was squished against the window and an older man wearing a green beanie that smelt like an antique shop, but atleast I had a nice view. The sun was still quite high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud of smog engulfing the city like there was in Delhi. The bus found its way to the freeway in no time (which was a familiar but unwelcoming sight at this point) and we joined the endless sea of taxis and trucks. Fortunately the driver wasn't going more then 60-70 mph and chose not to cut across traffic like my deranged cab driver did. Needless to say I could finally relax. I spent a good amount of time starring out the window looking at all the towns and quick stops along the side of the freeway. They all started to blend together after awhile but it was still interesting to me how much of a juxtapose these places were to the towns in America. We passed many sights before stopping in a small rundown town along the freeway full of trash and... you guessed it, shit. As soon the bus stopped everyone got up in an orderly fashion and lined up in front of each other. I asked the man next to me that smelt of furnishing cleaner if this was Manali to which he chuckled and shook his head slightly. I was beyond relieved, if this was Manali then I was in serious trouble. I was very hungry but considering what I had been through already I was very reluctant to step foot off of the bus in fear that it would leave me in this random town that smelt like shit and burning tires. Plus I wasn't about to eat street food and get diarrhea on an 8 hour bus ride. So I just stayed put on the bus and watched the people in the busy market. A few people even came on the bus walking down the isle trying to sell various goods and trinkets, some even asking for donations to help there friends and family in need. Most people just ignored them. It took about 20 minutes before everyone packed back into the bus and we resumed the journey north. After about 3 hours on the freeway we ended up at the base of a large hill comprised mostly of dirt roads, It was a bumpy ride. I began to realize how tattered the bus really was. With each bump it felt as though the entire bus was going o fall apart, and every so often an eerie noise would emanate from the bottom of the bus that sounded like something cracking. The driver didn't seem the slightest bit worried about it, and proceeded to drive up this steep dirt road. As is custom in India the driver made sure to pass every other car and bus as we were driving up hill. As if that wasn't enough he would do so around huge corners while others buses and cars leisurely sped down the hill. Just another typical bus ride in India. When we finally reached the top of the hill, I began to wonder if we were within distance of Manali. Negative. There was still plenty of crazy driving left. The ride down the hill was quite nice, really beautiful hills and valleys, I had even seen some monkeys on the side of the road playing around which made me as giddy as a child. However as we continued down the hill we encountered some serious turns. I think at this point my driver was board and felt like making a race of this trip. He started tail-gating these huge trucks driving at a reasonable speed trying to avoid any accidents but my driver wasn't having that shit. It appeared as though he made an extra special effort to pass these huge trucks around treacherous corners rather then wait for a straight away. With each turn of the bus it felt as though at any given moment if someone were to lean to hard to one side the entire bus would flip over the side of these cliffs, sometimes 200+ feet high. This brought back recent memories of my crazy taxi driver going over 100 mph just to dodge traffic...maybe they were related. My stomach wasn't too happy with me at this point and had to resort to inhaling lemon lime Emergency-C dry. Mmmm fizzy. Well from there it just got worse and worse. We started going faster and making even more dangerous turns just to pass a few cars. It seemed like we were the only ones doing so. I braced myself around each turn as I stare down the edge of these huge cliffs. There were very few barricades or guards on the side of the road. I didn't fancy that one bit. With each turn I imagined the bus blowing a flat tire and catapulting itself along with all its passengers (including me) over the edge of the cliff in the most cinematic way possible. Once again I began to make peace with my death, however it wasn't working this time I could only have so many near death experiences in one day. Why oh why did I listen to Kumar, why didn't I just go to Shimla and get the most bang for my $400? WHY? Well I will say right now that I'm glad I stomached this crazy ass trip and had the courage to stay on the bus. In between the crazy driving we stopped at different places along the hilly roads, one town in particular seemed to be right on the edge of the cliff as if it was about to fall off. There were plenty of stalls and vendors selling fresh cauliflower, bananas, eggplant, apples, cucumbers, broccoli and peppers, while others were selling random toys and souvenirs. We spent less then 5 minutes there before leaving, pee break I guess. More crazy driving and a few more pee breaks later we found ourselves in the bare mountains of India. At every chance I could get I would ask the guy next to me if we were there yet to which he would respond by shaking his head and giving me a hand signal that looked like he was trying to shoo flies away. I honestly couldn't believe how far out we were but I was also glad because it was the most gorgeous scenery I had experienced within the past day and a half. I took advantage of the quite period and attempted to contact a hotel for my arrival. I flipped through my Lonely Planet book and studied the different choses I had. They all sounded amazing compared to what I had seen in Delhi but I had a difficult time deciding since I didn't know what to truly expect. I borrowed a working phone from a local that I had become friends with on this crazy adventure and called the first place I saw. No answer. "Crap I really hope that there not all like this." I thought. I read a quick summary of a place situated in Old Manali, I liked the name and it sounded legit. I gave them a rang and crossed my fingers. "Hello, Drifters Inn" "holy Shit, someone who speaks English! Thank you God!" I was almost frantic to answer but I didn't want to seem like a lunatic. "Hi I was wondering if you had any rooms available?" "Yes as a matter of fact we do" "Sweet, how much are they may I ask?" "500 rupees" the man said. Very reasonable cost. "Perfect!" I explained my situation and asked if he could hold the room for me until I arrived in Manali to which he agreed. I told him that it would take a few hours until I got there but said it was all good. I was completely relieved for the moment. We said our goodbyes and I returned to enjoying the scenery. The mountains were amazingly beautiful, the sky was bright blue and there was a pristine river resting at the bottom of the huge valley we were traversing through. The towns seemed cleaner and more rural then previous cities which was relieving however my bus driving was crazier then ever. He hauled ass down the mountains with out any remorse or care for the handful of people stupid enough not to have gotten out 5 hours ago. It turned into an amateur roller coaster ride. I played with the idea of jumping out of the moving bus while it was turning a corner and walking the rest of the way. Not to long after that thought crossed my mind I witnessed a young teenager probably about 16 years old prepare himself to do the same. I told him he should whistle or something but I don't think he understood me or cared. He opened the folding doors next to me and looked at spots where he could possibly land. The bus made a risky turn around a sharp corner and slowed about 20 mph which means that we were still going like 25 mph. I saw him casually jump off the first step of the bus and half a second later I watched him lose balance, smack the concrete with an intense force and lay there lifeless in the gutter of the mountainous road. No one stopped, not the bus, nor the cars behind us. I assume he's alive although he probably sustained a severe concussion or bleeding in his head. I didn't know what to say. I told myself that I was going to make it to Manali in one piece. At this point my entire persona changed and I began treating ever situation as a test of my strength and endurance. I was going to survive. At any moment I was ready to take a leap of faith out of the bus and take my chances with walking. It started to get cold and dark as we descended down the side of the mountains. I could no longer enjoy the sights, I was in survival mode. The road was getting more windy, more rocky and more dangerous. I could tell my body was very tired but I had no idea how much longer it was before I found myself in this town. I was taking a serious gamble here. I didn't know anything about this region besides what I had read in my book, and it was the farthest removed place in Himchal Pradesh. This trip was getting out of control and I didn't know how to stop it. Every 5 minutes I would turn my head and frantically ask the man next to me where we were and if we were close to Manali at all. No, and hed again pretend that he was shooing flys. We passed many bright lit towns on the side of this one way street while traffic passed up from both sides. This began to feel less like an adventure and more like a gauntlet. It has to be close I kept thinking, there's no way it could be much further. For 2 long hours I told myself that. Where the hell am I??!??!?? The roads only got worse, and I was soon gripping the guard rail in front of me so that I wouldn't get thrown out of my seat while driving over these unpaved paths. Probably the most ridiculous bus ride I have ever been on in my entire life. I doubted if my driver or the person next to me knew where on Earth we were. My mind started to conger up all of these weird scenarios like my bus driver and all of it passengers were in cahoots with each other in order to scare the shit out of me and hold me ransom or something. I waited cautiously for about 10 minutes and gripped the railing tight, I wasn't going to wait much longer. More lights and stores. "Where the hell is this place???" [to be continued]

The First Steps A Doozie...

That's how the saying goes and right now I couldn't agree more. After 20 hours of being on an airplane, eating an entire days worth of prepackaged air meals and sleeping in the most uncomfortable positions imaginable, I had finally arrived in Delhi. As I stepped off the plane I took note of where everyone was walking and followed them to a huge line of people were a gigantic mosaic of copper bowls and large metal hands folded into a peace symbol was situated. I was very mesmerized as I walked to the terminal to enter the country but what would happen to me in the next 18 hours was the farthest thing from mesmerizing. I had made a 4 night reservation in Delhi a month before I had left and emailed the Hotel that I would need a taxi person to come pick me up from the airport on the 9th of November, however I did not calculate the fact that id actually be arriving in India on the 10th due to the time change from American. This is the realization that crossed my mind as I sat outside the busy airport in Delhi waiting for my taxi. At this point my phone was nearly dead, I had no service (international rates are ridiculous) and needed to get an Indian SIM card to make any calls. I had made an effort to borrow a phone from a person that I became friends with during my flight but couldn't find him among the hustle and bustle. The thing about the Delhi airport is once you pass the lobby threshold that's it your not going back in unless you have a flight to catch and there are army guards at every entrance to make sure that it stays that way. As I walked out of the lobby there was a line of people holding up signs with names, "the driver must be here somewhere" I thought. Nope, after pacing back and forth 3 times I realized that the driver was not here. Behind the first line not to far away was a second line waiting for me. I thought to myself "Surely he must be there, after all I talked to the hotel and made arrangements and everything." After a few minutes of looking at the signs I couldn't find the driver. "We'll this sucks" I thought to myself "What do I do next?" Looking down at my phone hoping that I would miraculously get a wi-fi connection somehow and give the hotel a call. No such luck. I was without a ride or a way to contact the hotel in one of the craziest cities ive known.. Literally. I was weighing my options. It was 2 AM and I had random people coming up to me asking me if I needed a taxi or they'd just say "taxi taxi" as if asking a question. I kindly declined and said I was waiting for someone. Eventually I just decided that I would take my chances and get a taxi driver to take me to the hotel where I could surely speak with the front desk person and tell them what happened then everything would be fine. Well that's not exactly what happened. So after going up to what seemed like an official government taxi service I told them that I needed to go to Hotel Ajanta where I was staying. "Yes" he said. "Do you know where it is?" Once again he said "Yes" which I knew he was saying just to be polite as the custom goes there, they dont want to say "No" because its deemed impolite and after that I had a taxi person escort me to a small white car. This was quite an interesting experience because after I was taken to one taxi and sat down I was then told to come to another taxi where that person would take me to my hotel. This change of hands happened about four times until finally I found myself in a taxi with a driver who only knew how to say "Yes Yes Yes". Still a little bit confused about the whole situation I started to ask questions like "Do you know Hotel Ajanta? I need to go there, here's address." Unfortunately I couldn't understand a word of what he was saying and we were driving away from the airport. Now I was a little worried. I kept bugging him insisting that he tell me if he knew where we were going pointing to the piece of paper I had with the address of the hotel. I was going to get an answer I could understand. Within 5 seconds he stopped the car in the most busy part of the street and started calling someone on his cell. I was a little more then worried and my survival skills kicked in. I grabbed my knife from my bag, put it into my pocket and started to get out of the taxi. The taxi driver was saying something in Hindi as I stepped out of the car, but I didn't care at this point. But when I got out there was a person that was waiting outside whom apparently the taxi driver was talking to, he could speak English (well better then the first taxi driver atleast) and was going to drive me to my hotel. I told them I was just going to walk back to the airport and try and catch a bus or something there instead. He reassured me that he could take me to where I needed to go and even showed me proof that he was a legitimate taxi driver, certified by the Indian government and all. I figured that he would be more understanding and could get me to my hotel safety. Well we finally got to New Delhi and drove around for a bit before I realized he had no idea where he was going. I will just say real quickly that Delhi at night is not the kinda place that I would want to find myself walking around in especially with a backpack on, that's an open invitations to get jacked or beat up or even killed. Seriously. Think of Oakland but without guns. Anyways here I am in the ghetto of Delhi at night in this taxi with a driver who is clueless on where we were going. So needless to say I was very worried. No shelter no food no phone and no way back to the airport. He then tells me that he is going to ask someone for directions. This threw up a red flag. "No! Don't stop just keep going" not wanting for someone to run up and try and rob us. He insisted. "We must ask someone who knows". We drove around the slum for a few more moments passing piles of trash, people sleeping on the streets and ghettos before he found someone. Thats when I had one of those wtf am I doing here moments. The driver stopped and spoke with him to which he told us that there was a tourist center close by. "Great!" I thought, they can help us." We got there walked in side and talked to someone named Raj. He was a smooth talker and said that everything was fine. He even called the hotel for me but was told that the hotel was all booked (which I would find out later is a common scam in India to make the people think you need to book an expensive hotel with them). Impossible I thought, there's no fucking way that I spent $150 on a room and they booked it for someone else. There was a festival going on Raj said so that's common. "Bullshit" I demanded to speak with the person. He dialed a number and said something to the person on the other line. I was very suspicious and asked him what number he was dialing because it wasnt the hotels number, "Its the Indian phone operators number, it will direct the call for me." I didnt't know if I should have believed him or not, but it sounded understandable so then he handed over the phone. "Hello is this Hotel Ajanta?" "Yes it is sir how may I help you?" I explained my situation and told him my reservation number. "No sir unfortunately we booked your room." I couldn't believe it. I hung up the phone without saying a word. Here I am alone without a hotel at night in a huge city, what should I do? The smooth talking sales man gave me a few options all which were over £240,000 ($500). "No way im not paying that much!!!!" I asked that he check out the train station to see if I could somehow get a train to Shimla within the next 5 hours. Negative. "You need to reserve a train seat at least 3 days ahead, same with hotels due to the festival" Raj said. All I knew was that if I couldn't stay in a safe place in Delhi then I wasnt going to stay there at all. I sat down on his red suede couch weighing my options. I said my thank you's and walked out of the door to the taxi. The taxi driver whos named I would later find out was Kumar asked me where to go. I wasn't even sure where I was so how the hell could I tell him where I was going. I need to find a place, I need to be somewhere safe. That thought replayed in my head over and over again. I didn't know what to do. I told the taxi driver that I needed to get to Shimla which is 5 hours away. "Shimlas very far my friend, how do you plan on getting there all the trains are full? He was right, I had no choice but to ask him if he would. "I'll give you $300 if you drive me to Shimla. "What" he said? I'll give you £15,000 rupees right now if you drive me there" I exclaimed. "You know that's 5 hours away right". I told him yes, however he knew that he had me by the ball sack. Either I got to Shimla today or he could drop me off at some corner in Delhi where God knows what would happen to me. "Make it $320". "No way $300!" As if it wasn't enough money but he wouldn't budge. I eventually gave in and agreed to his unreasonably steep price. He made a phone call then flipped a bitch (which is making a U turn for those of you who aren't savvy on the hip lingo) and told me that he was going to change drivers with his "brother". Oh no not this bullshit again I thought to myself. I told him that I wanted him to drive me there instead. "What? $50 extra then." Okay this is getting ridiculous I thought to myself but decided that I'd be better off then having someone who doesn't speak English and could get lost driving instead. "Fine", and we agreed on 18,500 rupees ($370). After that it seemed almost easy for him to find the freeway to Shimla and we were on our way (I hoped). Quick lesson of India: Indians don't give a shit about driving laws or other drivers. Kumar my driver got on the freeway and it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I could finally relax.... Guess again. My driver started to speed up and swerve in between cars and trucks. Honking and swerving is basically the norm in India and from what I recall he was doing so at 110 mph during most of the way. Seriously. Never below 90 which was the speed limit on the freeway. I was too tired from the flight. I told him he should slow down to which he told me not to worry my friend. At this point I was contemplating doing a tuck and roll out of the car GTA style but knew the impact would kill me for sure. The road was packed full of tiny cars and huge trucks that all looked the same. What did I get myself into? My mind wouldn't stop running at 1000 words per minute. I began thinking of all the things that had happened and could happen to me but my body was weak from my trip and I was very tired. Kumar could tell and suggested I should lay down in the backseat and rest. "Are you kidding me!?" I thought to myself as he sped up and resumed his honking. I was too worried that he was going to take me to some far off place in the cuts and hold me ransom or something plus who could sleep like that? Looking back on the event I realized he wasn't actually a bad person just greedy which lots of people take advantage of. Anyways I tried staying awake and eventually we got to talking about my journey. After I told him why I wanted to go to Shimla he told me that it wasn't going to be what I thought it would be like and instead I should go to Manali which was 10 hours away from Shimla by bus. As if I didn't travel enough for one day but he insisted that it was way better then Shimla. At that moment I was skeptical of every person in India especially my driver. However I decided to take a look at my travel guide just to see what it said, maybe id check it out later on my trip. As soon as I started reading the paragraph out of my guide I was intrigued. Could it really be that great? Being skeptical of even my Lonely Planet guide. It sounded pretty amazing and I looked at all the accommodations and restaurants which passed the test. Shortly thereafter I recalled reading something once on an India forum about Manali having a reputation of being a Honeymooners Mecca and a backpackers paradise to which people had mentioned how nice it was. After spending about 20 minutes contemplating my choices I finally decided to take a gamble on Manali. Once again Kumar gave me his shpeal about it exclaiming "Yes Manali good, you like more then Shimla, Shimla too crowded, not good family place but Manali very beautiful." He even agreed to buy my ticket for me which after having been swindled out of $375 i'd expect him to fund my entire stay there however that was not going to happen and I knew it. So it was settled, I was going to Manali and with that said we headed to the nearest en route of a bus station in Ambala. I really didn't know what to expect at this point. Already I had lost my hotel (or so I thought), I lost $375 to my crazy taxi driver, and I had lost my ambition for India. There was still a long ways to go which meant more unbearable and ungodly driving at speeds that are almost unbelievable but its all true, I couldn't make this shit up. As I sit in the back seat of this mans taxi with my heart racing like Seabiscuit I start meditating to calm myself down. I contemplated my life and all of the things that I have been blessed with so far then began to make peace with my death, thinking how dying in a car crash would probably be the least painful way to go. I even thought to myself "Wow, if I die from sudden impact it would be nice and quick" My heart beat started to slow very gradually and my mind cleared, I tried to lay down in the back to rest my body but due to the constant honking and jolting there was no way that I would find such solitude, not yet. I shifted my focus to all the small but rundown towns sprinkled along the freeway and said to myself "Thank God I'm not walking from town to town, there's no way I'd make it." Most of these places are over crowded ghettos decorated with crumbling buildings and huts made from mud or sticks. There are huge piles of burning trash, shit and even bodies as is tradition in India to cremate most of the dead to prepare them for the next life. The stench that wafts from these shanty towns makes your eyes water and nose burn, with each breathe you can feel the toxins accumulating in your lungs. Sometimes your gag reflexes kick in and you feel like vomiting, the smell is that bad. Natives don't seem to mind to much though. Lol. As you pass these ghettos essentially you begin to realize how truly impoverished India is. Children walking barefoot playing with shit covered Coca-Cola bottles, homeless dogs that look like they haven't eaten in days sleeping on the side of the road with flys attacking their wounds, and lots and lots of trash. More then you can imagine. So why the fuck was I here again? Well I will say that I think it's important for everyone to see India at least once in their lifetime so that they may realize how truly amazing we have it in America or wherever you live. Yes I'm plenty sure people are going to read that (if your still reading that is) and say "Fuck that" but I guarantee that it will expand your appreciation for such places if nothing else expand your heart. With that said I will also say that even though I'm making India out to be hell on Earth there is still plenty of beauty (with the exception of Delhi, I was only in Delhi for a couple of hours but I will trust my gut on this one [or my Delhi Belly] and declare Delhi to be a complete and utterly miserable shit hole of a city for which unless forced I will only visit again to catch my flight back to America) out here, you just have to find it. But back to my story... So I'm still in the taxi with Kumar and he is driving like a maniac. As we approached Ambala the sky began to get brighter and the thick clouds of smog that surrounds all of Delhi soon dissipated. It was no longer dark and eerie thank Jesus. I could finally see far off in the distance as before all I could see was nightfall and cars. My perception of the area began to take shape and my stress level lowered a notch or 2. We got stuck in traffic a couple times which is basically a bunch of cars, buses and semis bumper to bumper having a honking party as if they had never used them before. My driver was smart enough (if you'd like to call it that) to take a scenic shortcut on the unpaved dirt shoulder on the side of the freeway and pass all the congestion. Once again India drivers don't give a you know what about speed limits or lanes. When we eventually squeezed our way in between two cars we would pass what was causing the traffic which most of the time was a serious car crash. This made me grip my arm rest even more as we sped away from the mess. After asking for directions from multiple people who all pointed in different directions we finally found the bus station. This was interesting as well. Think of a busy bus station with about 20 buses at any given moment and lots of people haggling over tickets for these buses like it was the Super Bowl and your putting all your money on the New England Patriots. Ya. So it was of course very loud and very crowded. Had Kumar not paid off an official at the station for me with £1000 rupees I probably wouldn't have gotten onto a bus for 8 hours. It was kinda funny actually. I followed him around as he bribed the official which was a lot of back and forth between the official, the head authority of the bus station and us. When the official would go back to the office to talk Kumar would tell me that this is the only way to get a bus this soon and gave me the universal sign of money by rubbing his fingers together as if they had grease on them. So here I am waiting for this official to bribe the other official to get me a seat on a bus to a place that I had never been too. What a way to travel. When the official came out of the office he gave us a look and started to walk in a very polite but stern speed waltz. This way he told Kumar. We followed him and found our selves surrounded by all the people trying to buy tickets. I mistook the ticket desk where everyone was gathering around as some sort of chicken fight. So many people in one place yelling and waving money around this deck just to get from point A to B. I stood there baffled for a few moments before Kumar pointed me in the direction of my bus. "I thought that it was going to be a 1st Class bus." He said that this was the only one the official could get and it was leaving in 5 minutes. I struggled with a decision for a split second before realizing that I'd rather take the shanti bus now as opposed to waiting to take a bus in 8 hours when it was dark again and I couldn't find my bearings. He said the ride to Manali was 8 hours long but what he didn't happen to mention was how crazy that ride was going to be. I hopped on the bus before handing over the rest of the rupees to Kumar which was very difficult for me to do considering it was almost $400! But I was very grateful that he had got me this far in one piece thinking to myself how much worse it could have been if I had attempted this feat alone. We said our goodbyes and he gave me a hand shake and watched him walk back to his white taxi car for which he will probably drive to Delhi in a speedy manner. Now before you give me shit about blowing $400 dollars on a taxi and bus ride I will say that I was quite aware that I was being scammed for the most part but considering my situation I'm very happy that I did it. Would I had done something differently if I had service and could contact the hotel myself. You better believe it. But also it was a very important lesson for me. It was my initiation into India and I had passed, well almost. I still had 10 hours of bus travel left on what would be the most scary bus ride of my short life..... [to be continued]

And The Adventure Begins...

Hello Everyone,

Or should I say Namaste? As many of you already know (or maybe you don't) I will be backpacking through India for a little over 2 months starting November 8th, 2012. In less then 3 days I will be half way across the planet in what will most likely be the craziest experience of my short but beautiful life. Im am sure many of you are wondering why I have decided to go to India out of all the places in the world. Well in the past few months I have had many people ask me that same question, "Why India?" or "What are you going there for?" things of that nature. My reason is very simple. I have never been there before and am curious to see what it has to offer. However that is of course not the only reason for my journey, if it were then the same could be said about some less forgiving sun scorched scabbed over asshole of a country (joke).

There has long been something pulling me towards the Himalayas since I was a child, something calling every part of my being to drop whatever I was doing, buy a one-way plane ticket, climb to the highest snow covered peak and just sit (kind of a weird dream to have I suppose). I have also always been deeply fascinated with eastern philosophies and traditions such as those of the Tibetan Buddhists. Buddhism caught my attention at a very young age being a religion or more of a lifestyle based solely on compassion for other living beings, and selflessness. What a beautiful way to live and from there my fascination has only grown! Unfortunately Tibet has changed much over the past 20 years. It is no longer a Tibet for the Tibetan people but rather for the Chinese Government. The truth is hard to swallow for me at times because of how they live their life so peacefully and without the slightest intention to harm others. I have thought long and hard about it and decided against traveling to Tibet at this time not only due to the actual culture and way of life there being erased but also because from what I hear traveling to China is not the most welcoming experience for foreigners. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the utter torture and abuse these people have suffered due to the Chinese occupation. I'm sure many of you are well aware of this situation however it is more important not to forget that these tragedies still exist to this day and should not be ignored. We are people just as they are, we all deserve the same rights and freedoms regardless of where we come from. So with that said I have chosen to go to a region in northern India called Himchal Pradesh where a majority of the the Tibetans have migrated too in hopes to maintain their way of life. My plans as of now are to trek around Himchal Pradesh for acouple months before heading back to Delhi and catching a plane to San Francisco. 

My hopes by setting up this blog are to stay connected with all my close friends and family during my trip. I will attempt to do updates every few days or so (don't hold me to it) assuming that I have something to share and also have access to the internet but chances are I will have more then enough to share. I won't be able to make phone calls considering it costs like $40 a minute for international calls so if you want to personally get ahold of me you can either Skype me (richiemello1990) or send me a message via email (richie1cash@hotmail.com). Otherwise I want to keep in touch with everyone! Let me know how you are, what the weathers like, tell me about how you threw up all of that Pho at your Grandmas house... you know fun stuff. I don't check Facebook frequently enough to make updates or respond to messages in a fashionable manner so once again just refer to this blog. I will miss everyone dearly but I will keep you in my warm smiling thoughts. Until then chow.

-Richie