Confessions of a tired traveller
Its been 2 weeks since I made my first solo-backer trip to the Kumaon region and its high time I write about my experiences there because I have got lots to share from my post graduate life.. And its only reasonable to finish my tour experience before moving to others..
So here goes..
1. Language ain't so important. Mix with the locals.
When you go to a land of unknown where everything is new to you, you tend to see a side which no one sees easily unless compelled to. I was little unfamiliar to the language and had a tough time conveying what I wanted to tell them and they to me. Never did I feel I was frustrated or let alone because of the language. Language is something made for our convenience. And its not the only prerequisite for being convenient. I used sign languages and invented my own and was happy that it was reciprocated. Once when I tried my best to ask 'Does this place have schools for children since they are very remote', I got a reply like Rajni says 'Yes Yes. Beautiful place. It's very cool'.. I just smiled.
I travelled in bike, car, jeeps, local buses etc. I got a slice of their life. During my trip to Sri Lanka, I travelled in high tech buses, stayed in star hotels and ate cozy food. I dint like that. It was fully sugar coated hiding the true identity of the place. This tour was not so.
2. Enjoy landslides as long as you are safe
I saw quite a few landslides during my travel. And what more I was just seconds away when a huge landslide flooded the road. It took another hour until the JCBs came and cleared the road. So its very important that you have skilled driver who has complete knowledge about the areas. And most importantly he should be bold enough.
3. Never trust technology.
Cant forget the time when I was locked up in Gangolihat, just 4 hrs from Nepal. It was my first day in trip and I had just paid 250 for jeep, 300 for cave visit, 150 for room and 100 for other expenses. My purse had just 100 left in it when it started pouring down. There was no let off for over an hour. After which I made my way for the SBI atm center only to see a message 'sorry this atm is out of service'. Fine. Lets hunt for another atm. After a lot of explaining to the locals, I got to know that this was the only atm for this whole place and that the next nearest atm was 6hrs away. I was disillusioned. A response by a local 'Technology always problem sir' made me think.
4. Spending time with yourself brings out a new perspective.
After getting to know that it would take another 15hrs for the bank to be opened and atm to be serviced, I went straight to the room only to find that there was no current. After opening the windows for some breath of fresh air, I reflected upon myself. I started to think which things of mine can be pawned in case the problem persisted.. Can I pawn my fast track watch?? How much will this sell for?? Can I pawn my shoes?? It's a branded one but will they recognize it?? I mean how much will a mountain living person pay for a watch when he doesn't use one for seeing time, how will be buy shoes which are fancy enough but would never suit hilly areas?? That is when I realised that some things can only come thus far. I, as a person, am above all that and that I m safe. That outweighs everything else. I was happy then. I dint worry about atm. I dint think about landslides. I dint think of how i would escape from this place. I dint think when the banks would open. I just smiled. Okay, let me survive with 100hrs for the next 15-18 hrs. Not a bad deal considering that it was a sunday. And monday would come very soon. Situation would have been bad had I come on saturday!! I silently thanked the Gods and went outside to shop.
P.S The atm functioned half hour later, I took about substantial amount of cash and heaved a sigh of relief.
5. Things go at their own pace
In Chennai, to navigate to places was one of the easiest things for me. I press a button to kick start my bike 'La Poderosa' and vroom past the roads. Else I can board a local train or bus to go places. Wow.. How easy life be.. Contrast it with places in UP. There is no government support. No buses what so ever.. People rely hugely on shared jeeps and I can tell you that they are the most reasonable guys I have come across. Imagine a back drop like land slides, heavy rains, muddy and poor roads, high altitude etc. I paid Rs10 for a 18km drive on such roads. Drivers elsewhere would rob me. They understand the responsibility and go about very well. They are the lifeline of UP. Ever since clearing my MBA exams, I have learnt to wait. This is something that was unlike me before. The trip to kumaon enhanced that. Some things don't happen as I wish it to be. They will happen at their own pace and I need to hop on to it. I had to wait a good 30-40minutes before I get a jeep to my place of travel. I cant jump-in before communicating with him. Plan as and when things happen. Travel a 50km drive for 3hrs and then walk to the place which I wanted to see. It was all fun.
6. Some things are beyond your control. Let it be so. Let things take care of itself.
Some things are better left to itself.. I cant keep fuming if no jeep is in the vicinity. I will miss the beauty of the place. Just wait. Let yourself settle down. Be convinced that you are in no hurry to finish places. For once let nature be your driving force. Once you do that, you are relaxed. You enjoy the beauty around you and begin to wonder if things can be more beautiful than this?? You will come to realise that such is the case with life too. What I did to adjust to the timings?? Even though my eyes begged me to sleep & my feet implored me to sit down, I woke up early and balanced it.
Another big thing is my train journey back to Chennai. I boarded the Rajdhani and it was 28hr long journey to Chennai. Only that my train reached 22hrs late. Made my journey time to 50hrs. Thanks to the Telangana strike. Once they announced the train was 3 hrs late, people were talking 'How can be a Rajdhani be late???'.. Once they said 9 hrs late, they were angry. Once they said 12hrs late, they were fuming. Once they said 15hrs late, they calmed out and understood nothing can be done. Once they said 18hrs late, they were happy to reach their destination alive. After reaching 22hrs late, they were humbled. I boarded the train with huge leg pain and aching knees. 50 hrs in Rajdhani made me fresher and I set foot in Chennai full of life.
7. Speak with foreigners who tour the place
I spoke with quite a number of foreigners in Rishikesh. I was fascinated by their responses. One french woman said 'I have been touring India for the past 4 months and I can tell you this is one of the best places on Earth. I just love the food here. Its cheap and good unlike France which is pretty costly'. A group of Germans who are touring the world for the past 15yrs had come to India for the next leg. One said 'Normally we stay for 6-8months in the country, explore everything and move'. But here, I need 1 year for the Ladakh-Leh region itself. This is the only place on earth where you will be get frost bite and sun burns at the same time. Also the only place in the earth where we can see 5 different terrains over a 1km stretch. I would say that exploring the Himalayas from its start in Jammu to Arunachal Pradesh itself would take many years. Don't know how much will it take to tour the whole country. You are all very lucky people'. My face was full of smiles. Also a contemplation that many don't know what we have with us.
It was a breath taking experience for me and I m left wanting for more!!
So here goes..
1. Language ain't so important. Mix with the locals.
When you go to a land of unknown where everything is new to you, you tend to see a side which no one sees easily unless compelled to. I was little unfamiliar to the language and had a tough time conveying what I wanted to tell them and they to me. Never did I feel I was frustrated or let alone because of the language. Language is something made for our convenience. And its not the only prerequisite for being convenient. I used sign languages and invented my own and was happy that it was reciprocated. Once when I tried my best to ask 'Does this place have schools for children since they are very remote', I got a reply like Rajni says 'Yes Yes. Beautiful place. It's very cool'.. I just smiled.
I travelled in bike, car, jeeps, local buses etc. I got a slice of their life. During my trip to Sri Lanka, I travelled in high tech buses, stayed in star hotels and ate cozy food. I dint like that. It was fully sugar coated hiding the true identity of the place. This tour was not so.
2. Enjoy landslides as long as you are safe
I saw quite a few landslides during my travel. And what more I was just seconds away when a huge landslide flooded the road. It took another hour until the JCBs came and cleared the road. So its very important that you have skilled driver who has complete knowledge about the areas. And most importantly he should be bold enough.
3. Never trust technology.
Cant forget the time when I was locked up in Gangolihat, just 4 hrs from Nepal. It was my first day in trip and I had just paid 250 for jeep, 300 for cave visit, 150 for room and 100 for other expenses. My purse had just 100 left in it when it started pouring down. There was no let off for over an hour. After which I made my way for the SBI atm center only to see a message 'sorry this atm is out of service'. Fine. Lets hunt for another atm. After a lot of explaining to the locals, I got to know that this was the only atm for this whole place and that the next nearest atm was 6hrs away. I was disillusioned. A response by a local 'Technology always problem sir' made me think.
4. Spending time with yourself brings out a new perspective.
After getting to know that it would take another 15hrs for the bank to be opened and atm to be serviced, I went straight to the room only to find that there was no current. After opening the windows for some breath of fresh air, I reflected upon myself. I started to think which things of mine can be pawned in case the problem persisted.. Can I pawn my fast track watch?? How much will this sell for?? Can I pawn my shoes?? It's a branded one but will they recognize it?? I mean how much will a mountain living person pay for a watch when he doesn't use one for seeing time, how will be buy shoes which are fancy enough but would never suit hilly areas?? That is when I realised that some things can only come thus far. I, as a person, am above all that and that I m safe. That outweighs everything else. I was happy then. I dint worry about atm. I dint think about landslides. I dint think of how i would escape from this place. I dint think when the banks would open. I just smiled. Okay, let me survive with 100hrs for the next 15-18 hrs. Not a bad deal considering that it was a sunday. And monday would come very soon. Situation would have been bad had I come on saturday!! I silently thanked the Gods and went outside to shop.
P.S The atm functioned half hour later, I took about substantial amount of cash and heaved a sigh of relief.
5. Things go at their own pace
In Chennai, to navigate to places was one of the easiest things for me. I press a button to kick start my bike 'La Poderosa' and vroom past the roads. Else I can board a local train or bus to go places. Wow.. How easy life be.. Contrast it with places in UP. There is no government support. No buses what so ever.. People rely hugely on shared jeeps and I can tell you that they are the most reasonable guys I have come across. Imagine a back drop like land slides, heavy rains, muddy and poor roads, high altitude etc. I paid Rs10 for a 18km drive on such roads. Drivers elsewhere would rob me. They understand the responsibility and go about very well. They are the lifeline of UP. Ever since clearing my MBA exams, I have learnt to wait. This is something that was unlike me before. The trip to kumaon enhanced that. Some things don't happen as I wish it to be. They will happen at their own pace and I need to hop on to it. I had to wait a good 30-40minutes before I get a jeep to my place of travel. I cant jump-in before communicating with him. Plan as and when things happen. Travel a 50km drive for 3hrs and then walk to the place which I wanted to see. It was all fun.
6. Some things are beyond your control. Let it be so. Let things take care of itself.
Some things are better left to itself.. I cant keep fuming if no jeep is in the vicinity. I will miss the beauty of the place. Just wait. Let yourself settle down. Be convinced that you are in no hurry to finish places. For once let nature be your driving force. Once you do that, you are relaxed. You enjoy the beauty around you and begin to wonder if things can be more beautiful than this?? You will come to realise that such is the case with life too. What I did to adjust to the timings?? Even though my eyes begged me to sleep & my feet implored me to sit down, I woke up early and balanced it.
Another big thing is my train journey back to Chennai. I boarded the Rajdhani and it was 28hr long journey to Chennai. Only that my train reached 22hrs late. Made my journey time to 50hrs. Thanks to the Telangana strike. Once they announced the train was 3 hrs late, people were talking 'How can be a Rajdhani be late???'.. Once they said 9 hrs late, they were angry. Once they said 12hrs late, they were fuming. Once they said 15hrs late, they calmed out and understood nothing can be done. Once they said 18hrs late, they were happy to reach their destination alive. After reaching 22hrs late, they were humbled. I boarded the train with huge leg pain and aching knees. 50 hrs in Rajdhani made me fresher and I set foot in Chennai full of life.
7. Speak with foreigners who tour the place
I spoke with quite a number of foreigners in Rishikesh. I was fascinated by their responses. One french woman said 'I have been touring India for the past 4 months and I can tell you this is one of the best places on Earth. I just love the food here. Its cheap and good unlike France which is pretty costly'. A group of Germans who are touring the world for the past 15yrs had come to India for the next leg. One said 'Normally we stay for 6-8months in the country, explore everything and move'. But here, I need 1 year for the Ladakh-Leh region itself. This is the only place on earth where you will be get frost bite and sun burns at the same time. Also the only place in the earth where we can see 5 different terrains over a 1km stretch. I would say that exploring the Himalayas from its start in Jammu to Arunachal Pradesh itself would take many years. Don't know how much will it take to tour the whole country. You are all very lucky people'. My face was full of smiles. Also a contemplation that many don't know what we have with us.
It was a breath taking experience for me and I m left wanting for more!!
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