(December 31) We stated off in the dark again today. The sun rises around 7 am and sets around 6 pm. We ate an early breakfast and were off to catch a train. The train was relatively on time and waiting was interesting. There are three types of people helping us on our travels. The first is a handler – the person, who keeps us organized, meets us off planes, trains or boats. The second is a driver. Finally, we meet local guides who take us through the sites. The handler today met us looking less than thrilled. It was cold and he looked bored. Regardless, he took us to the train station and helped us manage to avoid the crowd of beggars and get on the right train. The beggars were heart breaking. Lots of them were maimed, disfigured or carrying small children.

We got on the right train and our job was to make sure we got off at the right station, Jhansi. Like many public announcement systems, we found it hard to hear what was being said even though they made all the announcements in English too. Our steward helped us get our bags down on time and stacked them at the door of the car, for a tip of course. Then we had to get off the train very quickly and with all our bags, because the train did not stop for more than a few minutes. It worked. Our new handler picked us up, gave us to our new driver and off we were to Orchha to see the palaces of a Moghul king.

We were shown beautiful examples of a blend of Hindu and Islamic architecture. The shapes of screens, domes, doors and minarets all showed the dual influence, as did the inclusion of blue/green ceramic tiles. The paintings in one of the castles were spectacularly vivid. It really gave an idea of what the place must have been like when it was in use. Carpets hung from the walls in winter and curtains in summer. It would have been a highly colourful place. The first palace we saw, i.e., the one with the bathroom, is now an Indian state run hotel and for 5000Rupee/per night (or $100cdn) you can sleep in the king’s bedroom. The second one was built for the king who only stayed in it for one night! The third one saw more use.

We had a mediocre meal (one of the few so far) for lunch at a buffet designed to meet the needs of bus tour groups. Not my favourite! We are getting picky now since we have had such great food almost everywhere. Our hotel had an outdoor celebration for New Year’s Eve and we had a great time. Our next stop is Khajuraho for our new year’s party. Happy New Year everyone!

(December 28) Today we started with a good breakfast that included fruit, OJ, porridge, a Nepaease stir fry (potatoes, peas, rice, curry, peppers and cilantro, eggs and toast. That prepared us for a three hour hike in the foothills.  The birds were very interesting and our guide knew lots about what we were looking at. Our driver spent the three hours going into Hardiwar to get the replacement tire that blew on our way from Delhi and finally get us some tonic water.

This hike took us into the area where people were carrying their rations from the warehouse trucks to their homes The government subsidizes them because they all live below the poverty level. Life is hard work! These folks will take these 60-70 pound bundles or sacks, on thier backs or heads, all the way up the mountain to their homes. I had trouble crossing the ladder!

We had a great lunch with lots of good food. Our chef here is brilliant. Yesterday he made us the best Minestrone soup and Nocchi we had ever eaten. He created a spinach and mushroom cheese bake that was to die for! For lunch we had “continental” food. This meant French Onion soup and cheese toast, a cucumber slaw, a tomato and mushroom stir-fry, baby potatoes, a spinach and cheese combination and Quiche. All for $10cdn/person. Lets put this in context. They were charging us $10/pint for a beer.

We went down to the Ganges in front of our hotel to make offerings on behalf of Meenal and Sanjiv. We offered the sweets we bought at the temple yesterday and some tobacco we brought from Canada. The trek down to the river was somewhat steep and hard going. It was much easier coming up. Now we are taking a break and getting ready for supper. Tomorrow we return to Delhi – our 7-8 hour car ride. It is also a return to the urban areas and lots more hustle and bustle. It also means that we will be back in internet range and all of these blog postings will be uploaded. It has been hard to be disconnected from family and friends just at Christmas. We will definitely be in internet range for the rest of the trip. Jane Cavanagh, our friend from Edmonton, is joining us tomorrow too. It will be fun to have her with us.

(December 27)  went to Hadiwar and Rishiskesh today. Both are cities on the Ganges. Hadiwar is one of the seven holy cities in India. People come to Hadiwar to connect with their ancestors through the river. It is considered a blessing to touch the water of the Ganges. Better yet, immersing yourself in the river can demonstrate your faith. People were dunking themselves in the river despite it being winter here and the water very cold

. There are priests nearby to offer consultations and blessings. People also make offerings to their loved but departed ancestors. They float flower-filled leaf bowls with burning incense down the river. Hindus consider it very sacred to have your ashes thrown into the Ganges as this sends you into a better afterlife. People have funerals by the river and if you die in another part of India, people often bring your ashes to the Ganges. We saw a funeral being prepared as we waited for our ferry yesterday. The body was laid out on the riverbank and people were gathering rocks and wood for the fire. The ashes would then be scattered into the river.

We went into the bazaar at Hadiwar and took the “ropeway to the gods” up the mountain to a shrine dedicated to a goddess of fertility. We made no offerings! The whole way was very crowded and we accepted that coming in the winter season made it possible to see this temple. The crowds in the summer are way, way worse and we couldn’t imagine being in that crowd. Without meaning to we found ourselves in a line to be blessed by one or more of the three priests sitting near the temple. We got out of there with one blessing and a dot of orange paint on our foreheads.

Our final stop of the day was the Aarti ritual at an ashram in Rishikesh. An ashram is a place for meditation and spiritual study. The monks and students have a sunset ceremony to honour Shiva and Ganga, the river goddess. It was interesting but somewhat confusing. Our guide was helpful but the Hindu stories are complex and his English was halting. It was definitely an experience worth having.  

(December 26) We arrived at the Himalayan Hideaway after a gruelling 8 hour ride from Delhi only to find out that we are now basically camping! It was a bit of a shock. We have been staying in rather high-end hotels. The HH team met us at the road and we got to see our rooms. The view is spectacular! We overlook the Ganges river and the sound of the wind in the trees and the river running over rocks is relaxing. However, they do not have central heating in India and it was 10 degrees when we arrived. The good news was that they had heaters in the room and warm blankets on the bed. We also brought our winter gear so we are fine. It was just a bit of a shock about how rustic it is.

Today we went on a 2.5 hour hike in the Himalayan foothills. We started on one side of the river, walked across a suspension path bridge to the other side. The bridge was very high up and bounced as we walked on it. It is the only bridge for a long way that doesn’t get washed out during monsoon season.

We started walking on the well-worn path. The path was paved with stones many years ago because of the need for the villagers living in the mountains to get to and from the river.  As we started our walk a woman carrying a bundle on her head passed us. She was on her way to work or from the store, we do not know. However, her presence affirmed for us that this is a working roadway, not just a holiday hiking path.

The hike took us through a village high on the river bank. We got to witness people working in the fields and connect with several children who thought we were rather interesting. These folks work hard! Everything is done manually and with old style tools. We saw the elementary school the kids went to. It was simple; just one main room and six side rooms. They have no power, heat, windows, or desks. There is an outdoor outhouse and a small outside kitchen. The kids go to this school until they are twelve and then they need to go to a school on the other side of the valley.

Today we crossed the Ganges in two ways. We walked across the suspension bridge to start our hike and we took a local ferry boat ride back. The boatman was phenomenal. The Ganges is a fast flowing river and it has strong currents. The boatman knew his bend in the river very well. He had two oars that he launched himself into the current with, but then he used the current to land up exactly where he wanted to be. It was a fast crossing. No life jackets of course.

We enjoyed all the birds we saw on our hike. Eric is a big bird watcher so we are all learning a lot about birds. We also got to see a number of monkeys. There were two basic types. The first one likes to hang out where people live and see if they can scrounge scraps or steal food. Our hotel has a sign that says to lock your door when you aren’t in the room so the monkey’s don’t get in. We also saw some monkeys that are happy to eat leaves and fruit and avoid people. They were interesting. We saw monkeys up close at the Ashram (a yoga place as our guide described it). They were all over the temple area and the stairs into the site.

The food here has been stupendous! The cook is from Nepal and our lunch today including traditional local and Nepalesian food. We have been lucky to be the only guests here at the moment and the chef has been kind enough to cook what we want. We asked for local cuisine and have been very happy. The sauces are not spicy and there are many gluten free options for Eric. Today they made him millet-based chapatti so that he could sop up all the good sauces too. 

The road to Rishikesh from Delhi was a rough one. We started out at 8:00 to beat the morning rush. However, it was not that simple. The riots protesting the sexual abuse of women prompted by the sexual assault of a woman and the physical assault of her boyfriend while they were on a city bus were happening very near our hotel. The police blocked the most direct way out of town. Therefore, we had to go around town and it slowed us down. We also had to stop so our driver could change a flat tire. It was a rough road. The entire journey took 8 hours. The most interesting thing was that we got to go through many villages in many different regions on the way. The many different forms of transportation we encountered stunned us. We were passed regularly by motorcycles, mopeds, donkey carts, carts pulled by horses, ox carts, bicycles, bicycle powered rickshaws (i.e., tricycles that pull passengers, Tuk Tuk (i.e., three-wheeled motoped cabs), buses, armoured personnel carriers, cars, trucks, people pulling carts, and people walking with stuff on their heads. There were times when we could see all of these transportation options on the road in front of us at the same time.

 Animals of all shapes and sizes have also come into view on our drives. For example, we have seen, so far, within view of the van while we drive monkeys, goats, chickens, wild pigs, oxen, cats, dogs, elephants, water buffalo and donkeys. The cows are given free reign. They are sometimes homeless, wandering the streets and eating what they can find. Specific families own other cows and we have seen them tied to ropes and kept near homes. The cows are everywhere! As a result, there is a thriving industry in collecting, drying and storing cow dung for heating fuel. People collect cow pies and stack them in specific ways that help airflow around them to dry them out. The pies are then covered with straw and end up looking like huts. They were everywhere we looked in the countryside and in the villages. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

We had a relaxing evening at our hotel. Karen & I played scrabble by the pool while Dale went swimming. The pools here are solar heated and a little chilly for my liking. I am also avoiding swimming because my legs are entirely bitten by mosquitoes or something nasty. I got bit on our second day here and had a very negative reaction to the bites. They are really itchy. the mosquitoes here are very little and don’t make that familiar buzzing sound to warn you that they are around. We may also have been bitten by sand fleas – no way to know. We found that an Ayurveda cream made of Neem and Aloe Vera was the only thing that would help. We saw the Neem tree at Ellora and learned that it is used in many different medicines and, in addition to skin related concerns; it is also used to purify your blood if you drink some. I am happy to have found it.The big tree is the Neem tree.

The smaller tree is the Acacia tree that is very common here. Our niece Haley’s middle name is Acacia so we took this picture in her honour.