The Transitition
Trip Start
Sep 27, 2010
1
6
14
Trip End
Dec 01, 2010
Rishikesh - Dharamasala, Himachal Pradesh, India
Sunday, October 31, 2010
You can feel quite moviestaresque here - while waiting for my train a group of local young boys approached me all smiles wanting to converse and have their photos taken with me and to shake my hand. It seems white skin is still quite a novelty. They enquired as to what I thought of India and Indian’s and I replied, ‘when you smile, you get the biggest beaming smile back here’, and they smiled broadly wobbling their head from side to side in agreement and responded, ‘this is India’.
Finding my name listed on my carriage (I’d only booked the train two hours before - super efficient), I boarded the sleeper carriage. Locating my shared four-person cabin and then my bunk, complete with sheets and blankets, I felt reassured that I would have a very comfortable 10hr journey. I had the pleasure of sharing my cabin with Prabakh - a wonderfully pleasant and caring man and a soldier from Kashmir and Puish, a young fresh-faced university graduate. Conversation and chai bought from the vendors passing up and down the train flowed easily until we all hit the hay.
On arrival at Chakki Bank, some hours by road from Dharamasala, I took refuge in the women’s waiting room. Prabakh had seen me off the train and insisted that I wait until first light in the women’s waiting room, as he was quite concerned that I was travelling on my own. I dutifully obeyed and sat myself down in the deserted waiting room, with only a rat for company as I waited for first light. Thankfully at 5am a train arrived from Dehli and I spotted two foreigners and raced after them asking if they wanted to share a cab, which they readily agreed to. After some price wrangling we got in the taxi and began the 3hr journey climbing through the hills and towards the mountains. Enchanting and hypnotic Hindi music played by our driver soon sent us all to sleep, an hour or so later, we all seemed to stir at once and were met with the most awesome sight, mist rising from the lower hills leading to vast mountain ranges and finally snow-capped peaks - it was breathtaking.
As we zipped over a bridge I caught a fleeting glimpse of the perfect image of peace and tranquillity - Sitting cross-legged beside the cool clear river water, the lone figure overlooked the ethereal morning sun-soaked Himilayan mountains while mediating in perfect bliss - amazing!
