Microscopic Souls, Pilgrimaging & Living the dream

  Palitana, Gujarat, India
Thursday, February 12, 2009

At last a sit down, I'm exhausted after the mammoth climb this morning and happy to let the bike do all of the work. As soon as I'm out of Junagadh the landscape becomes lush green as I start to edge closer to Sasan national park. Fifteen kilometres in I'm enjoying the scenery and winding roads. I round a corner only to feel my back end slide out, I coax the bike to stop to find I've got a puncture....Great! Time is a bit on the narrow side as I want to approach Diu by sunset and it's already early afternoon. I ride the bike 50m to a crossroad where there is some activity and with the help of some sign language I see if anyone knows where I can get my puncture fixed. A phone call and 20 minutes later a man arrives and methodically sets to work to get me back on the road. 15 rupees (20p) later I'm back in the game, from something that could have been a nightmare becomes smooth sailing and undamaging to the funds.
 
It is beautiful and luxuriant around this area but I've got to keep moving. The sasan national park is India's biggest cat sanctuary with over 300 lions and just under that with panthers. There have been attacks on the villagers but ostensibly provoked by the villagers themselves as they protect their livestock. This was one destination that did tempt me but to appreciate it properly I feel I need more time and a bigger budget.
 
The road rapidly deteriorates making progress slow and with the sun starting to set it looks like I'm going to be riding in the dark and in India this is hazardous as the roads are always full of surprises from potholes to cows. I try not to ride in the dark but it looks like today I have no choice. I switch on my lights but to a surprising no avail and riding in the dark is becoming more literal. Interesting. I'm still about 30km to reaching Diu so I try to cover as much ground as possible before total darkness sets in. Again anything goes on the Indian roads and I'm not the only one without any lights. The roads become narrow and with it totally darkness. I've got 15 more km to cover so it is possible, but arduously slow. I continually pull up on the side of the road and literally wait for someone to shed light on the situation. As soon as a vehicle passes I do my best to keep up. Finally in the distant I can see some lights and to my relief I know now I haven't got long to go.  

The state of Gujarat is a dry zone with the exception of Diu as it's an island just off the main land. Many Gujarati's come to Diu to get liquored up. The main town is a cluster of bars, restaurants and hotels, it is becoming more popular with western tourist but it's the local tourists that make up the numbers. It isn't as picturesque as Goa but I can imagine this is what Goa might have been like many years ago.
It does have similarities with Goa, with its Portuguese background, catholic churches & sandy beaches and with the older generation still speaking Portuguese. I'm liking it here, the weather is continually sunny, the beaches quiet and the sunset's beer worthy. I'm going to spend more time here but in the meantime I'm going to explore a nearby city called Palitana, that is famed for it Jain temple and pilgrimage.
 
The Jain religion is similar to Buddhism, both evolved by one man from royal descent who both achieved enlightenment through meditation. The Jains believe that the spiritual journey of the soul is divided into 14 stages, moving from bondage & ignorance to the final destruction of all karma and complete fulfilment to the soul. The five vows undertaken being; to not harm any living thing, to speak the truth, not to steal, to give up sexual relations (practice chastity), and to give up all possessions. It is a very strict religion and one that also practices vegetarianism but with exception to eating potatoes and onions: as they are believed to have microscopic souls. I don't mean to disrespect their belief but imagining potatoes and onions having little souls surely has a comedy value to it. It does make me laugh but only because of my vivid imagination rather than being impertinent. There are two sects of Jains, one sect that wear white robes and the other that are completely naked. Before I was aware of this I use to see naked men walking down the road with followers in tail but at the time I had no idea what was what apart from this is crazy India. Now it makes sense.
 
I set off early to commence the climb and as expected accompanied by 100's of pilgrims. The climb is tame in comparison to Junagadh but still hard work. Unusually the weather today is overcast which is good for climbing but an anticlimax for the views. Some of the pilgrims are beautifully dressed and wouldn't look out of place in a fashion show. I watch some pilgrims carefully sweep the path ahead of them with woollen clothes: the softest material as not to cause harm, and others removing insects from the path to save them from accidentally being trodden on. The essence of Jainism is the reverence for all life however small or big and that every living entity has within it an indestructible and immortal soul. Being a Buddhist and a vegetarian I can empathize somewhat with their belief apart from the onions and potatoes, but maybe this is because this conflicts with my heritage, being half Irish not eating onions and potatoes, the staple foods, would be sacrilegious to my roots. However saying that I could easily go without eating Irish stew no problem. Some of the pilgrims wear facemasks so not to accidentally swallow any insects. It is extreme for western beliefs but there is something very heart warming with the amount of respect and benevolence given to all living things. 
 
I make it to the top to be greeted with hundreds of Jain temples, 863 to be precise, surmounting two peaks. It is a shame the weather is dull, as it doesn't give the vibrancy the temple deserve. I wander around the temple for a couple of hours then make my descent. I leave Palitana with a further understanding to the Jain religion and to the followers that can only be seen in a great light.
 
I arrive back to Diu and find myself an idyllic place to stay. I stumble on it whilst exploring the Island and with the tranquillity and beauty it is perfect place to relax. Christmas is approaching and at the last minute I decide to return to England to surprise family and friends. I leave my motorbike at the hotel and make my way to Delhi to fly back home. I fly into Heathrow early in the morning and it's dark, damp, dull and uninviting in so many ways. No one has any idea I'm coming back and it is great surprising all of my family and friends, each time being priceless. Over the course of the few weeks back I make the most of all the things I miss.
 
Coming back to England feels like I have earplugs in, as everything is so quiet: no constant horn blowing or pandemonium. It feels strange. I'm enjoying the cleanliness of England and the lack of stench that on the flip side India offers in abundance. I enjoy seeing family and familiar faces, eating simple foods without a million spices and a lot of partying, that I know I'm not going to experience again for at least another year. I definitely make the most of it and thoroughly enjoy my brief return to England after being away for 6 months. But now as I make the most of my last creature comfort, being my bed, I get myself together to head back to India.
 
Back at the airport again for another adventure and I'm so looking forward to returning to my hotel on the beach. However it will take me the best part of three days continuous travel to get there. A seven-hour wait in Dubai to get my connecting flight was painful but this is only the start of it. I eventually touch down in Delhi and with the now familiarity of the place it does feel like my second home. I check into a cheap and cheerful, actually just make that cheap, hotel as I have a few things to do in Delhi before moving on. The hotel is dilapidated but you get what you pay for. The first night in Delhi and I'm finding it hard to sleep due to jetlag but unfortunately this wasn't the only hindrance. I can feel things biting me and crawling over my skin as I try to sleep. I'm constantly switching on the lights to see the culprits but to no joy. Right, something is definitely biting me; I turn around and shine my torch in the direction of my pain to see something crawling away: Bed bugs. I think I am jinx with hotels in Delhi, as I always seem to get the room with bed bugs. There is something creepy about bed bugs, they remind me of ticks as they are similar looking and both use their heads to bury in your skin to drink your blood. Its 5am now and I still haven't slept, I think I have a sixth sense now because every time I turn around I spot a bed bug bee lining towards me. Even though prior I was impressed with Jainism there is no way I can let them just feast off me and by sunrise I have become a serial killer of bedbugs as they mound up. I don't know the logic why, but bedbugs bite you in a succession of three and by the morning I am covered in about 80 bites. It's so itchy but I do my best to restrain myself from itching myself incessantly.  
It's time to get back to Diu; the first leg is a 17-hour train journey so with my ipod charged and a book to read I board the train. There are different classes on the train but I prefer to be in the cattle class. It is crowded, it does stink and it is dirty but it is more entertaining. One of the negatives is that the toilets by the hour get in a real bad state and the aroma eventually takes hold of the carriage. The smell gets so bad that at first I think it is coming from the bed I am sleeping on and eventually I even start to question myself. I am so tired that I pass out anyway. I arrive in Ahmadabad and go about looking for a bus to Diu. I find a bus that goes half of the way but firstly it's a local style bus, extremely basic and overcrowded and secondly it doesn't leave for quite a few hours. It is painful but I try to visualize myself on the beach that takes the edge of it.
 
Thirty-seven hours have passed since leaving Delhi with a multifarious journey but I finally make it to Diu. I check into my hotel and couldn't be happier. My days are spent in reverie and indolence: basking on the beach, reading books, listening to tunes and taking the odd dip in the sea. The weather is a very pleasant 25-35c. The hotel and beach is empty and it feels as though I have hired it all out just for myself. I have my own cook, barman, security guard, cleaner and waiter, all for four pounds a night. Occasionally other people arrive but 90% of the time I'm in a wanting solitude in this felicitous setting. From my sun bed I can watch the sun rise and set without even moving and both being spectacular. The only other activity on the beach is the occasional goats and cows that move on to newer pastures and when the tide is out the locals go crabbing. I cannot find fault at all and in my phlegmatic state surely this is living the dream. But now it is time to move on, I am eager for a challenge and further exploration so tomorrow, if I can drag myself away, I am going to get back on the road with a mission to find a tribe that will let me stay with them. And with language being a huge barrier it should prove entertaining.