Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab

John and I decided to change our plans, cancel our train ticket to Amritsar, and take a 16 hour bus to Manali in search of adventure. This idea was based on the dream to paraglide in the Himalayas (we also had a reference from friends of a safe and good place). Manali is a hill station in Himachal Pradesh (north of Delhi) which was relatively undiscovered until the 1960's. It was just a little mountain village, but now it is a thriving tourist destination with hundreds of shops, hotels, and eateries. In fact, it is so crowded and busy that we decided to stay at a little touristy village just east called Vishist. We met our friend Golnoush by surprise and spent the first afternoon with her hiking to a waterfall. Then we met this tour operator named Ghanthu and realised there was so much to do here! We ended up planning for ourselves a sweet few days that included skiing in a mountain peak, paragliding through 3 valleys, and motorbiking through the winding mountain passes!

The first day, we got in a jeep which took us through countless switchbacks to Rhotang Pass, one of the few peaks that is possible to drive to that still has snow that hasn't melted. We were sporting these ridiculously colored one-piece snow suits that we rented that morning. Mine was flourescent pink, purple, and green, and John's was purple, green and black. I swear the suit was older than me. When I show you pictures, you will think it was the 80's. We quickly realised that the roads didn't actually make it to parts above the snow, so though we had rented the jeep all day to take us up and down the mountain (essentially our gondola), there wasn't much he could do. For all the runs, we had to hike up the snow for about 20 minutes and then have about 3 minute runs down. It was hard work, but super fun- an experience that I never thought I would have. On our last run, we were in the middle of a mountain snow storm, and I was really glad to be wearing the 80's space suit.

The next day we took a jeep to another place called Solang. We hiked up about 500 metres with our paragliding instructors and waited for the winds to subside. I was strapped into the parachute for about 10 minutes when suddenly I was instructed to start running! So I did, not realising that the paraglide behind me was taking flight, and I ran until my feet were lifted off the ground. It was an incredible feeling. The next one was about 30 seconds later when I was 500 metres up, overlooking 3 beautiful valleys! Wow. The winds were a bit wild that day, so when we landed, I sort of felt like a japanese monster (perhaps Godzilla?). My instructor, who was strapped behind me tandem style, was yelling, "side, side!!" to all the people watching on the landing pad. They were running every direction, holding on to their children, and screaming as my big feet landed unopportunistically into a mud puddle. I laughed it off, but not the mud. When John got down, we were joking about going zorbing (rolling down a hill in a big plastic ball). We asked how much it was, and at 300 rupees, we were both game (about $8). What ensued was a super fun 5 minutes rolling down the hill where we didn't cease laughing like little girls. I kind of felt like a 5 year old kid at a carnival, lacking only the pink cotton candy that, wouldn't you know it, was being sold everywhere! We were also offered rides on little white ponies for about 300 rupees, but we had had enough adventure for one day.

The last day, we were both given keys to Pulsar 150's, a popular mid-sized motorbike. First, the renter drove me to the gas station to fill up, and I drove back. I have driven a motorbike only once on the dirt airstrip in Niger last summer, so I was a bit shaky starting up. He proceeded to tell me that I have to buy anything I break (his confidence in my driving skills was overwhelming). John was just starting too, so we spent the first hour just driving up and down a flat spot (quite rare!) with a wide shoulder (equally rare). Then we took off towards a little town that we had never heard of. I'd say that it was really tough to keep my concentration on the bike and winding roads, and off of the serene white-capped scenes in the distance. But driving did demand my attention. Driving in India is on the left, for starters (which by now, I have gotten used to), but in addition, 'might makes right' and the words painted on the back of every big truck, 'honk horn' are the only rules on Indian roads that I am aware of. It is an intense mix of offensive and defensive driving. Anyways, it was an exhilarating experience that I was happy to still be alive afterwards (thank You Lord!).

We took a deluxe sleeper bus to Dharmsala, which arrived just outside of it at 3 in the morning, where we boarded a little minivan that took us up the elevated switchbacks to town. There was an identical van in front of us that had to be pushed at regular intervals, which made a german man very audibly angry! But that made John, me, and the French people in our van laugh. John took off on the first bus out of Dharmsala to meet his mom in Amritsar, so I was on my own for the last few days. I got a room and went to bed till 11.

When I woke up, I had only that day to spend in Dharmsala, which is the residence of the 14th Dalai Lama, and is thus the epicentre of Buddhist teachings and Tibetan movements. I visited some temples and museums that displayed Buddhist culture, and also some human rights institutions that speak against the atrocities committed by the Chinese lately. There was a museum that talks about the Chinese occupation of Tibet back in the 40's which was regrettably closed that day. I learned a lot about the rising movements of the Tibetan people also. For example, in the last few years, Tibetans have become increasingly disapproving of the Dalai Lama's peaceful yet ineffective methods of dealing with China. The influential Tibetan Youth Movement has merged with the 4 other largest Tibetan NGOs on the issue of independence of Tibet to form the Tibetan National Uprising Movement. Their first major move was to have a massive march to Tibet, an act that would bring international attention, and bring light to China's terror, because they are anticipating and expecting open fire at the border. The leaders of this movement are much more Gandhian than Dalai-Laman, in that they are commited to non-violence, but also to non-cooperation. They want to break some rules. So we'll see what happens in these next few years. I am of the opinion that this Tibetan issue can only increase in importance because it involves directly the two nations that will be the most powerful in the coming years- China, who won't take them, and India, who has been housing them for about 60 years and may have to take a side soon. Lately, India is continually being supportive of Tibetans as refugees in India, but will not aid them in their fight against China.

Aside from the Tibetan issues, Dharmsala and Mcleod Gang are half filled with tourists (this being peak season). I went with two French friends to a restaurant that Pierce Brosnan favored during his time in Dharmsala. I had an excellent tuna pizza, and thought about what he would have ordered. I took a local bus out of there to Amritsar, and after 3 stops and 6 hours, I was there. I arrived at the Golden temple just in time to leave my things and catch a shared jeep to the waga border. Yes, the Pakistan border! There is an ecclectic ceremony that happens every night before sundown supposedly to portray a positive Pakistan-Indian relationship. A mirror-image stadium has been constructed, with a gate and two large flag poles at the centre. Before the action started, the Indian side was WAY more packed, and they were blasting popular dance music, so there were some Indians who were moving their hips on the pavement. At 6:00pm, both Indian and Pakistani men assumed crowd cheer-leadering positions by yelling loudly in the microphone (in words I didn't understand) and the respective crowds responded with uproars of national pride. Then soldiers in tall hats resembling a small peacock-feather spread marched towards each other, and stopped short of the gate, raising their legs high as they walked. After much of this, they eventually opened the gate and lowered both flags simultaneously. I noticed the Pakistan flag was lowered slightly slower than the Indian flag, and wondered if anyone was offended, but everyone clapped when they were both down, so I suppose not.

After the jeep ride back, I entered the path around the golden temple for the first time. It is truly magnificent- I believe it's half gold and half bronze (or is it copper?), and is surrounded by a large pool of water (almost a small man-made lake), which provides for great photos at nighttime. The temple itself was glimmering, not to mention the reflection off the lake. They have live music from 3:30am till 11:00pm everyday! There was an excellent tabla player and two vocalists resounding out of bose speakers (not too shabby!) which circumvented the lake. I tried to catch the sunrise, but was late. When I finally walked into the temple, I found a quite surreal environment. There were worshipers prostrating themselves in front of a few holy men taking donations and putting them in a box, while others were performing rituals over some fabric-covered coffins, alongside many people reading/chanting parts from the holy book, with two microphoned tablas and vocalists singing and playing, and a big beautiful video camera catching it all on film!

I asked a man on a bus about the difference in the upside down cone-shaped turbans that the men wear and those with a ball in the front that the teenagers and boys wear. He said that at a time chosen by the father, a son is permitted to start tying it the manly way. It has religious significance 'tied' to it. Perhaps it is to the Sikhs what a bar mitzvah of the Jewish people or baptism of the Christians is, in regards to their faith.

I also visited a place called Jalianwala Bagh. Here is a little park surrounded entirely by buildings except for its only entrance which leads to a street. In 1919, some Indians were assembling peacefully when British General Dyer marched in, blocked the only entrance/exit, and ordered open fire on the masses, including women, children, and men. After 10 minutes and 1600 rounds fired, there were around 1500 casualties and about 2000 wounded. If this doesn't make sense, realize that there is a well in the park (I thought it was about 60 feet deep) that people jumped to 'save' their lives (most died). It reminds me of when people were jumping out of the windows of the world trade centre. To any rational person, it would mean suicide, but in such desperate moments, perhaps it is the safest bet. There are still bullet holes in some bricks in the walls. Nigel Collett, the author of Reginal Dyer's biography said, "As an Englishman, I cannot help but feel sorrow and shame at what he did... The massacre was the worst atrocity by a British officer ever recorded." A prominent Indian named Rabindranath Tagore, who was also a Nobel laureate, denounced his title of knighthood (given to him by the British) in protest. This incident consequently became a stepping stone to Indian independence.

Looking back, my favorite parts of Amritsar were the music, the free food and lodging, and the 5 rupee cokes sold outside! That's only 10 cents! I boarded my last train (classy- 3 tier AC) to Delhi, where I have been packing and buying last minute trinkets. I can't believe I am finally on the eve of my departure from this fascinating country. I actually have SO many memories of my time here, mostly good if not simply bizarre, that I wouldn't put it past myself to return one day. Some Indians I have met claim "The world is in India". They usually mean that India houses every religion of the world- Hinduism, Buddhism, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Jainism, and everything in between. I like to add that there is truly every type of landscape here also. There are snow-capped mountains in the Himalayas, the great Thar desert in Rajasthan, sandy beaches in Goa, rainforest wonder in Karnataka, busling cities in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi... vast endlessness in Ladakh, and long reaching rivers like the Indus and the Ganges. In addition, there are so many people groups here; people of Nepali, East Asian, Arab, Mughal, and even British descent (I won't try to name more). I love this land. But I do miss Canada.

I arrive in Nairobi at noon tomorrow, and will begin a whole new experience: a few days volunteering at a children's orphanage, and then researching with a prof from Guelph University for about a month. More to come on that, I suppose!