Namaste from India. Since the last report I have made a journey into the northern part of the state of Uttarakhand  in northern India. This area is known for its soaring Himalayans peaks which divide it from China (formerly Tibet).

The destination was a place called Badrinath, a holy Hindu temple at the headwaters of the Alaknanda River. My friend and I arrived at the bus stand in the hot dark 4 am morning. There were busses rumbling. We looked for a bus going to Badrinath, and people said ‘no today.’ The information ticket counter was no easier. Thirty people elbowed each other to buy a ticket for somewhere else. Luckily we met a nice Indian couple who were going Badrinath,  so we boarded a share jeep and headed deep into the mountains.

The ride was an epic one. Our driver laid on the horn relentlessly as we swerved quickly around gravel turns overlooking 300 foot steep slopes into the Ganges river valley. I was sitting in the back of the jeep, and soon felt the effects of high speeds, and quick turns. I felt my stomach turning inside and soon my head was out of the window throwing up on the side of the car. I realized that I wasn’t the only one; every person in our jeep was reduced to laying their heads on their forearms and every bus had pink spew marks cascading from each window.

Soon we made it to Badrinath, and were happy to find ourselves one of the few western travelers on the scene. The glacial river careened over rocks, and the snow capped mountains made us feel small. We saw the famous temple that many had walked for weeks to come to pay homage. It was freshly painted, orange, pink, green; a maley of colors. From the door of the temple was a line of pilgrims a mile long.

Next I headed onto HemKund Saheb, a nearby mountain holy lake 4329 meters or roughly 12,000 feet above sea level. Holy to people of the Sikh religion, the mountain promised a 20 km uphill hike.  This experience was the  first time I had seen environmental awareness. Signs encouraged people to not litter, whereas thus far Indian people have used the outside of a car window as their dustbin.

 I felt thankful to be in the middle of two holy pilgrimages, where it’s part of the culture to t ravel to pay homage to a holy place. Now I am back in RIshikesh, my home base in India, and will hope to go with my new travel partner again to the Himalayan north. 
Thanks for checking in.