The Cool North

Our bus ride to Mussoorie, also known as the "Queen of Hill Stations", was long. It required switching buses a couple of times, once due to a technical breakdown. It took us an entire day to reach our destination. At one point during our trip, Jas had a rude awakening as vomit splattered his face! Without a word of warning, the woman in the seat in front of him had leaned out the window to be sick.
The last leg of our journey was filled with my silent screams of terror! The road up the mountain is a narrow, winding road and we sped up it like a bat out of hell. All the passengers were white-knuckled trying to hold on to anything that would keep them steady, while some had their head out the window. My eyes were closed for most of the trip so as to avoid getting sick myself, and to hold back the tears that had started to form. I was ecstatic when my feet touched ground.

Due to its cool temperatures, Mussoorie is a popular vacation destination for Indian families during the hot season. The streets were packed. It was strange to see an entire town resemble a carnival. There were arcades, popcorn stands, cotton candy, balloons, pony rides around town, and even a man dressed up as Mickey Mouse to guide you into a bazaar! We enjoyed some small pleasures, but most of our time was spent walking and taking in the beautiful mountain scenery. Wearing a sweater and breathing in the fresh scent of pine was a welcome break from the scorching dryness associated with the rest of India!

In order to reach the city of Shimla, we hopped on a local bus that was already full of people when we got on. We squeezed into the aisle along with a nice Canadian couple, Nigel and Kate, and stood for two hours waiting for a seat. A man sitting on the floor beside me used my leg as a pillow, and Jas and I watched a mother change her baby's diaper and throw the used one out the window. I ended up asking the driver if we could sit with the luggage on the roof (a popular mode of transport in Asia). He agreed, and for the next six hours we enjoyed the scenic ride in relative comfort. The tree branches were a bit bothersome (Jas ended up grabbing one by reflex and got a handful of thorns). Unfortunately, for the last two hours of our trip we had to stand in the aisle once again.

When we arrived in Shimla, we found a cheap hotel at the top of a steep hill. Due to the city's location, the streets go either up or down and there is a constant water shortage. This meant that we washed up and flushed our toilet using buckets of water. It was lovely to explore the city, and we spent most of our time with Nigel and Kate.

We were also lucky to meet up with my sister and Alex again! We enjoyed a few days of great conversation and lots of laughs. One night, we decided to treat ourselves to a fancy dinner. The three girls ordered "risotto", and it wasn't until the end of the meal that we all admitted that we had thought we were ordering pasta. I was peeved...my first chance to order a really good Western meal and I picked rice?! Jas was happy because he found a Baskin Robbins.

Only a few incidents occurred during our long stay in Shimla. The first involved a young boy who asked us for money. When I refused, he swiftly punched me in the breast and tried to run off. Jas caught him by the back of his shirt and gave him a stern lecture that made him cry. The second was far more disturbing. We were walking back to our hotel after dinner and had just turned a corner, when, I heard Jas exclaim, "What the f*#ck are you doing?!" I looked up to see a young Indian man standing a few feet away with his pants around his ankles. He was masturbating!! We quickly walked past him while he ignored us and kept on going!

After bidding farewell to my sister and Alex, we headed further north to McLeod Ganj. It's the home of the exiled Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama. We stayed a couple of nights and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and beautiful surroundings. We visited the temple complex and the residence of the Dalai Lama; unfortunately, he was in Australia at the time.

To reach our next destination, we took a short bus ride to the city of Amritsar. It was soooo hot...I had difficulty breathing, it felt like someone was sitting on my chest, and I suspected that I would burst into flames at any moment! I thought that this might be due to the shock of returning to a hot climate after the cool north; however, I found out that it was 48 degrees!

Due to its proximity to the Pakistan border, Jas and I visited the town of Attari. A border ceremony is held every evening between India and Pakistan. Hundreds of people from both sides go to lend their support and cheer for their respective country. We joined the masses and watched the soldiers put on an elaborate display of marching, saluting, flag-waving, and aggressive staring. Actually, it was quite funny and reminded us of a complex bird dance. Overall, it was quite the event complete with an MC and popcorn for sale!

We were also able to visit the famous Golden Temple. It's the most sacred shrine of Sikhism. It was really beautiful and we enjoyed sitting in the shade and observing the eb and flow of people who came to pray.

For our return journey to Delhi, we booked the only available seats left on the train. In reality, these ended up being only a seat and a half as more and more families piled on. A young boy decided that Jas' lap was a good spot and stayed there for most of the trip (so much for being afraid of children!). There were the usual people making their way through the crowd selling drinks, snacks, toys, and other goodies. There were beggars and people playing music to make a few rupees. We were even approached by a few cross-dressing men in saris wanting us to make a donation (we're still not sure what for). It was wild!

After a sweaty eight hours, I was happy to arrive in Delhi. This turned out to be bitter-sweet as we found that our second time in the capital proved to be just as bad as the first!