Heat, Humidity, and the Himalayas

I'm back in Mumbai and feel quite at home. We were only supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, but Carleigh and I booked a last minute evening flight to arrive back at the same time as Dean. Carleigh wasn't feeling well and I didn't feel too passionate over spending another night's sleep on a bus. Sandra, Kathryn, and Lindsey are on the bus as I type along with one of Dean's friends.

We spent the last two nights in Goa, a small beach state about an eight hour drive south of Mumbai. I was told there are over 16 beaches in the area, all with various colours of sand. We were at Baga Beach, a brown sand beach. It was party central; a booming tourist town for Indians and foreigners alike. But at this time of the year, the heat is at its peak and I felt it. Just standing still took immense effort.

The one full day we had in Goa was spent sleeping in, then heading to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served the best Goan seafood in town, according to Dean and his friends. They weren't lying. We feasted on butter garlic prawns, rock crab, masala king fish, pomfret fish, freash calamari, and other mouthwatering deliciousness. Then we scootered our way to the beach in the late afternoon to play in the warm and rampant waves of the Indian ocean. In the evening, we headed out to The Saturday Night Market (not kidding, it doesn't have a special name of any sort, just "The Saturday Night Market"). It was a large area of local vendors selling everything from jewelry to carvings to clothing. The majority of people there were Russian and European tourists. There were also several food vendors selling specialties from all over India while bands played the main stage.

The heat and humidity of Goa was a shock coming from the Himalayas. We spent 3 relaxing days of mostly shopping, sleeping, and eating in the town of Bhagsu, next to Mcleod Ganj, home to the Dalai Lama's temple of exile. We visited the Buddhist temple and it was quite unlike what I was expected. Its a relatively modern building (they have only been there for 50 years) with many open areas to meditate and pray. It is set right out the outskirts of the town. Monks walk the streets of the towns in their crimson cloaks and scarves, stopping to chat with locals, and sitting in cafes on the corner. Every once in a while, I would see one pull out a cell phone. We often sat near a group of them at a restaurant. They added a sense of calm and serenity to the area. Their quiet and peaceful manner permeated the room.

There is a path that goes around the temple complex. It is lined with Tibetan flags of white, red, yellow, blue, and green. Monks and Buddhists make the walk with prayer beads in hand and spin Om wheels as they pass them. Om wheels are cylinders with prayers written on them that are spun by people walking by and it is as if they are saying the prayer by spinning it. As we walked the path ourselves, we could see the beautiful mountains and snowy peaks of the Himalayas. We passed cows along the way, and there was one particularly uneasy encounter that pinned me versus a half dozen calves. There were rocks on my right, a cliff on my left, and a wall of cattle straight ahead. I didn't like any of my options. I managed to make my way through unscathed and finished the walk huffing and puffing the thin air up the last steep hill.

I have two more days in Mumbai that involve more shopping, some henna tattoos, and possibly a meeting with a big Bollywood star... but I don't want to jinx that. So I'll fill you in if/when it happens.