both musoorie and dehra dun are strikingly different than the india i've experienced so far. i didn't get to spend even 15 minutes in dehra dun, but from what i saw from the bus, it's a combination of both clean and modern that i've never seen here before. mussorie is even better. it's a "hill station," a victorian-style hamlet in the himalayas, here in the northern state of uttaranchal, obviously a relatively undisturbed reflection of the british raj. it's just amazing here. i went for a scenic walk - alone - for the first time since arriving in india. i actually had time to myself, while still being in a city, and walking along streets that were wooded on one side, with a view of snow-capped mountains on the other side. from time to time i came upon a gazebo with a telescope where an old man was selling chai for 5 rupees a cup. looking through the telescope, i saw a picturesque, rustic village, bereft of electricity, with red chillies drying on the roofs of the inhabitants. i am determined to walk there and explore. but as of yet i haven't made it. musoorie doesn't seem to have many western tourists, but it does attract many indian tourists...well-off indian families arrive by the carload from delhi, to "the mall" - the main strip of musoorie. fun, festive, modern, and clean, but a bit tacky and the appreciation of it is short lived. more interesting is just strolling around mussoorie. for example, i woke up on my first morning here and walked to a tibetan village, past a huge school of uniformed tibetan children who were all singing in chorus, and up a hill plastered in prayer flags, with what i believe is a "gompa," like a shrine of shorts, on top. i came down, went back to the mall, and started up the other direction, towards what i had heard was an excellent hindi school. i thought it might be fun to spend a week or so learning hindi here. it took a long time to walk there - to the village of landour, all the way to the top of this hill (i kept getting encouraged by the locals to keep walking when i thought that i must be there by now). just before i reached the school i met a girl named simone from switzerland, and we talked a bit about the school and india and the like.
i walked right past the school, still not knowing where it was, and asked a passing indian girl, who seemed surprised that i didn't know it was right in front of us. we ended up talking for a bit, and she, "anchal," asked me if i needed a place to stay, and i said i did. i couldn't have asked for a better situation. here's what happened. i am now roommates, or "flatmates," with anchal, zoe (an american studying hindi), and marcus (a brazilian). they're all really fun, awesome kids. they connected me with a conversational hindi teacher, who i am supposed to meet for 2 hours a day, for however long i want to stay here, which might be a while. i can't believe i've gone from being a lonely, solo traveler to actually having an apartment in india with some really good new friends, feeling extremely welcomed and enjoying the atmosphere of this incredibly relaxing, idyllic himalayan village. this is what i loved about the trail, and what i expected to love about traveling abroad. the unpredictability of it all. just don't try to control your trip and these things will come to you. i'm at a loss for what to say, really, i'm just in awe of it all. i'm having such a great time, and i'm still looking forward, maybe even more now, to seeing all the other corners of this country.
a fun story - last night we ushered the largest spider i've ever seen outside the house. it was absolutely gigantic, and we were all doubled over laughing, stealing glances at this colossal thing and retreating back into the other room, freaked out. but zoe was braver than any of us and got it into a bucket and took it safely down the street.
i've got my first hindi lesson in 45 minutes - namaste.
1 comment:
Spend as much time away from the cities as you can. There's a reason most of us don't want to go back.
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