Rishikesh to Shimla.

Doug and I had decided earlier to try and make it to Rishikesh, the yoga capital of India, in one day, covering a distance of over 200km. This might not sound like a lot but for anyone that has traveled in India this is a full day. Our average speed was probably about 50km an hour. Doug’s bike had to be kept at a top speed of 60km as he had just had the bore replaced and it needed to be treated carefully for the next 500km.

It was a fairly straightforward affair and we finally rolled into Rishi at about 7pm that night. For anyone who doesn’t know Rishikesh, it is where the Beatles stayed with the Maharashi Mahesh Yogi during their spritual enlightenment tour. They famously left after a short while after claims of sexual abuse against the guru and bad food. When asked by the guru why they were leaving apparently John Lennon said ‘Your the cosmic one, you should know’. He had a a sharp wit that guy, I really do wonder what he would be doing if he was alive today, him and Hendrix.

We pulled into a place that Doug had stayed at during his last visit here and had fond memories of. Unfortunately it had changed a bit since last time, including getting new owners. I think Doug might have been a little disappointed, as he had talked about this place a fair bit and I think he had been looking forward to seeing again some of the people he knew.
The new owners were interesting, in that they represented one common way not to run a business. Let me digress (For a change) If you are running a business, let me also iterate, the customer is king, especially in hospitality. So many places in tourist heavy areas think that just having banana pancakes on the menu is the key to success. They might get business, due to the large traffic in these areas but that’s not business, that’s just surviving. It is really not hard to do a few little things to make a place feel special and your customers feel welcome. I think that was one of the reasons that Doug wanted to return, the place looked newer now but had lost that sense of uniqueness that was present before.

So we chilled in Rishikesh for a while, i got my suspension fixed, again, after having only just done it in Delhi. Checked out some waterfalls, watched a monkey attack some kids, the usual. I later returned for a night swim in one of the waterfalls, it was beautiful. The water was flowing, fireflies were circling around and no one else was there to intrude on the scene, or see me naked.

We couldn’t stay too long as we had organised to meet some of Doug’s friends in Shimla, and although it was very nice there. I wasn’t feeling the vibe too much and was happy to move on. Our plan was to head up to the a place called Karanath, a temple up in the mountains, then backtrack to head to Shimla.

This was a beautiful ride, the road was curving and wide, with overhangs and beautiful mountain vistas. I was and am growing more confident on my bike everyday and riding becomes like your own personal roller coaster.
It was curious to see the people on the side, young and old, women and men, breaking rocks by hand to be used for making new roads. In India a lot of the time this is all done by hand. I have seen an excavation of a hillside being carried out just by manual labour. Whats cheaper, to pay for expensive machinery which you have to insure and that you have to repair if it breaks down or to employ a limitless supply of cheap labour, which can be replaced if there is ever an issue.

It was a two day ride and along the way we stopped at one village, I cant remember the name, booked a room and then went for a swim in the river. I love water, and any will take any opportunity to have swim, as long as its clean of course. (Though I have swum naked in the Vlatava river in Prague with a Ukranian – Dima it was special and I will always remember it)
The guy who owned the Hotel, was a tour guide and we asked specifically if the Temple will be open and accessible, of course he said ‘Yes, no problem’ I probably don’t need to detail what happens next but anyway we geared up and headed for Karanath and again it was beautiful ride with only one little hiccup. I  had stopped briefly to look for an internet cafe  in one of the small villages we were passing through, I couldn’t find one and had returned to my bike. I was getting ready to leave when I felt something pricking my leg, I scratched it then felt a really sharp pain, I looked down to see a scorpion fall off my leg and scurry away. It didn’t hurt too much and I wasn’t too worried because it was a long way from my heart but i thought i better do something about it. I asked for directions to the nearest doctor and fortunately there was a small hospital there.  I went inside and due to the language barrier I had to draw a picture of a scorpion, now even by my standards i thought it was a pretty accurate picture but the staff couldn’t figure it out, so they sent me to the doctor down the hall, who thankfully got it straight away and told me they would give me an injection further down the hall. I wish I had a camera with me then as there were all these Indian mothers with their children watching as I was told to make a fist then injected in the top of my hand.

That settled we set off again and made good time, arriving at Karanath ready to ascend on our pilgrimage only to be told that it wont be open for another 15 days. Well, what can I say, its India.

When reading about Karanath, i found out that there were hot springs that the pilgrims bathe and cleanse themselves in before ascending to the mountain. So I thought I’m not coming all this way for nothing and proceeded to ask for the whereabouts of said springs. This being India it took about an hour of walking up and down the hill, talking in varying degrees of English and Inglish before we found the springs. They were in a temple at the bottom of the hill. We were greeted by the temple, maintenance guy and duly showed the sacred waters. They looked a bit green and there was a nice oily film on the surface of the waters. There looked to be fresh hot water being pumped into the pool which we were informed came directly from the hot springs but again this being India i could just envisage it being connected to a hot water tap somewhere coming off the mains. I eased myself in careful to not let the water anywhere near my face, Doug came in a little bit later but said it was too hot and sat in the cooler end. I’m not going to say anything about him being a pansy. So after a suitably pleasant time had elapsed we got out, made a donation and got back on the road.

Again we had to stay in a halfway house, just a nice little village on the side of the mountain. It was here i had the best samosas I have had so far. Anyone who knows me, knows I love to eat. Its a passion for me and full time job supporting this mighty frame. So I try to enjoy the task as much as i can. Even though I had been riding at the time through the village and had only glimpsed the food stand briefly, It was enough to see that these golden packages were something different and the locals crowding around the vendor had been enough to confirm that i should return. So once the room was organised I headed back out and straight for the vendor. There was a queue, and everything that was cooked was consumed immediately, fresh. Even before I tasted them, I could see that the pastry was light and a delicate golden brown, then one bite and it was heaven. Honestly one of the best things i have tasted so far. I had three in a row. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

At night there is not a lot to do in a village like that and you have a lot of time to think about the country your traveling through. During the day you can see the terraces that are created by the villages for farming and grazing, they look like massive topographic lines that you would find on a map. Then at night, it changes the picture quite differently. There is not as much lighting as you would find in the city and there might be something in the architecture and the way it reflects the light but every mountain village made me think of both a scene out of a science fiction movie and of little oriental castles.