Angel: We left London on a sunny day a week ago to arrive to a very busy and wet Delhi. Straight into the night train that very same day. Trains are relatively comfy and definitely interesting in India, bunker beds, windows open all night with fresh air and 3 rusty dusty fans for every 6 beds, jungle views outside, tea and food offered all the time, even throughout the night :-/...etc. It was a bit of a pain of a night really, there was a pilgrimage to somewhere near Jammu in the North and the train was really busy and noisy all through the night.
We arrived to Pathankot in the morning, from there we took a 4 hour bus journey to Dharamshala(McLeod Ganj), our final destination. It is a nice hill resort in the Himalayas where the Dalai Lama lives. There is a big tibetan community that lives in exile. The Dalai Lama lives there for the same reason. Chinese authorities see him as a political/religious thread and would put him in jail as soon as he steps into Tibetan territory.
We stayed in Bagsu, a smaller town again in the mountain, amazing views, waterfalls and great food. Tibetan food is great, we have had plenty of momos, hhmmmm, it's a bit like Chinese dim sum. It started raining lots being end of Monsoon season but seems to be receding now and the heat took over again.
We bought a Royal Enfield!!!! Now is when the adventure starts! :-) After long time negotiating with a mechanic guy that I rented bikes from in previous occasions we bought a vintage 91 model Royal Enfield. They are like Harleys, Triumphs, very nice looking and very noisy bikes. Originally British but India bought the company and brought it to India in the late 60's. Ours is a bit old and rusty one but rides really well. We are gonna fix the body work, travel through the North, Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal and take it down south to sell it to another tourist in Goa in about 3 months before we leave India. that is the idea anyway.
We arrived in Amritsar yesterday, back in the planes, really hot. It is the centre of the Sikh religion. The place is called The Golden Temple, one of the holiest places in India, with thousands of pilgrims visiting the site every day . They feed about 10000 people every day for free, no matter what religion, race or nationality they are. It is part of their religion. Had some food and even drunk holly water. I keep drinking purified water from temples and hotels. Hannah keeps telling me off saying I am gonna get ill but I haven't, she has been careful drinking only bottled water but she instead, poor thing got ill today. It must be my Spanish wilder genes and stronger immune system that is keeping me sound and safe. She is not gonna like this comment. Anyway. Gotta go back to check that she is fine.
I'll try and upload photos, not sure whether I can do it here in the blog. Otherwise I'll do it on my facebook page.
Translation:
Llevamos una semana ya en India. Cuando salimos de Londres el dia era bastante soleado, llegamos a Delhi y nos recibio el monzon en su maximo explendor. Lluvia, charcos y barro por todo lado. Estuvimos en el Gran Bazar que esta justo al lado de la estacion donde teniamos que pilar el tren cama esa misma noche. Para que quedarnos en Delhi, ya hemos estado varias veces y es sucia y no muy atractia. Salimos por la noche para Pathankot, una ciudadita pequena de alomejor medio millon de habitantes. Aqui lo que no pase de 10 millones es un pueblo!!. En fin, la noche fue no la mejor noche que he pasado en un tren, pero dormimos porque estabamos cansadisimos de tanto viaje. Los trenes estan guay, o son interesantes si lo prefieres, ventanas abiertas, puertas abiertas, un banco almohadillado de camastro, tres ventiladores por zona de 6 camas y 500 indios sentados cada uno donde puede, (sin respetar sus billetes generalmente) otros tantos pasando vendiendo te, cafe, comida...etc.
Llegamos por la manana a Pathankot y de ahi sin perder mucho tiempo pillamos un bus de 4 horas a Dharamshala, que era nuestro destino. Realmente McLeod Ganj a 10 km de Dharamshala. Es un pueblecito que esta en la montanha, region de los Himalayas. Verde, mas fresco, con vistas impresionantes, comida y alojamiento baratisimo y buenisimo dentro de los standards del mochileo. hay una poblacion tibetana muy grande. El Dalai lama fue exiliado alli hace muchos anhos y no le dejan volver a China. india les ofrecio ese pueblecito y se han afincado alli.
Nos hemos comprado una moto!!!! Una Royal Enfield clasica, como la de la pelicula de diarios de motocicletas del Che Guevara, algo asi. Ibamos a ir a Laddakk y cachemira en el norte, pero el frio al estar tan alto(pasando puertos de mas de 4000m) y los deslizamientos y demas nos han hecho replantear la ruta y hemos venido a Amritsar, ciudad nsagrada de los Sikhs. Tienen el Templo Dorado que es alucinante. He puesto fotos en un album. Hannah la pobre se ha puesto mala y lleva un par de dias casi sin salir de la habitacion. esta mejor. Tiene un veterinario que la cuida. Tiene suerte que no tengo termometro. ;-)
salimos manana para Kulu y parvati Valley donde nos vamos a quedar de tranqui por un poco. Es otra vez himalayas, pero no muy alto. verde y pueblecitos con riachuelos y restaurantes rurales y poco mas. A descansar y a aclimatarnos, especialmente Hannah despues del imprevisto.
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