The true meaning of brown claw & a leapord in camp

My first Indian wedding experience lived up to expectations, yes half the guests got food poisoning, but before that kicked in it was one hell of a night. The reception was located at what we normally use as a campsite for the OB programs but it had been seriously pimped up. The dancing was interesting as all night the kids surrounded me, I suppose they thought white people have good moves, they came to the right place. I ran around like a headless chicken that night trying to experience all the wedding festives; the all woman circles that danced in a jumping culty motion, the live band, getting those sexy indian hand hennas (although mine was severley smudged when someone took my hand as it was time to leave the dance floor).

The week after the wedding was a little bit of a smudge, after my body got over the food poisoning, I safety kayaked for the ex prime ministers grand daughter, with 30 armed security guards I felt a little pressure but all ran smoothly. I then began a 7 day trekking and rafting expedition with a group from Singapore which is what I'll be focusing on in this blog post.

During the trek we came across some ola fruit which was initially bitterly sour to the point my face felt it was compulsory to scrunch up like an saggy grape, then after 5 seconds of uncomfort it transformed to a dance of sweetness filling my cheeks. It was so worth the initial grim taste to then have the overwhelming sweetness. The Ola fruit is a good metaphor of my time so far in India, yes there are times when it's challenging but once I push through that, there are extremley sweet times to be had.

The trek was special for me as we were followed by a dog named bobcat (I had no say in the naming process). He slept in the doorway of our tent at night and kept the group together in the day.

  Bobcat getting the love and attention he deserves

One lady in particular deserves a mention as she acted as a motivation for many of the group on the last leg up the mountain; stick lady. Every time she see's a group trekking to the top of the mountain she stops whatever she is doing and gives them all trekking sticks that she made, the reason being; it is her dream to visit the temple on the top of the mountain but she has never been able to make it all the way, however just knowing that her sticks help some people reach the top brings her joy. I tried to persuade the lead instructor to let her ride a mule to the temple but I had no luck. The campsite had a delicious view of the snow capped himalayan mountains which turned orange as the sun came up, just looking at these mountains makes me feel things I can't quite explain.

In the morning Ajay, Debu and I went to visit the temple which had an entrance with hundreds of bells all around. Once speaking to the Sadhu and finding out the story of the temple, I also found out that the bells where brought by the people that have had their prayers answered. We all said a prayer before leaving, I hope one day there will be a bell from me hanging outside the temple.

Apres trek, we started the rafting, Bobcat couldn't quite let go and hopped onto a raft to join us. Coming to the end of the day of mostly floating, Nathan pointed out a surf wave so I paddled over for a play and saw 2 black bears on the beach, not wanting to shout as to scare off the bears I felt it was a perfect time to use the brown claw river signal. A confused Nathan looked back at me as we had previously said how ridiculous the signal was, he then saw the bears and understood. I was slightly torn between watching the bears or surfing the wave as it was a nice looking one, so I opted for both and managed to get a nice view of the bears 10 feet away from me whilst on the wave.

Bobcat all about that rafting life

David Attenborough may as well have narrated this day as once we arrived at camp the wildlife didn't let up. Chilling round the camp fire, we were disturbed by a very loud growl coming from the bushes. We went over to investigate to find 2 yellow eyes staring at us from the jungle, we moved closer to be met by an aggressive growl which sent us all falling back over the sand bank. After some discussion of what to do with a leapord wanting to come over for tea, we decided camp evacuation was too dangerous as it was now dark, so instead we set up a harbour area with 3 fires, raft shelters facing inwards, and centuries on night duty. All we needed was inches of snow and not being able to feel my fingers I would have thought I was back on one of my OTC camps in England. Armed with a paddle and river knife me, Nathan and Raju went to deconstruct our shelters which had unfortunately been put up only meters away from the leapord. After a swift operation we made it back with our sleeping bags and roll mats ready for the night. Once morning came I was very eager to check out this leapord situation, with tracker Ajay we found where the leapord had taken down its prey and then dragged it off into the jungle, there were also leapord cub prints alongside the mothers which were adorable.

The expedition was made by the extrodinary people we got to share the experience with, two instructors from Singapore Arfan and Khali, Ajay the Rafiki of India, Raju and Debu (Mario and Luigi) and of course the infamous interns JP and Nathan.

Appreciation

Brace yourselves, this ones going try and explore my feels.

On a British school trip last week with 9 yr olds from extremely well off backgrounds, part of the trip involved visiting a local village school. The school was situated on the side of a mountain, with the school playground ending with a cliff edge, half of the fence that had been put up for safety had slid off the side of the mountain. These kids lived in shacks and had very little belongings, 1 textbook which reminded me of the Bible in regards to its approach-ability, this was the main resource for each classroom. The British School kids we took to see farm animals, boating, tractor rides, things the village kids would go crazy for, and a lot of them just complained that it was "boring" and they'd "done it all before" which made me feel sad initially of how not all the kids appreciated how lucky they were. That being said, it didn't seem to bother the village kids that they didn't have much, they were so happy and excitable, more so than the British school kids who seemed to get bored with things easily. It's made me see how little money has an effect on happiness if you don't let it, and it will never dictate your worth. This trip slightly changed my perspectives on the underprivileged in India, comparing the two groups of children from two very different worlds, made me realise that I shouldn't pity these village kids, they may not have as much as we do but that by no means results in not having happy lives.
The village kids are more familiar with the actual meaning of things, and aren't manipulated or corrupted by the media which I have come to realise has such a large hold on us westerners. It makes me wonder who really is better off in terms of values and happiness? Is it better to be poor, being more in touch with life and connected to the environment around you, or being well off, having things handed to you on a plate and not overcoming hardships to then appreciate life?

A 10 year olds drawing of his home after being hit by a landslide

I learnt a lot from these British school kids when I saw some of myself in them, in the way that they are always looking for the next thrill, the step above what they have just had. Sensation seeking is a personality trait defined by the search for experiences and feelings, that are "varied, novel, complex and intense" Zuckerman (2009). For example, the kids had already seen farm animals before so they wanted to see bigger (better) animals, the rafting they had done before so they wanted to do it in a new, varied environment. For me, I have found it in everything since coming to India. First of all I got my excitement from simple things like going to the market, crossing the road, seeing a monkey, soon it became boring, the 'norm' I needed something more, something different, the river Ganges was my next big excitement and even now I find myself looking further up the river at sections we haven't run, wanting to go and find the next river, the next big wave, the next mountain, the next adventure. I guess it made me realise that sometimes you just need to stop and appreciate right now. Because all these experiences I have been lucky enough to have, so many people would give an arm or a leg for, and all too often its not until what we have is gone, that we then begin to appreciate it.

Taking a moment to stop and appreciate the beauty of Devprayag 

Last week Nathan and I were finally blessed with not just one but two days off! We both knew this meant one thing....roadtrip!! If you're going to learn how to ride a moped where better than speeding round the mountain tops with views of the Himalayan mountains and the Ganga river. Our journey took us to the town of Chamba where in an attempt to get money out of an ATM as the Prime Minister of India decided to make 80% of India's currency redundant over night cancelling 500 and 1000 Rupee notes, we came across a man named Sanjay.

Sanjay is one of those people who come into your life and leave a mark, in a brilliant way. His outlook on life was inspiring, he saw us as guests in his country and went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, under the saying "Guest is God". We met his family; wife and two sons, and sat down to a cracking lunch with a view looking out onto the mountains. Sanjay then drove us with his family to the Tehri Dam where we went on a boat ride. Finished off with a drive to New Tehri for some chi and pakora (deep fat fried veg) my view is the healthy counteracts the un healthy in this lush dish. Sanjay wanted us to see all the best bits of his home and never once asked anything of us. Sanjay is so committed he once took in 20 Japanese tourists who's car broke down travelling through Chamba, there was a great photo of them all crammed into his small living room drinking chi. In the morning his wife made us Parata's which are chipatti stuffed with veg so so good. After a sad farewell to Sanjay and his family we were back on the road. I know we will not forget Sanjya's kindness. His families hospitality was touching, they gave us the gift of temporary companionship. I found that when you're travelling it is easy to connect to a simple shared humanity, and that when you do, you emerge feeling more complete and real.

Sanjay's fam

India has shown me that there are only a few things you need to live a happy life. I feel selfish for all the unnecessary comforts I have in life when there are so many without enough just to be warm. A good friend recently said to me "I have a meal for tonight therefore I am richer than 70% of India so there is no reason for me not to be happy".

 Zuckerman, Marvin (2009). "Chapter 31. Sensation seeking". In Leary, Mark R.; Hoyle, Rick H. Handbook of Individual Differences in Social behavior. New York/London: The Guildford Press. pp. 455–465. ISBN 978-1-59385-647-2.

Look at all those tips?!

 

My last blog post was a bit of a moan so thanks for being my ear during mein kampf. You'll be happy to know the food situation has been rectified. During Dewali, the festival of lights myself, the manager of MHE and his girlfriend Pooni (who I am now temporarily staying with in Delhi) went round to the local outdoor camps to wish them happy Dewali. The supposedly best hotel on the Ganges gave us some lunch, the below photo shows the dessert we received, the chocolate mouse was lighter than air. I was in a comatic state after the things I consumed this day.

The glass house on the Ganges

The fireworks in Dewali were a brilliant example of India's regards to health and safety. Outside Bull's Retreat, on the side of the road, fireworks were being set off towards telephone lines, shops, spinning wheels thrown into the road while cars whizzed by. And these horrible bangers which did exactly what you'd expect. While I was setting up a wheel spinner someone threw a banger right next to me, causing a massive bang which was ringing in my ear for the next ten minutes. It felt like being in a war zone if I'm completely honest. And I was told later that I had experienced a controlled Dewali celebration.

Since returning back to Delhi for a few days, I have been able to witness first hand the environmental impact the fireworks of Dewali have. The constant black fog makes Delhi seem like the setting for an apocalypse movie. It genuinely scares me to think that this is what the world could look like in years to come. The pollution levels have reached maximum on the scale, and it is clear to see from the bloodshot eyes of the metro goers. I spent 4 hours outside yesterday and I now have a horrible throat cold, and I woke up with a swollen eye but that could be down to many things. India does take a toll on the body but I've learnt to roll with it. The photo below was taken at 2:30pm.

My face mask improvised from one of Poonie's sweat bands. Nathan wasn't too thrilled to be accompanying me whilst wearing it.

I've now been in India for 8 weeks, and feel as though I'm starting to get a pretty good understanding of the going on's here, so I've put together a little list of my top tips for travlars.

 Tips for travellers in India:

• When using a Rickshaw to get the best price (this is one I've been told from a local friend) - "be more black"
• If you're being hassled to buy something - Try selling them anything you have on your possession (a man tried to sell me socks and luckily enough I had a pair of socks in my bag which I tried giving to him for 100RPS, it gets a smile rather than just saying no all the time)
• If you're a big dog lover like me - feel free to pet the strays but don't give them too much affection, I found myself being followed by 6 stray dogs into a camp which the owners weren't too happy about. These dogs are used to a lot of hate so it takes throwing rocks at them for them to leave, which I will not do.
• Don't fall asleep on public transport - I was asleep in a taxi and almost missed my first elephant sighting, luckily for me the kind driver woke me up so I didn't miss out. There's always a lot to see when travelling in India
• When you find toilet roll hold onto it, I have gained quite a reputation for my roll stealing out here, it's pretty rare so when a toilet is supplied, I always take a cut.
• Expect the unexpected - During the briefs for the rafting trip while the group was about to get onto the water, a group of 30 villagers descended carrying a body, which they proceeded to burn and then send down river. I decided then to stop drinking the water that had been my source of fluids the previous day.  
• Always ask - Gary from Gary's farm had access to a lot of vehicles, I was lucky enough to drive a delicious looking motorbike (don't ask me the type I'm not good with bikes, all you'll get is delicious from me) and a tractor from asking politely.

Gary, carries a sword, bit of a lad

30mph watch out kids

• Appreciate what you have - For a month I have been washing out of a cold bucket, which is perfectly fine. But it wasn't until the other day when at a camp I got to have a hot shower I remembered what I had been missing, it was euphoric! Depravation is so worth it to then have the feeling of indulgence.
• Living with Indians - They will either have staff to do all the domestic jobs or want to do all the work themselves. Therefore I've found in order for me to help out I'll wash the pots when Pooni is otherwise occupied so she can't prise the dishes away from my hands. Boy this was the other way around when I was at home.
• If its your birthday, keep it on the down low. Things are the other way around in India so instead of being treated, you're the one treating everyone else. JP forked out 1500RPS for his birthday, and Fil, well he got a face full of cake, which personally I wouldn't have minded.

Fil's messy night

• Homesickness - India may be different, but you can always find familiar things in unfamiliar places, this goat pictured below looks very similar to my prince Sox. It's always nice to get a little reminder of home now and again.

He even looked at me with the same hate Sox does

He was smiling inside

 

Hope the tips were helpful, see you all again soon.

The Ordinary

A line of monkeys ran in front of me on my way to work this morning to steal the chapatti I could smell cooking in the kitchen, and I didn't blink an eye lid. Have I become so used to India now that it's becoming mundane? Well the past 4 days have been a bit of a low point for myself and Nathan, as JP and Fil were shipped back to Delhi for a week in the office, me and Nathan were initially feeling very fortunate to be staying here in Rishikesh where the rafting and outdoor part of the work is. However being stuck in the office wasn't what we were expecting, and doing the equivalent of 4 hours of work spread over 5 days was slightly frustrating, with the river so close I could taste the holy water of the ganges on my tongue. The office work isn’t hideous, what gets me is when there’s no work to be done but we have to hang around anyway just in case something comes up, time we kill by playing online chess (hours spent rinsing Nathan), and the occasional visit from our friend Sam who raft guides for a company down the road. Time we could be spending on the water or having a day off which we haven’t been given so far. I feel like I am moaning but I feel it’s important to document exactly how I am feeling and not just all the good stuff, as my good friend Nick was saying to me today how it looks like I am on a holiday, which for the most part it is brilliant, however I guess social media creates a rose tinted view of my time here.

It isn't all fun and games

One of the main things that is a struggle for me is the food situation, rice, dhal, veg curry and chipatti 3 meals a day takes its toll. Saying this, the cooks do try and make it exciting by occasionally putting in a new vegetable, yesterday I actually got excited when I opened the dinner pot to find cauliflower, what is my life? Fil found a special place in my heart when he and JP returned with bourbons; it’s hard to describe how much love I had for him at that point. Just a small taste of home is such a great moral booster its really quite extraordinary how much food can effect me. Having the 3 guys here does have its uses. I would definitely have more struggles without them, we have all become a nicely close knit group out here and I feel very lucky to have them here with me (this isn’t all about the bourbons I swear). It's so nice to have people to chat through the things were all going through and have something familiar in this crazy new life. 

The most exciting breakfast we have (and I do get sadly excited about this one)

Sounds cliché, but going for a run out here is brilliant for clearing my head, I sometimes close my eyes and I feel like I am at home doing my normal Saltram route (I don’t close my eyes on the steep mountain bits don’t worry mum).

Strike a pose! A dog that accompanied me on some of my run

I am very happy with how comfortable and safe I feel here, coming out I’m not going to lie from what I had been told about India, I did think there was a strong possibility of me being kidnapped. But now I feel very comfortable and especially here in Rishikesh all the locals are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Yesterday on our drive back me and Nathan got our boogie on in the back of the car with some Indians in the car behind who were busting some moves. Also the staff here are brilliant and even the language barrier doesn’t stop us having banter.  

Bed bugs:

Every morning I seemed to be finding 1 or 2 dead lice on my sheets, and more and more bites which became a pretty bad rash all over my body. It was time to act, I went on a bit of a killing spree as I found the source of the lice in the wood of my bed, I then opened my mattress and found 2 running around in there. It was very uncomfortable going to bed which is meant to be the one safe and comfortable place, feeling covered in bugs all night. My friend Gabbar drove me to Rishikesh on his motorbike to see the doctor who gave me a load of pills to take which sorted me right out!

My favorite street dog (scruffy) I let him hide in the toilets so he could get some peace from the road 

I say I am getting used to this place but I don’t think anyone can ever get so used to India that they still don’t get surprised now and then. At the market yesterday the crowd of people parted ways like the sea to reveal a bull and donkey sprinting towards us, the bull then proceeded to slide tackle some stray dogs in an attempt to turn a corner and then the madness all ran off into a side alley. Just when I was beginning to think this place was becoming normal.

 

Congestion on the bridge - locals are always asking for photos with us

The time Nathan was sexually assaulted by the street dog

I think the main reason for me feeling slightly down the past couple of days was the contrast from the excitement of the start of India, everything being up in the air, the culture is so different and the things that now seem normal to us were, in the beginning unfamiliar and novel. The last few days in the office I guess was a bit of a reality shock, its not going to be fun and games all the time and I'll have to get used to the non existent structure and ever changing plans. When the constantly new experiences started to fade and I began to settle in I suppose I wanted a taste of the beginning were the novelty of the small things; eating with my hands, having a bucket bath, all the animals, made me gaze in amazement. I'm okay with it now though, India has so much to offer and I know this year I am going to have plenty more moments that take my breath away.

I am not the best person at articulating my feelings, but my friend Nathan who is out here with me has done a brilliant blog  on the culture shock of India which is a great read. Hope you enjoy as I won't be posting for a few weeks as the programs begin tonight and by the sounds of it I am not going to be getting any time to spare.

Lost in the mountain

The days we've spent here at Bull's Retreat have been pretty smashing, safety kayaking in the morning for the raft and chilling out in the afternoon. I've been appreciating this every day as at some unknown point two of us will be sucked back to the office in Delhi. This day came last Friday when we were told that two will be leaving on Monday. Therefore today we decided to go on a hike. Being surrounded by wildlife and vast forests the adventurer in me was keen to go and get lost in them, turns out in reality this isn't so fun.

Me, Nathan and JP set off around half 9 eager to get a look at the temple we were told awaited us at the top. The journey up the mountain was through a thick forest on not a well trodden path (probably because we took the wrong one), we were met by enormous spider webs with the biggest spiders hanging in them. The person at the front had the job of clearing a path, I have to admit initially me and Nathan were being wet wipes about it, wincing when we almost walked into one and got a face full of spider. But by the end JP was practically taking down the webs with his face (although I'm not sure if this was on purpose). Insects were a rather large part of our journey up, further into the forest I heard Nathan let out a cry of pain as he ran towards me and JP hitting something off his body. Initially I thought he was just over reacting, so gave little sympathy saying it was probably just a mosquito bite. Hearing this I'm sure whatever creature it was decided it was time for me to get a taste and stung me in the same spot it had Nathan. I of course reacted exactly like Nathan had as it stung like a bitch. We then made a swift exit of that area.

Nathan bravely taking on the spiders

This picture doesn't do those monsters justice

We followed the path to a farm where we were met by a gorgeous dog, this was not like the street dogs we are used to. I enjoyed petting his well groomed fur, an upgrade from the flea bitten rugged coats I am used to petting from the road dogs. His owner was a lovely old man who took us into his garden which had 3 beds in it and a small brick hut next to them. He offered us fruit and then showed us the way to get down to the road as he didn't seem to understand the word temple so we gave up searching for it.

Found some Water buffalo

By now it was 1pm so we began our descent down the mountain, our path crossed an old river bed so we followed it down which led to some large waterfalls. These were too big to climb down so we traversed across the mountain, where we found ourselves on a non existent path leading to sheer drops. We turned back to renegotiate the waterfalls, there was some consideration of using vines to descent the waterfall, Bear Grylls style, however we decided against it. Before we began the journey up the dry stream we'd followed down, we all had a cute (and sweaty) group hug, and with some classics from Leona Lewis and Adele covered by moi, we made the long slug back up the mountain. After A LOT of going the wrong way, we finally found the right way and made it to the road by 4pm. 4 vehicles went by before we managed to get a lift, not too shabby for my first hitch hike.

Nathan following the dried up river

For what was meant to be a 4 hour hike, we made a real pigs ear out of it, but we had a type 2 fun adventure nonetheless.

Rafting Expedition

On our way to the start point of the 2 day expedition, driving in convoy, the loading truck with all the kit in ahead of us. Out flies my paddle, brought the day before (it would only be mine) onto the road, quick pit stop to safely secure the paddles and were off again. The drive was a little bumpy, some sheer cliff edges and massive land slides from the rainy season, didn't seem to slow the crazy Indian driving.

The put on (Sadhu temple)

Confluence rapid on the Bhagirathi this is at low water apparently

We paddled 20km of the Alakananda which was pretty easy grade 2-3 stuff, the occasional fun surf wave. After 90 minutes we arrived at Devaprayag where the two points of the river joined. (Shown in the above photo) we climbed onto a guys roof to get a good view of the rapid, this was low water as the damn was soon to release, making the water 90% higher! Therefore we decided to avoid what would've most likely ended with us all drinking a lot of Bhagrathi water. Just before lunch we paddled past the locals who had come to the river to bathe in Ganga's holy water.

Just before arriving at camp

The camp set up was simple; fire for food, and camp fire for drying clothes, toilet off in the bushes in a hole preferably. We buried Nathan in the sand so built the fire next to him so he could share the warmth and still chat to us all.

Nathan keeping warm

I had my second wild poo which went surprisingly well, leaves were to hand and Nathan's tips about using water to create a steady flow were very useful. The evening was spent with whiskey in hand around the camp fire. (To get the food and supplies the team rafted to the other side where the road was to retrieve from the car, they rafted back in the dark).

JP, Gabbar, Fil, Me, Nathan, Deepak

Arjun preparing dinner

After a night under the stars we woke up and had homemade chi which was delicious! I dried off my bikini the same way I cook my mellows. Putting on a warm bikini was heavenly, even though the cold wasn't an issue at all. Breakfast was the most enjoyable meal I have had so far, risotto with onion, pepper and tomato, for an expedition trip I seriously was expecting the food to not be up to much but we appeared to be living in luxury. I am also really getting the hang of eating with my hands now, cutlery is so over rated.

Undecided about my temperature

I then went for ANOTHER poo, I don't know what was going on with my bowels, maybe the excitement of an outdoor poo went to my head. But anyway this time I perfected it, doing it in daylight did make the whole process a lot easier.

Looking out to the river this morning I saw what I thought was a monkey, then as he came closer I realised it was a man, In a loin cloth ferry gliding across the river with a bag on his head, it was rather a lot to take in at 6 in the morning. He was a fisherman who set his net up on our side of the river which could only be accessed by swimming, I don't know what was wrong with his side of the river. But he had at least 7 big fish in his net. When I went for a wander towards the jungle which we have been told are home to tigers, leopards and snakes, I bumped into the wild fisherman who said he had just seen a tiger. Naturally I kept exploring, a little more excited now, clambering along the rocks I heard a rustling in the jungle, then a large rock fell next to me, this was enough, I ran back to camp with my tail between my legs. I envisioned shere Kahn leaping from the trees.

Selfie with Sheila

Sheila investigating JP's BA

The day was spent on the river, traveling 28km, it was mostly grade 2-3 similar to the day before. However we ended with the Wall rapid, highly spoken about by all the staff here, the big grade 4. It was big, the huge waves were great fun, it was the ferocious boiling water that caught us off guard, I had to put in a roll as my boat was sucked under in a big ugly boil.

Found some rose's floating in the river