Our bus to Dharamsala left at 6 p.m. and, we were told, would take 10 hours. Arriving in a new town at 4 a.m. sounded unappetizing but the only other option involved carrying our too-big backpacks, and maybe some chickens, on our laps for 12 hours.
The journey was largely uneventful, with the exception of a spate of late-night intestinal mayhem from the kid in front of us, and we were managing to doze a bit when shortly after 2 a.m. there was a bunch of hollering and the lights went on. I lifted up my hood off my eyes briefly, peered at my watch, and snuggled back into my seat for a couple more hours of bumping along.
But no. Turned out we'd arrived.
We blinked, sprang up, grabbed what we thought were probably all our bags, and raced off the bus. We were the only ones who got off.
It was pitch-dark there on the side of an empty highway, near a turn-off to the airport. If it wasn't way too wet for tumbleweeds, one would have gone by.
Suddenly we realized we had not in fact gotten all the bags and Marty heroically ran back to the bus before it pulled away, retrieving our food stash.
At this deserted place, the presence of a single taxi driver was almost enough to give me religion. He asked for Rs. 200 to go to our destination, McLeod Ganj, the town past Dharamsala. He could have asked for anything; we'd have paid it. It was the most effective monopoly I've ever seen.
After a 40-minute journey on steep and winding roads amid headlamp-lit lush undergrowth, we reached a town and pulled over. Marty and I had been imagining sleeping on our backpacks on the steps of the Dalai Lama's residence, but it turns out some hotels stay open for such things -- or our driver just wakes people up.
The first hotel had a room available at 4 a.m. (?? Marty had some speculations on why that would be...).
We found another place. Everything there seemed damp but we didn't care. We collapsed. Beauteous beauteous bed!
Wow. The Force is with you. Glad you made it to your destination.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh: "a spate of late-night intestinal mayhem." Glad I missed THAT!
Meanwhile, in jd land, there was a visit to the student health center, which is rife with disease (actually, I might have preferred your bus ride to sitting next to three people coughing, and one with strep throat). The doctor prescribed three things for my allergies, and gave me an early flu shot -- yes, there ARE advantages to having asthma and being an all-around sickie. I am wary of the shot, recalling the last time I got one, ten years ago. It's like a crazy science experiment!
Leaving for CA tomorrow to get some air I can breathe. I will be thinking of you.
That's funny -- going to CA (I'm assuming LA in particular?) for air you can breathe is rather like our traveling to Kashmir for safety. Have a good trip!
ReplyDelete