Almora and Parrpashali

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Photography by Martin Hurton

I’ve been around Almora for 6 days now. I arrived with Erika and checked into a rather nice hotel in the town, which had hot shower (lasting a full 7 minutes each morning) and extortionately priced room service. It was nice to check-in and unwind, and the restaurant served good (read trustworthy) food. My energy levels have dropped like my waistline since the little hitch-hiker named Giardia had tagged along for the ride and so I was ready to try and put some weight back on. It was a sorry affair with my stomach having shrunk to the size of an omelet, so that’s all I had.
I had/have decided that I didn’t especially like Almora. Perhaps it was because we had just come from the mountains to one of the largest and busiest places since Delhi. Or perhaps it was the fact that the people seemed generally unfriendly (even spitting at Erika and the braver shouting “bitch” on occasion) which was in complete contrast to the villages that we had been staying in. I then began to look at it in more depth. Yes - I found some beer, and after one bottle I was trying to make sense of India/the World/Life etc. I guess having no alcohol for 3 weeks and virtually no food for a week was not a good foundation to be pouring “Haywards 5000 Super Strength Beer” into, so it was inevitable that I’d quickly become a bit wobbly! Anyway, where was I..? Oh yes, the town. After people watching for some time I realised that this place was like most Westernised towns. Children were wearing flash trainers, there were shops selling the latest (for India) televisions, prices were slightly inflated. Not things typical of the India I have seen to-date. And not (were my initial thoughts) what I was going to enjoy for long. As I said, with the Westernised feel came the Westernised attitudes (unfriendliness and anonymity) which actually seemed to spoil “My India”. This may all be sounding a little pretentious but I’m sure that it will begin to make some sense. I’m just not expecting that to happen very soon so you will have to bare with me. Maybe I will never work it out! For now I will settle with saying that it is in complete contrast to everything else that I have seen in India so far.

The following morning I headed down to the Almora Book Depot where I met a Californian named Patty who has being living near Almora for 6 years now. She quickly understood what I meant when we chatted about the town and recommended that I take a share jeep to the Parrpashali are on the ridgeline just outside of the town. As is common when traveling, the slightest lead is often worth following so we soon found ourselves bouncing around in the back of a jeep for a 15km ride up the hill. We had just replaced our all-read stock of books and so quickly headed to the nearest roof terrace to enjoy the mountain views, our new paperbacks and some excellent ginger-honey-lemon tea. It wasn’t long (about 5 minutes) before I decided that this was what I needed so I went in search of accommodation. I found just what I was looking for at Khiims Guesthouse. A couple from York were enjoying lemon tea and the conversation quickly flowed. It turned out that it was Daves birthday the next day and there was a party to which we were both invited. Great - beers and whisky with a yorkshireman, in India. It doesn’t get much more unexpected or appealing than that.
Now you have to remember that I have spent my time in India pretty much as follows: Jump on a train or bus. Arrive somewhere. Depending on where I am fight off the touts/beggars/etc. Look for accommodation. Eat, sleep, reflect, read. Look for where to go next. Leave on a train or a bus. The Himalayan experience was a hugely welcomed break from this but I still had to be, or at least found myself, up most mornings and walking to the next resthouse. Add to that being sick three times since arriving (VERY sick on one of them) and all in all it has being a very draining 7 weeks. God, is that ALL it’s been!?!?
So anyway, I promptly checked out of our hotel in Almora and checked into Khiims place. Erika decided that time was running short and she only had a couple of days to get back to Delhi for her flight home, and not being in a party mood she decided to stay another night in the town. So it was here that we said our goodbyes. After four weeks together I will miss her company, and for the majority of the time we made each other laugh and she kept me sane - Cheers “wifey” ;o)
The party was great and it was the first “proper drink” that I had since the UK. There was a wide mixture of people too, ranging from local Indians to local Americans and Europeans. Everyone brought food which was fantastic and Khiims son and nephew decorated the inside and out with lights. Music played and conversation flowed as much (nearly) as the beer. A great evening was had by all and I slept with a warm feeling that I may actually have found the perfect place to chill-out for a while before heading back into “Real India”. I’ll explain what I mean by that another day too, once I have worked it out!

It is now two days after the party and I have read two books already (from Khiims library). One by Ben Elton and another called “Are You Experienced” by William Sutcliffe. The later is a very funny, and brutally honest view of three months traveling in India. If you get the chance I recommend it as a read! I’ve also found that the food here is very good, tonight we are having Pizza. Great. Don’t worry, I’m not taking the easy route out, but as I said earlier, I think that I deserve a few days of recovery!

Cheers for now,
Martin :o)


Photography by Martin Hurton

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