Learning to Relax

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I don't remember where exactly I left off on my last blog entry seeing as how it was a hopelessly long time ago that it was posted. I have now been to Shimla, Manali, Vashisht, Mcleodganj, Amritser, Rishikesh and Varanasi. As of now I am in Boudha, or Boudhanath, and have a clear view of one of the largest stupas in Nepal. I'm sitting in a place that has been named the Saturday cafe, and god knows for what reason. Anyhow, they are overpriced, have a 10% service charge and everything is organic. I feel right at home in this sickeningly new-age coffee/cake house. So at home that I want to burn it to the ground.
But that is not important right now. What is important is that I tell you of my adventures thus far. I will begin with my adventures that I shared with the Scottish couple Felix and Emma, whom I met in Vashisht. We travelled together to Mcleodganj and stayed there for a few days. At that point I was still quite raw to the idea of travel and spending a 'few' days in one place seemed a long time. Only later did I learn that it is the only way to travel, or else you will be overcome with weariness and stress. But again, I stray from the topic at hand, Mcleaodganj is a beautiful little hilltop town which is where everyone and their grandmother comes to see and hear the Dalai Lama. He showed up the second day we were there. Trying not to be peasants we went to go listen to his teachings but the English translation signal was to weak and our radio could not pick it up. I could make out a slight amount of what he was saying by listening to the chinese translation but not enough get a clear idea, just lots of stuff about unity and trying to achieve, etc.. We left after about half an hour and we were smart to do so for it had started raining. Also, the best part about the Dalai Lama speaking is that everyone goes there, leaving all the restaurants empty. Empty restaurants are my favorite, the service is awesome and the only conversations are the ones in my head and between my fellow travelers. We decided to try out a japanese place Felix had heard about and shortly after our arrival there we ordered our food and took a seat near a window. The rain was really falling hard now and there were a few claps of thunder in the distance. All of a sudden, right outside there struck one of the most brilliant bolts of lightning I have ever witnessed. To be fair, I only saw it out of the corner of my eye but it seemed to me that it flashed a purple/red color. This might have been my imagination but Emma looked around at us and asked us if we had seen a purple flash accompanying the deafening crack of the lightning. I confirmed from this that it was not my imagination, but we spoke no more on the subject.
Having dinner one night with a woman from England, on the roof top portion of a cafe called Carpe Diem, and we met a young man named Arend. Because of his bright blue eyes and his name Felix and I came to call him Eagle eyes when we spoke of him. He informed us that he was a war correspondent and had just come back from Afghanistan. That same night we met a man from San Francisco named Josh who invited us to his birthday bash which was to take place in the same cafe we happened to be. We saw him during the day on his birthday carrying two cakes, he informed us that they were for the party. Felix, Emma and I arrived at the party early and were joined soon after by eagle eyes. We ordered cokes and drank whiskey from under the table all the while enjoying each others company, when all of a sudden Jesus Baby started dancing and doing yoga in the middle of everything. Jesus Baby was a man, aged around thirty with a big beard and long hair, thus the jesus aspect of his name. The reason for us dubbing him baby as well was his childish nature. This man could not help himself, he just had to be the center of attention. Only when people were looking and talking in his general direction was he happy. When he was losing attention from his dancing and yoga he began to climb up a central support beam that provided stability for the small roof that was above our heads. He made his way up the pole and as if this wasn't enough, began grappling the metal armature of the roof structure, climbing over this way and that and hanging around like a monkey. After a few oohs and ahs from the crowd people became very quiet as they realized that this Jesus baby could very well send the small roof crashing down upon them if he kept up his performance. He was coaxed down by the birthday boy and directed towards the dancefloor where he proceeded to act the fool.
We left Mcleaodganj and headed to Amritser for one night, just to see the Golden temple. The Temple was in fact very impressive and made for a few good photos. The city itself was awfully polluted and I even saw a gun store. Which was cool, but we were going to the train depot so I had no time to go inside and look around.
Rishikesh would be our next stop for the next few weeks. It is well known that Rishikesh is where the Beetles came to live for a while to write music, smoke dope etc.. Within a few days of being there we decided to buy a gas stove top and a container of propane. We cooked our own meals to save money and had tea and chai whenever we wanted. On the fourth day of our being in Rishikesh a young French man of thirty came to the guest house. I introduced myself eventually and told him of Felix and Emma and our stove, inviting him to a dinner that was to be cooked that night. He accepted and told me that he would help prepare it if need be. A few hours after this encounter I sat in my room editing photos and he popped his head through the door asking if I smoked. Initially I thought he meant cigarettes and I said no, Im sorry I dont have any tobacco. He shook his head and smiled and asked if I would like to get high. To this I responded that I only have a little and it is of very poor quality. He told me that it was of no consequence and he had enough for the both of us. Upon my suggestion we went to the roof of our Bombay Guesthouse and he skillfully rolled a spliff. I was truly high for the first time in India and it felt great. We sat, looking at the Ganga making her way south and disappearing into the distance around one of her countless bends. The sun was at its zenith so everything around us was illuminated perfectly, the vibrant forest behind us and the temples and buildings which faced us were almost glowing with color. We sat and examined our surroundings for what could have been an hour after which we descended back to earth and went for a cup of chai across the street. This was how I met Gael. The time that we would spend together in the coming weeks proved very useful for me. Gael had been to India seven years in a row and had answers for pretty much any query I had regarding India's culture, social etiquette, etc.
During the last week spent in Rishikesh I met a girl named Samanta who came to the guest house with a couple of Israeli guys. She entered our group of friends which was now Felix, Emma, Gael and myself and we all got along quite well, making jokes and laughing about nonsense. A young Israeli man named Janta, whom we came to call Jesus, also joined our 'crew'. Long story short, Gael and I decided to travel to Varanasi together and Samanta joined us, explaining that she also intended to go there.
In the guesthouse we came to there were only two rooms so Sam and I decided to share a room. This turned out to be a great thing because we discovered how much we get along. She is an Architect from Mexico, aged 25 and had been traveling India for around three months. She actually understands my sense of humor and puts up with all of my sarcasm. I honestly don't know how she does it sometimes. Anyways, Varanasi was an interesting place, they burn dead people everyday, awesome. I made purchase of many books here, justifying this decision by telling myself that they were my birthday gifts. On my birthday I awoke with a fever. The chocolate cake I shared with Sam tasted more of bananas than chocolate and the coffee we ordered with it was burned. For lunch I ordered chowmein and spring rolls which turned out too greasy and salty to even try and eat. The spring rolls were just shitty pieces of undercooked batter with the chowmein I had ordered as a filling. The coke I ordered with my lunch came flat and tasted of something other that coke, but it gets better. When I went out to dinner with all my friends their food came before mine, and mine came in about 35 40 minutes. I had ordered a pizza at a place that did not have an oven located in their kitchen. Instead it was located across the courtyard. All in all I had a wonderful birthday. After doing some research and planning Sam and I decided to go to Nepal for a couple of weeks before coming back to India in time for the Camel festival. And that is where I am now. And I am not going to read what I just wrote to check for errors because I don't care.

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