Last Night In McLeod Ganj--Yay!

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Hello:-D This is my last night in the state of Himachal Pradesh. I was going to fly to Delhi tomorrow (2.5 hours), but I didn't realize that the plane is a 16-seater, and it's completely booked:-( That means tomorrow I'll be taking a taxi to Pathenkot (I don't want to repeat the 5-hour bus ride since I hear it's only 3 or so hours by cab), and then an overnight train from Pathenkot to Delhi. I'm thinking that I'll spend the night in Delhi and then take a train to Agra in the morning to see the Taj Mahal, which is only several hours away. Then I'm not sure what I'll do, because I really want to go to Varanasi, but I don't have enough time to take a train, because it's another overnight journey. I may fly instead.

Today I did a whole lot more of nothing. I spent several hours talking (um, more like listening) to this man from Kashmir who owns a shop here. It was like what I've read about, where in parts of India they offer you chai, are wonderfully hospitable, etc. It was really cool to talk to a non-tourist for so long. He even fed me dhal! Of course, (and I'm going to be supremely sexist and generalize now, so close your eyes if you're easily offended), men are men in any country and of any religion, and I realized after probably way too long that he was hitting on me. I guess I had trusted because he's Indian, Muslim and prays five times a day that he was just being friendly. Right, Jessica. It took a long time for me to get out of the shop because he started talking about his "feelings" for me, and he was pretty poetic and long-winded about it. He even talked about how his uncle met this woman from France here, fell in love in a day and then she stayed an extra few weeks in McLeod Ganj, and voila! Now they're happily married. I thanked him for his nice words, and was sweetly condescending about him being an idealistic 22-year old, then booked it out of there.

Also of interest today was the place I ate. I can't remember if I've mentioned it in previous entries, but it's a little food stand that has a sign on the front that says "Cheap and Best Food." The food is simple and pretty good (and less than 50 cents for a full meal), but the best part was when I asked for a napkin and the owner pulled out a roll of toilet paper and apologized as he handed it to me because it was soaking wet. hahaha. That was awesome. I mean, I've been handed tp plenty of times instead of napkins since I've been here, but never wet tp. He joked that he could leave it out in the sun to dry. I suggested that might deter potential customers:-)

Since I'm not actually *doing* much these days, you'll have to settle for little experiences. There's this kid who always begs on the main street, and I have no idea what he says, but most of the women and children say it. It's something like, "No money, just mil." Maybe they're saying "meal?" I don't know. But this one awesome kid is such a character, and when I was walking with my Belgian friend Sara, she bought him some biscuits, and then he followed us around for quite some time, trying to eat my food at an outdoor cafe, telling Sara she's his wife, sitting on her lap, etc. He is always very, very persistent. So today when he saw me coming, he just grabbed me and said, "Give me mil!" I said, "No," and he said, "Okay, bye!" Unprecedented. Now I know I've been here too long!

I was going to try to post entries for the first several days I was here while I'm still in India, but I'm going to wait until I get home so I can make the most of my remaining time here. On my health: I'm feeling pretty good, just tired, and in a little pain. My hip hurts and is bruised where I fell on it, and my rash got supremely itchy last night and this morning, but is fading nicely. In a few days it should be gone competely. I'll be traveling tomorrow, so look for an entry in the next few days.

Adieu,
Jessica

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Comments

[Jessica's Mom, Trish]

ET Phone Home ... er ... Mom phone India
Hi, sweets! I've phoned over the last hour and a half ... boo hoo ... you weren't back when I got through the first two times (the man who answered for the hotel took the message that your "mother" phoned -- did you get it?) and now I'm getting a busy signal (and have for almost an hour?). I'm wondering if they turn off the phones at night? I'm so glad to have spoken with you earlier. You sound great ... you're learning and experiencing loads! Have a wonderful trip tomorrow ... sleep well tonight, my sweet one! I'll look forward to hearing from you through your journal entries (you know, you can make them short! :)) and any calls you get a chance to make. Love, Mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

[JUAN]

Have a safe trip
Have a safe trip and hope you are feeling better. Keep the Blogs coming as they are fascinating to read.