Dear Cary, Wont You Come Out to Play?

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I parted ways with my UK friends and drivers in Haridwar. Haridwar is about a 6 hour drive north of Delhi. I picked Haridwar for a couple of reasons. First, it's pretty far north and maybe I'll escape some of the blistering heat. Plus, it's strategically placed to several interesting locations.

First, Haridwar is a holy hindu city where the Hindu God Shiva reportedly left a footprint and dropped some holy nectar. It's also where the Ganges (or Ganga, as they say in India) first runs from Himalayan melt off up north. Haridwar has a famous ghat (or holy steps) along the Ganga where thousands of pilgrams travel to bathe and wash their sins away. Its a uniquely Indian experience to behold. Especially when a march of hundreds of Hare Krishna's arrive on the scene chanting their prayers over a portable PA system, pacing up and down and jumping around like an NBA team during the pregame indtroductions. Haridwar also has a gigantic statue of Shiva by it's main road ... at least 50 feet tall by my rough eyeball estimations.

Second, Haridwar is next to Rajaji National Park. I took a safari and saw among other things .... a herd of wild elephants, a leopard, at least 5 difference species of deer, peacocks, various local song birds .. just off the top of my head. The owner of the safari has also adopted several elephants that had been abandoned by the herd, including a baby elephant. Elephants outcasted (usually males) from the herd are often attacked by the head male. One had been killed by the alpha male a few days previously. The safari owner is training the outcasts for safaris. We got to watch them receive their evening bath and feeding.

Lastly, Haridwar is a quick 45 minute bus ride to Rishikesh ... aka "The Yoga Capital of the World". Lots of travelers come to Haridwar to stay in asharams and seek spiritual enlightenment. This is where the Beatles came in the 60's to stay at the Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi's ashram, and where Paul, John and George wrote a good portion of the White Album (Ringo and his wife decided they didn't like the local vegetarian food and decided to fly back home ... I empathize). The asharam was abandoned in the mid-90's and has all but been completely reclaimed by the forrest.

India is still the "major leagues" of traveling. Nothing is easy. It makes traveling in Western Europe seem like traveling in Dallas. I run into other Western travelers, many of whom have been to other difficult locations .. China, Manilla, Mexico City ... and they've all told me India is among the toughest. You can tell the travelers who are in the first week, as they carry the shell shocked look on their faces. To make matters worse, it's the hottest part of the year. Tempertures can get around 115 F. Like Austin in August, except without the proliferation of air conditioning. The heat makes it hard to sleep at night and zaps you of your appetite, which in turn zaps you of your energy. Also making matters worse is it's a peak season of holidays and traveling among the Indian people, which means you're competing with a billion people for a limited number of train seats. Trains are booked for weeks and weeks in advance, leaving travelers on "waiting lists for seats". Bus travel involves traveling in non-AC buses in suffocating heat on badly maintained roads packed to the gills with people (not uncommon to have a child sitting on your lap for the entirity of the trip). Im now seriously considering streamlining my Indian itenerary to a few of the "must sees" and heading onward to SE Asia before I lose my stomach (literally) for any more travel.

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