Headed out tomorrow

---

Well, guys, tomorrow Brian and I get on a train at 7:05 p.m. to head to the Himalayas. I doubt that y'all care about the intimate details of our trip up north, but here you go anyway. Our train pulls out of the Jaipur station at 7:20 p.m on Saturday evening. We are travelling in non-A/C sleeper with a ticket booked all the way to Amritsar. If we arrive in Jalandhar City (about an hour and fifteen minutes south east of Amritsar) before 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, we will get off there, and catch a trian to Pathankot, the major transit hub into the Himalayas. That train is about three hours long, putting us into Pathankot at 3:23 p.m. From Pathankot there are buses every half hour or so to Dharmsala, which take about four hours, putting us in Dharmsala twenty four hours after we've left Jaipur. If we miss the train to Pathankot, we will continue on to Amritsar, where we will either spend the afternoon and night, and head out Monday morning, or we will find a bus to Pathankot and then on to Dharmsala. Anyway, point is, it's a long trip, but I think it's worth it. I can't wait to take some pictures of the Himalayas to post for you guys. Anyway, back to my current reality, Jaipur.

It's been a crazy couple of days here in Jaipur (Brian's boss doesn't want to pay him for the last two weeks that he's been working), with a lot of hassles that are just indicative of how different and how much harder life is in a lot of ways here. Until a couple of days ago, I was a little sad about leaving India, but the last two days have changed my mind. I'm ready to go on this trip, and then I'm ready to head home.

Last night, Brian and I walked to this little restaurant that has tons of ice cream, and some of the best chowmein I've ever had, and as we walked, we talked about how we what we would miss in India. On the way to the restaurant, Brian stopped at a juice stand, and got freshly squeezed mango juice and pinapple juice for about twenty cents. In some ways India is much easier than at home. That walk has become so familiar to us, and to be able to walk down the street and get a decent meal for less than a dollar is something we can't do at home. A few days ago, we bought a potato patty from a street vendor for ten rupees (again, about 20 cents), and he mashed up the patty, poured chickpeas in some kind of sauce over it, and topped it with spices and a cilantro sauce. It was so tasty. And this morning our favorite rickshaw wallah, the one who has a decked out rickshaw in a tropical theme and who always charges a fair price, was waiting for me to take me to work (through no formal arrangement, he was just waiting). It's things like those that make me miss India. It's been a hard trip in many ways, but I'm glad I came. I really got to know Jaipur (now I know how much every major place is by rickshaw, and whether or not he's going the wrong way), and I got to see what it's like living in India for a while. Now I've got a little less than three weeks to get to know some of the rest of north India, and then I'll be headed home. I've been dreaming of a hot shower for a week now. Who knows, maybe we'll end up with a hotel with a hot shower one night of our travels.

By the way, I will have internet access while on the road....lots of internet cafes here in India, especially in places like Dharmsala, which are heavily visited by backpackers. I'm taking my laptop with me (as is Brian) although I think the likelyhood of hooking that up to the internet is slim. That does mean, however, that I can put my photos on a disk, and upload them for you in internet cafes. My Indian cell works all over India, but I have to pay roaming charges outside of Rajasthan, so I'm just going to use my U.S. cell, at least until we head back into Rajasthan in a week and a half or so. It is likely that my next post will be Sunday night (Sunday morning for y'all) or Monday from Dharmsala.

---

Comments

[Abby]

how exciting! i can't wait to read about your trip and to see pictures of everything. i know you'll have an amazing time.

[Dad]

Travels
I hope the road is not too twisty to Dharmsala, as I hear that is the greatest danger of being a tourist in India -- the buses on the mountain roads. I hope you get to go to the Potala Palca while in Dharmsala. If you do, be sure to sing "Hello, Dalai" for me! Love Dad

[Shaily]

For real
Jen, I am very much awake and alert this time, and in all my sobreity. You write very well ! I am finding your accounts very interesting.