David and Lili's World Tour

NORTHERN INDIA

October 2003 - Delhi

I'm back in Dodgy Delhi on my way to Nepal. Manali was good to me, and it was hard to leave. Ah, relaxing at David and Detchin's house, going for hikes, meeting new friends, reading good books... I practiced yoga every morning at the Shri Hari Yoga Ashram. I am getting used to India, an emerging world power. There is excellent infrastructure and a middle class. The people are generally peaceful, and I feel safe regarding violent crime (but not theft). The beggars and dirt are terrible, but that's the reality for most of humanity, and I think everyone should see it with their own eyes, because if the eyes don't see it, then the heart doesn't feel it. Watching it on TV doesn't count. Now I'm on my own, free, having finally gone beyond the plans I made in Boulder a year ago; I have no schedule, and that feels great.

A word about Buddhism: I am not a Buddhist because I don't subscribe to the "religious" aspects, especially the ritual prayer and belief in reincarnation. But neither of these are important to the core Buddhist philosophy; indeed, since there is no deity, nor is there an eternal self, Buddhist elders teach ideas that are truly consistent with the laws of physics (reincarnation doesn't really exist). This makes Buddhism unique among the world's major religions; once you get past the religious fluff, the philosophy is plausable even to scientists, and the teachings are full of wisdom. Take the notion of karma for example, cause and effect. Good people tend to cause good things to happen, and this makes them happy. The idea of meditation is designed to teach people to control their thoughts, so as to control their speech and actions, which helps create good karma. Buddhists thereby teach themselves how to be better people. Contrast this with the Christian notion that humans are inherently sinful, so in order to go to Heaven, they must receive forgiveness from the Church. Hmmm. But OK, the idea of sin does teach many Christians to be better people, so great; but the idea of believing impossible things on faith teaches them to dismiss science (and logic), so not great. Religion has proven itself incapable of solving the Earth's urgent problems, but science has a fighting chance. Teach science to the children, so that they learn to discern fact from myth. And as far as organized religions go, I recommend the Buddha's wisdom on how to be a good person.

October 2003 - Manali

I rented a motorcycle and drove with Stephen & Ela to a ski area (there's no lift - you have to walk up) to go paragliding. I got in one good solo ride, and then quit while still alive. What an adrenaline rush! The motorcycle was a Royal Enfield, a powerful bike with antiquated technology. One day while touring mountain roads, despite the fact that the fuel gauge did not read empty, I ran out of petrol, and it was almost dark. I hid the bike behind a tree. Then I flagged down cars until I got a ride. By the time I had the bike happy with fuel, it was dark and my headlights didn't work. I started out slowly, constantly looking over my shoulder. I let a truck pass, and then followed it closely, as that protected me from obstacles ahead. So far, India has been quite the adventure! Tourist season is coming to an end as most foreigners head south to Goa for the winter.

September 2003 - Indian Tibet

We hired a jeep and drove to Indian Tibet. We got within about a kilometer from China at the village of Gue. The border guards are paranoid, I'm told, and photos of them are strictly prohibited. That's probably why none of the guide books list the place. This village has a 600-year-old mummy which we got to see, because we had special access. We traveled with a local monk to the Pin Valley, staying at his monastery as special guests. We visited villages and gompas (shrines), and caves where people reside during spiritual retreats. Villagers offered us tea and sometimes delicious meals. Some of the gompas contain wonderful art that escaped from the Chinese Red Army in 1950. I certainly learned a lot about Buddhism!

Village life is hard. The Tibetans plant barley (with the help of horse or yak) which they trade for other essentials. Winters are harsh. Women do most of the work, but that's life in most of Tibet as I understand it. The villagers speak Tibetan as their first language, but the signs are in Hindi. The single-lane dirt tracks were okay, but we averaged only 20 km / hour. Of course, the scenery is dramatic. Going up from Manali, everything is green and humid with waterfalls, but once across the first pass, everything is mostly brown. There is a huge difference between Tibetan villages and Indian towns like Kaza; two different cultures. Beer up here is served warm, and it's not so good, so we procured the local home brews. Chung comes in two varieties, rice and barley. Rice chung is like thick sake. There's also arak, distilled barley chung (strong). Some ex-monks at the monastery had some. These beverages were also warm and not so good, but drinking them with ex-monks was good fun. I saw no computers in Indian Tibet. The only beggars were children asking for candy.

September 2003 - Manali

Namaste. The bus ride to Manali from Delhi was 18 hours, but aside from being uncomfortable, it was fun, thanks to a group from France that I met at the bus stop. Now I'm settling in at David and Detchin's house. Manali has a lot to offer: stunning scenery, a Tibetan community, Buddhist and Hindu temples, trekking, good restaurants and stores, all cheap. Rooms start at one US dollar. There is trash laying around, and some beggars (nothing like Delhi... Oh my God! It'll break your heart!), but this place is fantastic, and I plan to stay a while. Now I'll go relax on the porch and enjoy the view of forested hills with snow-capped peaks behind; the Himalayan giants are up there. When I first decided to come to India, this is not what I imagined; it's nicer.

September 4, 2003 - Delhi

First impressions of India: The taxi ride from the airport at 4am was astounding! Already there was chaos, pollution, poverty, cows in the middle of the highway seemingly oblivious to the traffic... Really third world. I mostly slept yesterday. Today I hired a bicycle-rickshaw to guide me around Old Delhi. What a culture! What a difference from Moscow! Tonight I'll take a bus to Manali to visit my friends David and Detchin. I asked David how long of a bus ride it was from Delhi. He said, "12 hours - but maybe 24 hours - and if it's 24 hours that's good, since it will help your karma, as you'll learn to be more patient." Welcome to India.

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