Destination: Badrinath, home to the Vishnu temple, one of the four most sacred temples in north India
Maria and I wound up 11 thousand feet into the 'higher himalyas' very slowly as the one lane road literally crumbled underneath us and the air quickly became thinner and colder. Rakesh and the driver upfront, Maria and I in the back. Our packs and carom board in the way back. The road to Badrinath, has been closed for days due to landslides and unstable ground. Today the road was very busy escorting hundreds of pilgrims making possibly the trip of a lifetime. Collectively, we form a Spiritual tailgate party, all of us journeying to a common destination. During landslide breaks We shared the road with buses transporting whole villages and cars/land rovers packed with families. Our rover has 4 people, others hold 9-12. No one seems to mind being held up on the side of the road for hours at a time. The scenery is amazing and the vibe is high, some guy walks by singing 'Hari Krishna' as Maria and Rakesh play carom board and thumb wrestle. I read my book and referee the carom board tournament. Rakesh always wins.
Points on driving in India...
The horn is a vital part of driving in India. It isn't used out of annoyance or anger but rather safety and awareness. 'Blow Horn' is painted on the rear of brightly decorated and deity donned trucks. Passing, or 'taking over' happens consistetly and without inducing any road rage or ego inflation. Playing music in the car is illegal as it is a distraction and could drown out the sound of oncoming cars, buses, trucks, cows and monkeys.
Our illegal soundtrack includes Shakira (Rakeshs' request!) Beyonce (Maria's) Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, Michael Franti, Madonna and more.
We arrived in Badrinath a day later than expected. The roads close after dark so we had to stay the night in Karna Prayag. A prayag is a confluence of two rivers. We passed five on our journey. The rivers weave into each other, ultimately they all join with the Ganga. The rivers have different hues, depending on where they are flowing from. The glacial rivers have a bluish green tint. The rivers coming from the west/east have more of a clay base so they look darker and cloudy. Watching them merge is beautiful.
It has taken us 13 hours to travel 118 miles! It's freezing rain here in Badrinath. We are absolutely the only Westerners here. I'm am very ill equipt with my thin fleece sleeping bag. I am wearing all of the clothes that I brought! The roof of the ashram room has a gaping hole in it, basically, we are sleeping outside. It's 38 degrees.
The next morning brought sunshine and the darshan of Mount Neelkanth (shiva's blue throat). The view of this peak at sunrise is truly breath taking. No one has ever climbed this massive mountain. We spent the day trekking to Wasudhara waterfall. 14 k stroll up into the clouds, surrounded by Himalyan peaks.
The legends and mythology of India and her pantheon come to life every moment. On this hike we walked the 'path to heaven'. We followed the path that the 5 Pandava brothers (Mahabarata) climbed on their way to release, signifying the end of the Satyuga beginning of the Kaliyuga. The waterfall is named after one of the brothers. Legend has it that if the spray from the falls reaches you then you are pure.
While practicing yoga the breeze came and showered me (and Rakesh) with the mist. Maria climbed down to sit close to the falls, she brought her umbrella. Funny.
We sat and meditated in the cave where Vyassa spoke the Vedas. And then in Ganesha's cave where he transcribed the Vedas. Epic places and experiences. I'm blessed to have spent time in the north eastern most part of this sacred country. I even went to the 'last tea stand in india'. The Tibetans are beautiful. The days spent here have been monumental. Too much for words. The lessons for me are in the land, not the swamis.
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