Gangnani to Mussoorie

I survived the Himalaya. Not that I exactly climbed Mt. Everest or anything, I was only at about 5,000 feet. But Gangnani was really amazing, although I was a bit trepidatious going there. When I left Uttarkashi it was raining, a very cold rain, and then I ran into some minor complications actually getting to where I was going. There was no bus because it's low season, but only share taxis (jeeps that they fill up with as many people as possible). Then the taxi drivers tried to convince me there weren't even share taxis going there, but I'd have to pay 500 rupees for a private taxi all the way to Gangnani (about 30 miles away). Once it became clear I wasn't going to pay that, I figured out that although technically it was true that the share taxis didn't go all the way there, what I needed to do was take a share taxi about halfway, for 25 rupees, to the next substantial town, then change to another taxi from there. Once I got there I ran into the same routine, with a taxi driver saying there weren't any share taxis going all the way, but he would take me there for 200 rupees. Since I'd had to wait a while for the previous share taxi, I decided to go ahead and shell out (well, 5 bucks) for the private taxi and just get to my destination, since it was cold and wet and I was thinking about soaking in the hot springs. So he took me up there, which was on a terrible road that had some pretty bad mud pits due to the rain, and a lot of road repair going on along the way, including a crane or some piece of heavy equipment that had turned over upside down and was partly blocking the road. Also I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to find there, since I'd gotten differing reports of whether lodges would be open. But I was going mainly on the recommendation of some locals from Rishikesh, who had initially told me that it was a good place to go, had been there several times and said it would still be open in the middle of winter.

So, the taxi driver dropped me off at what was basically a series of chai stalls along a muddy section of road, on a steep canyon going down into the Bhagirathi River, which eventually becomes the Ganges. Above the road on the right side was a jumbled assortment of ramshackle-looking buildings. After searching around a little though, I found this great little lodge with a small but cheap room for 150 rupees (about $4) that had multiple windows on two sides looking straight down into the canyon and the river, as well as up and down the canyon both ways. The only bummer was that there weren't any real mountain views from that area of the snow-covered peaks I'd seen on the bus trip getting there, precisely because it was down in a canyon. And I wasn't able to get much farther up the road from there because of the storm, which went on pouring down rain there for several days. Basically, I could see the snow level right out my window, just above where Gangnani was at, and not much farther up the road snow was apparently deep enough to be blocking the road.

When I first arrived I was the only guest at the lodge, although various other people came and went for a night or two. The lodge was run by a very nice Indian guy from south India, who spoke enough English to get the basics across. Fortunately he also cooked, including basic Indian dishes with rice and chapati, and great omelettes, so I had my meals there as well, other than the snacks that I'd brought myself. I ended up staying there 6 days, and didn't wander too far from there, although I did a little bit of hiking around, including up to a tiny village that was just above the hot springs area. The hot springs consisted of two large concrete pools, one for men and one for women, which were about 20 feet away from the door of the lodge, and they were super hot, fluctuating from just right, to almost too hot to get into. During the day there were plenty of other people in them much of the time, including people that lived right there at Gangnani, from the village up above, people driving past to the next village up the road that you could still drive to, and also I think some of the workers that were working on the roads. It was pretty cold up there, the temperature inside my room hovered around 45 F, the lowest I think it got was 43 F (6 degrees celcius) (I have a temperature gauge on my travel clock) so the hot springs were pretty crucial for warming up. Otherwise there wouldn't have been much reason to stay there long, just hanging out in your room shivering. Other than hiking around I did yoga for an hour or two just about every day, another good way to keep warm, read, wrote, sketched a little, etc. There was no electricity for most of the time I was there, because of an extended power outage, but it didn't matter too much knowing that even with power there still wouldn't be any heating for the rooms. So the owner provided candles until the power finally came back, the only difference being that then there was electric light, and also he had satellite TV.

So two days ago I left Gangnani (just waiting on the road until a share taxi came along) and went back to Uttarkashi, an hour or so away. From there I planned to go to Mussoorie (where I am now), a "hill station" (resort towns set up by the British to escape the summer heat) not far west of Rishikesh, which I could get to without having to go back to Rishikesh, since I was ready to see somewhere new. But I was too late to catch a bus out of Uttarkashi that day, so I ended up staying there again for the night, at the same place I'd stayed before right near all the busses. Also there was a big fair going on since that's the largest town in the area, so it was particularly noisy. The next morning I caught a bus back the way I'd come from Rishikesh, but got off partway there at the town of Chamba. From there, I got another bus headed for Mussoorie, which is actually a little higher in elevation than either Uttarkashi or Gangnani, at about 6,000 feet. The bus ride there had some of the most amazing views I've seen. The sun was setting, and the road went along a high ridge so that looking north you got a great view of the Himalaya, better than I'd seen previously since apparently we got up to 10,000 feet, that was cast in pink from the sun, and then looking the other way you were looking way down these mountains onto the plains where the sun was setting. Fortunately I had a great seat at the very front of the bus and got a bunch of pictures, so those should turn out pretty good.

Last night I arrived in Mussoorie, and decided to splurge on a room slightly over my budget, but a great deal still, with a private bathroom with hot water and a TV for a change, plus a great view, for 5 bucks. I hadn't been to Mussoorie before and was pleasantly surprised getting here. It's basically spread out along part of the same ridge that the bus ride went along getting here, with similar views down to the plains. It's definitely one of the more affluent places I've been in India, as it's a very popular tourist destination for middle-class Indians. But winter is the low season, which I think is why I got a good deal on my room, so it's fairly quiet here with a number of shops apparently closed up, although there are still plenty of people around. One of the other reasons it's pretty quiet is there's not much traffic on the main thoroughfare because it's on a narrow ridge, so there's basically one narrow lane that goes on for miles, with assorted shops, hotels, restaurants, etc. on either side. There's barely enough room for a car to go through, with almost no room for passing, so cars have to back up when they encounter one another until they get to a wider spot. During the high season apparently the route is closed off to vehicles altogether. So it's just this atmospheric, if a bit touristy area spread along this ridge, with views on both sides at various points. But it's apparently not much of a destination for Western travelers as I've only seen a few, although getting here was the first time I'd seen any since leaving Rishikesh. I can see why though, as Uttarkashi was rather dirty and noisy, despite being a small town in the mountains, with not too much really to see right there. The real reason to go that way, other than the hot springs, is the mountains beyond where I went, which sound pretty amazing. I'll have to make it back there again sometime in late spring or summer, when you can get higher up into the mountains.

My next destination from here is the state of Rajasthan in the desert next to Pakistan, and although originally I was planning to just stop in Mussoorie long enough to get a train ticket from Dehra Duhn (which is down the mountain in the plains, but only an hour away) to either Jodhpur or Bikaner, which are both near my destination of Jaiselmer, I like Mussoorie a lot so will probably stay here for at least a few more days. There are supposed to be more great views of the Himalaya on some of the hills from here, but today was overcast, so hopefully we'll get a sunny day soon so that I can see the views. In the meantime I'm taking care of assorted stuff like washing the laundry (which I usually give to someone else to wash, but decided to avoid waiting for it and just did it in my room today) and doing some random shopping. Also I think this is my first time having TV in my room in India on this trip, so that's fun, especially since they have 200 channels. Last night I was watching one of the Rocky movies, definitely a little strange.....