Simultaneously in First and Last Place

So it's been four months now and I'm still on the road. Still amazed by what I see and growing more thankful for my place in this life every day. And the title of this blog is still as relevant today as it was when I first created it. I'm sure some people may have thought it just a cheap reference to a bicycle race of one but what I was really trying to get across was my fear of losing the familiar, safe inertia of my life then and the excitement of throwing it all away coupled with the possibility of something more.

It's all about cultural relativism and possibilities.

By quitting the security of my job and the promise of an education I had just given up my standing in "the race". I was in last place,losing money and choosing to be homeless. But to escape the baggage that comes with that life and to experience something wholly different which could possibly affect the way I went about the rest of my life, I had just jumped into first place. I got out and got on. To be a bit cliche, I was living life and what could be more important and than that. I can't lose in this aspect of my life. I can only come out ahead. And I now admire all of those that due the same, breaking out to interact with the rest of the world. This is what it's all about.

So I'm still sick with this lung infection but i just couldn't stay in my room any longer. I had to escape. So I caught a cab to the Zoo. It housed primarily Himalayan and Asian species of animal. They had a few different monkeys, a bunch of leopards, a snow leopard, Siberian tiger, bears, things that looked a lot like dogs, and things that looked like pig/rat/homeless-sewer-dwellers. The thing that I'm petting is a type of mountain goat called a Ghorat and this particular one was super friendly. As you can see it actually came to the cage and let me pet it. But then again I was also able to touch a Leopard and a Wolf. One of the coolest animals was this Owl. It was huge, made a strange, deep sound and reminded me of the dog thing from Labyrinth. It was actually mesmerizing with it's huge eyes. And the Talons were bigger than my fingers.

Other than that I'm still relegated to my my room, hiding under the covers watching one of the two English stations offered. There is no bathroom in the room, just a communal one down the hall with no shower, just a spicket that spits out cold water in a cold environment. I'm sorta hating life right now, unable to really appreciate the beauty of Nainital because I'm far too connected to my body. I just sit around filling a once empty water bottle with my sick because I'm too exhausted to walk outside and spit over the railing. It's actually filled to a quite impressive level with something that nobody wants to see. Three weeks ago I was becoming dehydrated due to diarrhea now it's due to snot and phlegm. It got so bad that I had to do away with my prized mustache because it was becoming more of a snot-stache. It was hard to finally come to but the idea of all that yellow and green clinging to the bristles under my nose was making everything all so much worse.

OK so this Internet place can eat a dick. I've tried to upload about five pics and the only one coming up is the Bathroom one (yeah, that's the bathroom and also shower room)and that's after about fifteen minutes. So I'm done. Going back to the room to eat Vit. C and hate myself. But it's fucking pouring rain out and I didn't bring an umbrella.

Come on Karma, kick in already. I'm one of the good guys.

Delhi is Dirty

So I barely made it to the tiny town of Nainital. I was still having an interesting time in Delhi, which makes me question my soul. I like to believe that I was meant to be a Jedi but the darkside is always so much more alluring. The chaos and filth of Delhi is such another world. And you start to get used to the crap and poverty that is in every direction. The noise pollution never stops, it invades that sanctity of my rented cage and I have to believe this is having some side effects on my psyche. Maybe I'll just come home with an inability to lower my voice, always shouting like I'm angry for simple things like "OVER EASY WITH TOAST". That's how it goes around here, smiles are a bit of a rarity and the verbal interactions sound like two mentally retarded NY cab drivers arguing over a parking space, but somehow one of their mothers got brought into it and now everyone hold on 'cause know it's gonna be a blood bath. And then they stop. Maybe walk away, maybe just stand there but all of a sudden the imminent threat of war is over.

So I'm also sick. This I knew was going to happen for staying in Delhi too long and I'm paying for it now. I have a pretty bad lung infection and I'm on my second set of antibiotics since being in India. The good news is, no diarrhea. YIPPEE. But htis also means that I'm kinda kept in my cell for most of the day. Yet ther is so much to do here. There are hike, caves to explore, trails, and neighboring towns to check out. But it's taking all of my energy just to type this stupid blog. So now I'm going back to my cage. bye, bye.

Since I've got five hours til my bus leaves...

I'll tell you about another hellish bus ride that Mel and I took. It was supposed to be a 12 hour overnighter and it actually got there on time. WOW, we were actually in Chandagarh twelve hours later! So we step off, catch a rickshaw driver and tell him where we want to go. We hit the hotel and they're all full so we pick another one which turns out to be full when we get there. Hmmm.... And why are there two rickshaws drivers I'm wondering. So after a few more we take there advice of a "nice, cheap" hotel. But you're never supposed to let them take you to their place because they get a commission, which comes in the form of higher a room cost to you, from the people they drop off. Just one of the many hustles these people have but who could blame 'em? So we get to the last one and the rent is like 800 rupees. We're used to spending 3-4 hundred and Mel is on a tight budget so we say Fuck That. Turns out there was a Doctors convention in town and the whole place is booked except for the top of the line places where 800 rupees will get you nothing. So the whole thing was a wash and we had no choice but to leave town so we told the driver to just take us to the bus station and we'd find a new town. And this guy screwed us on the fare. Charged us 250 rupees for the ride even though a few times I told him to just take us to the bus station and he would say one more, I sure. So I reluctantly gave him the 250 and then I get hit up by the 2nd "driver". He tells me that the fare was 250 but that he was the guide that got us around and therefor deserved some money also. I'm sure anyone who knows me can already hear the words that were coming out of my mouth. Fuck That. And you know he didn't get shit from me.

So here is how it continues. After twelve hours on the bus and an hour in a rickshaw we wander around the bus/ train station for a bit and find a bus heading to Delhi. It's another six hour bus ride to Delhi! Ugh! Let me tell you that Mel was super cranky again. Go ahead Mel, tell 'em how cranky you were and how you kept complaining about my talons. I myself was in a state of peace and acceptance. I hardly noticed that I was even on a bus.

So however many days and nights it took this bus to go six hours we finally got there. But we had no idea where we were. It turns out we were still an hour from Paharganj by rickshaw.

So: 12 hr. bus ride, 1 hr. rickshaw, 6 hr. bus ride, 1 hr. rickshaw

But then it was all good when we finally got our AC less plot in hell with no western toilet. Somebody upstairs loves me.

I'm done with this town.

It's time to head out again. I've got a bus ticket for Nainatal that leaves around ten P.M. tonight. I haven't heard anyone talk about this place but according to the Lonely Planet it's a pretty green environment with the town surrounding a good size lake. There are a bunch of nature hikes winding up and through the mountains and also some narrow caves to explore.

It's mostly East and a bit North of Delhi with supposedly great views of the Himalayas. I'm crossing my fingers that the air is a hell of a lot cleaner than here 'cause this place is really starting to affect my health. I even look darker. I spent everyday for a month and half on a bicycle in the sun but I don't think that I ever got this dark. It's like the exhaust is seeping into my skin making me not exactly brown but kinda muddy-yellow. And I've lost three teeth. And a toe. But luckily it wasn't the big toe or else these flip-flops wouldn't work anymore. Maybe it's just from all of the walking though.

So what's new around here?

It's been a week since Mel left and I'm still currently in Delhi. At first I was just taking it easy, trying not to be hasty in any decisions about travel and accepting my time in Delhi. It was actually pretty enjoyable. Though when I first arrived here five weeks ago I was shocked and appalled by the filth and congestion. Now I'm seeing the place a little differently. Since being alone and frequenting the same places I've begun to make friends and engage in new and exciting conversations with many different types of people.

There is the Baba that I have coffee with on the street who tries to impart some knowledge to me but a lot of the times it comes out a bit vague, cryptic, and muddled in poor English. So some things I get and others I nod my head at. But I still look forward to that part of my day.

On my walks around the city I'm almost always stopped by locals, as are most westerners, but sometimes it's due to genuine curiosity and the exchange is good. The people here I believe are overwhelmingly good-natured.

Then there was the Sikh whom I shared a beer with and allowed me to ask questions about his culture and the differences between the many religions and deities. I received way too much info to go into it here. But again the exchange was fascinating.

And then there are the numerous other travelers that I've casually had coffee or a meal with, talking about where we're from, where we're going, what we've seen. Some I've even exchanged emails with for possible future travels. One of which is a snowboarding instructor who insists that I have to come to his home and ski the Alps. Pete are you reading this, 'cause you're coming with me.

Yesterday Andrew came in from McLeod Ganj after spending three weeks there and we spent the day doing relatively nothing. A little internetting, eating, drinking, T.V. watching. It was great to see him again yet he left this morning for his return flight. He wasn't looking too hot at midnight last night so I'm wondering how his flight went when he was only able to get four hours of sleep.

A few days ago I took a walk around a different part of town and came across an Indian boxing tournament. So I sat down and took in a couple bouts but it must have been amateur hour 'cause these kids couldn't fight. It was still nice to see a little violence though. It made me feel like I was back in the states.

Oh yeah, and this is against Mel's' better judgement, which is still sub-par to my own, but I got my ears cleaned by some guy on the street. I almost did it while Mel was here but she thought that it was just too gross. It was. Not the actual cleaning part but that he would pull out big gobs of ear wax and then wipe it on the back of his hand to show me what a "dirty man" I was. The first ear guy that I turned down said they same thing, "you very dirty man" with a scowl of disgust on his face. I suppose this was his sales pitch but I kept thinking that he was the dirty mother fucker for wiping my dirty ear wax all over his hand. At least in my ear it's hidden. I said thanks but refused to shake his hand afterwords. Actually I may never shake another Indian hand ever again.

...In the great demoralisation of the land he kept up his appearance. That's backbone.

Joseph Conrad,

Heart of Darkness

pg.36