Farewell India (for now)

With only about 12 days before I was planning to fly to Bangkok, I found myself pressed for time in India considering what I still wanted to do and see before I left. After taking only 1 day to rest after the motorcycle journey, we left Manali the next evening on a 22-hour minibus ride to Leh. Although I was in awe, staring at the breathtaking scenery, and our shadows falling on the desert sand beside us as we rode along, 22 hours is still way too long for a minibus ride, and I was already starting to dread the thought of taking the same route back. But I had time to worry about that later. For the moment I had only about a weeks worth of time in Leh, so there was no time to waste.

Our first real activity in Leh was taking a jeep up to the Khardung La Pass, which claims to be the highest motorable road in the world at 5,359 meters, and then riding (decrepit) bicycles 40 km downhill. Not considering the extreme change of altitude, I arrived in shorts, only to be greeted by hail and snow as the jeep climbed the mountain. After riding down for a half hour or so, back into normal temperatures, I decided that I wanted this experience documented on video. Holding my Flip video camera in 1 hand, I continued riding, filming the road ahead, and the beautiful views of the epic-sized Himalayan mountain range spanning across the entire horizon. This left only one hand steering, and controlling the front brake. As my friends were stopped up ahead, I decided to attempt a skidding stop. Unfortunately, it was on a patch of sand, with only the front brake, and I flipped over the handlebars. As my friends watched astonished, I lay on the ground laughing hysterically, and immediately yelled "I got it on video!" (To my dismay, the video didn't capture the fall as my camera shut off earlier in the ride while I rode over some bumps) After washing off my cuts and scrapes, and covering my half-broken fingernail, we continued the fun looping journey back down to Leh, with no further mishaps other than Amir flying off his bike when attempting to go off-road. He suffered no injuries though, and within another hour we were back in Leh, discussing what was next.

2 days later, I embarked on what was referred to as the "Baby trek" with some friends from the beginning of my trip that I ran into in Leh. Now don't let the name "Baby trek" mislead you, as it did to me. "Baby" refers to the number of days the trek should last, and not to its difficulty level, or lack thereof. Starting a trek at 3,500 meters does not give your body time to adjust to climbing at that altitude, as we did in Nepal starting at 700 meters. Additionally, we were dealing with cloudless skies, a scorching sun, and temperatures in the 90s. I was happy to conclude the trek after 3 days, and return to Leh. My last two days before flying to Delhi (I decided there was no way that I was going to do the 3-day return trip via bus(es)), we headed to Tso Moriri Lake, where an annual nomad festival was being held. The lake was stunning, reflecting the surrounding mountain views on its surface. My friends ran into the frigid waters for a dip, as I took pictures and videos. With our crew splitting off, after nearly a month of traveling together, including the bonding motorcycle trip, we celebrated with a bottle of whiskey, music, and laughs late into the night.

Returning to Delhi after over 3 months in India allowed me to see the city in a different light, and I found new things to appreciate in this big city, particularly outside of the Main Bazaar. The daytime heat and humidity was a bit restricting, and for the first time on my travels it was absolutely essential to get a room with AC. In Delhi I reunited with a few friends and really enjoyed my time there. But for weeks I already had Thailand constantly on my mind (beaches, hammocks, fruity drinks with pink umbrellas, etc.), and I knew I'd be meeting up with friends from India there, friends from home, and my cousin and brother, which was more than enough cause for excitement.

And more than that, I was just ready for the newest chapter of my journey...