Last night I christened two furter items that I have so far lugged around North India to no end. These being my 'lightweight' sleeping bag and silk cocoon inner sheet. I'm glad to say that I consequently had a snug night, only waking at 5.30 am to the sounds of 1,2,3,4,5,6, etc being repeated again and again at different tempos and in different variations. Some form of 'weird' yoga I presumed. Having been reading the Bodhicaryavatara I decided that I would not get angry and instead reflect that, by the sounds of it, there were more of them than me so why should I prioritise my happiness over theirs (the b......). I am such a saint!
I did eventually get up around 7.30 to a brisk wash with (of course) very cold water, a quick change and then a steady descent down the steep and broad stone steps (also cold I assume) to the dining room where I was to meet the rest of our party prior to our trip to Lake Changu. I need not have hurried, naturally, so after a rare Indain breakfast of puri (I think) for me and a short taxi drive to our jeep we eventually departed around 9-9.30.
I won't go into too much details of the party except to say that it contained a Danish/Cypriot (young and very beautiful), a Swedish/Turk, a German, an Englishman (moi), two Indians and an Australian. A typical travelling crew I suppose and a fun crowd to be with.
Lake Changu was reached along the usual mixed bag of roads, good to a random collection of rocks and boulders. Exiting the car we were greeted by yak drivers (I shall term them that) paddling their wares. My first reaction was the usual uptight 'this can hardly be ethical, my man' but was soon followed by the paragliding mes 'What the Hell. let's do it'. So do it I did, even moving from the medium (moderate) ride to the long one (what do you think of that Charli, not so moderate now your Uncle is (Indian language)).
I even enjoyed the ride. So, along with my new hobbies of paragliding and motor cycling I will now be adding not Yak riding but maybe horse riding (the maybe gives it away that this is a long shot).
The whole experience around Lake Changu was surprisingly inspiring given that it is a popular tourist destination. I had a reflective walk around the path I had traversed on yakback thinking about present and future. What will I do? The world is my oyster.
A rough journey back to Gangtok accomplished the party went for a Nepalese thali where for the first time I tried eating with my hands. I quite like not having a metal intermediary between me and my food but don't like the mess and my ineptness. This could be a gradual if never thing.
And now I'm back at 'Live and Loud' which is in fact quiet but bright as they prepare the lighting for this evenings gig, which I intend to come to after dinner. Apparently it will be mostly love songs though I'm not banking on it.
Which reminds me, George MIchael was playing in a cafe on one of our stops and that made me think of my friend Maggie and of ball room and latin dancing. I'd like to take that up again with the rest of my new hobbies.
Love,
Davidx
