Delhi to Sarahan

Delhi to Sarahan

11:00am...daily life in Delhi is comprised of a few daily garauntees...heat...dust so thick that it sticks to the back of my throat as i ride...i can taste the masala and chai from the street whallas...a blend of orderly chaos and not least waiting...of which i am doing my fair share right now...waiting for my insurance papers...3rd party liability which over 50% of delhi drivers don't have...actually to be clear over 50% of drivers have no insurance at all...when i asked a delhi police officer about getting insurance for my bike he laughed...wagged his head side to side in indian fashion...which incidentally resembles the same motion my dogs make when they really focus on what i am saying to them, but of course have no idea what i want them to do...which makes me wonder...perhaps they do know what i am saying and have the indian side to side wag imprinted in their genes...but i digress and with a wag and a laugh the police officer said that insurance was not necessary especially in the mountains and at most it would cost me $50Rps of baskesh (bribe) if i was caught...[incidentally i write this post from my notes of two weeks ago...i have been stop many times and not one police officer has asked for my papers...]...at any rate 3 days after my get the fuck out of delhi i wait for my insurance papers...$12.50 CDN for the year...i just found out the insurance man incurred a flat tire on his moped and will be another 30 mins...which means an hour...1:45pm insurance man comes....

i meet up with Nikku who lives in Chandigarh and works as a lawyer...his hospitality is awesome...i have a great talk with his father who spent many years in the army and knows the hills like the back of his hand...i met Nikku through CS and again the website has come through connecting me another great Friend...i feel great however the first leg was more tiring than i thought it would be...my lower back is quite sore...actually know that i think about it...my seat on the bike resembles a slab of concrete...ya Nikku i know u told me to change it...but i knew better...ok go for it..."you told me so."

"Look at her attitude...butter wouldn't melt in her mouth..." Nikku

Nikku and i toured the city of Chandigarh which is India's only planned city...the commission was awarded finally to Les Corbousier...being one of my favorite designers i loved the city...the highlight i have to say was the Nic Chand rock garden...a city worker one day started to make sculptures using recycled materials...it's an amazing work of art...the highlight of all the art galleries that i have seen so far in india...

I left Nikku and his family and rode for shimla...past shimla and headed to kufri for the night...a small town known for it's skiing...although i don't think that many foreigners come here to ski as it's a cute run down little village...the weather is a bit cool although the scenery is spectacular...so many shades of green...i can't count that high...did god create so many shades of green...or was it microsoft...today i am not colour blind anymore...every photo i take looks green to me and i check the settings on my camera just to make sure...and the light...in the evenings at around 5pm...it's so amazing...like nothing i have ever seen [ and this is true for the entire trip...without looking at my watch i know when 5pm comes around as the light is so beautiful]...i picked up a hitch hiker this evening and drove him to fargo which was about 15kms down the road...i wanted to check out the town and when he asked for the ride i didn't mind...when we arrived he bought me some chai which was the first of many offers...every town i stop at their will be at least one local who speaks english well and is curious about me...an offer of chai is guaranteed and for the most part i of course accept...honestly looking at dilapidated monasteries, gompas and stupas takes it's toll on my curiosity...i would much rather chill and play charades with some locals...

after a chilly start i reached Narkanda around a 11am fuel up and experience my first bit of rough road...my heart tells me it will get much worse...[funny how my heart was right]...i also lost my speedo cable this morning which means i am limited in measuring distances and the amount of fuel i am using...this doesn't excite me and i won't be able to get it fixed until leh...[incidentally no speedo has really bothered me and i will probably leave it until i get back to delhi...] i haven't seen any other foreigners on bullets yet...actually i haven't seen any foreigners...i guess most travel straight up to manali from shimla...i saw a vulture today eating a calf that i guess was hit by a truck...i don't pass any judgement on the bird however it did look a bit guilty...hmmm...

the lush green of yesterday has been replaced with lillooet desert this afternoon...as i ride into Sarahan...a quiet little town with a simple but harsh standard of living for the locals...there's a beautiful monastery here where i can sleep however i choose a guest house on the edge of town instead...the greenery has returned in mild fashion and the night air is light and full of energy...riding from village to village is like travelling back in time...crouching tiger sort of thing...there are so many little villages...spots on the mountains...with no visible roads leading to them and no obvious reason for them being there...makes me wonder about my existence and my reasoning...[ i haven't in my life had so much time being alone...i often think about the same topic over and over again...i talk out loud to myself as i ride along...i make up stories where i am the hero and villain...it's really quite weird and at the end of these Shakespearean monologues i often think to myself what the fuck was i thinking about that for...

rest in peace

mag