Also, I've finally contacted co-owner of RiverIndia in Arunachal Pradesh, Nino Dai. My good friend who first planted the seed for this trip to India a few years back and the other owner of RiverIndia, Roland Stevenson and I had tried and tried to contact Nino over the past three or four weeks to no avail. Traveling to Arunachal is really the major reason for my trip to India, so it wasn't a great feeling to embark from the states not having talked to Nino for almost a month. Fortunately, masters of all things India, Arvind and Ganesh from Red Chilli contacted Nino's mother who got in touch with Nino who called me on my Indian cell phone a few hours later. Without getting my hopes up (as Roland said, in India "never count chickens until they've hatched and been tested for worms"), it looks like I'll travel out to Arunachal from mid-Nov. to mid-Dec. There, I'll guide some multi-day fishing/whitewater trips on the Subansiri River, lead a guide school for locals, and guide some expeditions on the mighty Siang river. Also, I hope to visit the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside of Tibet in Tawang where Roland has a close friend who is a monk there.
All of this is really, really exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing more of this crazy, epic country.
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When I first drove through downtown Rishkiesh from the airport, I didn't know if I'd ever go back. It seemed much too dangerous to drive through the madness, especially in an open, three-wheeled rickshaw. Driving into downtown Rishikesh five days later in a rickshaw, I realized that I've really learned to love the driving in India...not that I have a choice :)
With nine of us in the back, including two random Indian ladies (one pretty much sitting on my lap) with their big duffel bags, and two plus the driver up front, our filled-to-the-brim tuk tuk navigated the maze of autos and animals.
After the Indian ladies departed about halfway through our short journey, I was freed to turn around and capture a bit of the experience on video.
Once downtown, thanks to Flow, expert kayaker and Rishikesh veteran, we made our way to the famous lassi shop, Pappu Lassi.
Lassi is made from yogurt and enhanced with spices or sweets. I had a sweet lassi topped with sliced almonds and rosewater....sooo good! I'll certainly be back, although I'll go in the morning before they sell-out of banana lassi, their true specialty.
It is really something to walk through downtown Rishikesh, full of people, smells, colors, and shops.
We found ourselves on a big beach where many, many people gathered to bathe in the mother Ganga, washing away their sins and securing a trip to heaven! It was awesome to see so many people going to a river and giving thanks to it for providing so many life necessities.
We traveled back to the otherside of Rishikesh, had a nice long dinner, and crashed.
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Today, my plan was to get my first hot shave and head massage and go and visit an orphanage run by a good friend of Roland. India loves to toy with your plans - neither the shave shop owner or the lady who runs the orphanage were in today!
We'll see what tomorrow brings, you just never know here. I'll finish up with one of my favorite pictures I've taken so far - a man selling random goods on his cell phone, a monkey, a cow, and a god....only in India! Until next time...
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