Hair Down in the Himalayas

Originally, I thought I would be in Delhi for a week and then move onto other places, but then Shweta said she would be in Delhi until the 3rd and then we could go back to Gujarat together. I liked the plan and felt I could bear 10 days in Delhi. When we could not get tickets until the 5th, leaving 3 days later than we had planned, and since I was sick and miserably hot, I felt like being in Delhi all that time was more than I could bear. I was at my wits end and wanted more than anything to go to a cooler place. I spoke with Shweta and we planned on taking a weekend trip to Nainital, a town with a lake in the Himalayas. I was really looking forward to going to the mountains after a week of 110-118 degree weather. The morning we were supposed to leave, Shweta informed me she and her friends could no longer go because she had some new work to complete in her lab before she went home (she just finished her PhD). I understood her situation and started looking for another travel companion. I found a girl at the hostel who wanted to go and we arranged to leave by bus that night. When I came back to the hostel at 4pm she told me she could no longer go because her friend was coming into town to see her. I was so disappointed because I had my heart set on getting out of hot hot Delhi. What's more, I had been reading about Nainital and the nearby Almora where Swami Vivekanada had stayed and Kausila where Gandhi had been. I was crushed and when Shweta came home from the lab that day, she could see that I was upset about it and immediately called her friends to say that the trip was on.

My friend, Apana, came to visit me right after that. I barely had time to eat dinner and shower. By 9pm I was in a car with Shweta, Abhishek, and Rushmi. We traveled all night to the Himalayas and had breakfast at the hostel's housekeeper's brother's house and then went to Nainital. I slept just a couple of hours, but my joy at being in the cool mountains was enormous. We took a lift up to a high point and enjoyed the goosebumps and views, walked around the mall, and then hired a boat to tour the lake. We visited the temple, ate food, and relaxed a bit. It was soooooooo wonderful to be in Nainital. There wasn't time to visit Almora or Kausali, but I said a prayer that I would be inspired during my study of the Gita here by these two great men. More than anything, I just enjoyed the comfort of letting my hair down without sweating and not having balmy skin.

However, I realize that it was not nice of me to drag my three friends so far just because I wanted to go so badly. Poor Shweta almost caught a cold and we had a crazy drive home because the driver was extremely tired and nearly fell asleep at the wheel many times. I stayed awake with him all night to make sure he wouldn't sleep, but it was hard because I also was nearly falling asleep! Plus, we got another flat tire--Shweta has a theory that the tire repare shops put nails on the road to icnrease business. I think she is right. This is our 3rd flat tire in 2 trips. Ridiculous. Well, tomorrow I will be on the train for Gujarat with Shweta. I am hoping her mom will teach me how to make Indian food. My stomach issues are gone and I am chilling in a cooler Delhi. It's funny when you think 100 degree weather is cool.