A quick left, a quick right, forward a bit. Komoot had found a unique way through Delhi and out into the countryside North of Delhi. Shooting down the back streets of Delhi, you see a different world. The metre-wide streets are home to small communities within the sprawling city. They become the playgrounds of children, you will interrupt a game of chase or more likely a small game of cricket. Easy to score a boundary!
I am heading for a road running along the Ganges canal which heads north. To get to it I have to traverse the countryside. Flat cultivated land with irrigation canals all over. Cycling along the cobbled streets connecting the occasional village you will come across a troop of monkeys. Don’t stare and they will get out of your way! The villages have a mixture of very nice houses and old mud-constructed houses, which have seen better days.
I eventually came to a ‘larger town.’ It had two restaurants. Stopping at the first for lunch, peas and paneer masala with many rotis. When I went to pay the owner gifted me the lunch, tourists just don’t pass through the area and he was grateful I stopped at his restaurant and talked. I continue and as usual, there is a bit of a dirt track, which in this heat was brutal.
I chose not to wild camp for two reasons. Firstly, the humidity and heat at night would mean everything gets soaked and secondly, if someone finds you the whole village will be watching your every move. You become the night and morning entertainment. Not fun when you need the toilet and just want to eat your breakfast! Luckily, there is cheap accommodation in India so you can have air conditioning as well!
Rishikesh, home of yoga or the largest tourist trap known to man!
Overhearing, a man who had been here yearly for 20 years said the place had lost its spiritual charm and he had retreated with others further into the mountains. I could see his point. Everywhere you go people come up to you to sell. Whether it is rafting, yoga courses, a meal in a restaurant, souvenirs or ear cleaning. Yep, ear cleaners, many of them were trying to push their trade. Or perhaps they were suggesting my ears are dirty!
Whilst waiting for my laundry I decided to go for a walk across the river to the Hindu temple, Trayambakeshwar, whilst it is something architecturally to admire, it loses its appeal when you see many shops selling souvenirs from inside and outside! I had made my decision to leave as soon as possible.
Moritz, a German cyclist I had met in Tajikistan, had arrived and we agreed to cycle together towards Nepal. We left early the next day to try and beat the heat and traffic! As always it wasn’t easy to get out, but we eventually crossed the river and it became a nice quiet road alongside the jungle and eventually through it.
Temples and wet tents
With few options for accommodation on our first day, we opted for a very late pitch in the dark in a small wooded area near a small town. We knew it was going to be a wet one with the level of humidity. But, we still underestimated HOW wet! The sleeping bag, clothes, tent and bike bags were dripping! We packed up knowing that we would need to use the midday sun to dry them. At least it would be quick.
The next two nights were easier in comparison; we booked a hotel with air conditioning. The advantage of being two is you can make it cheaper per night. Our final day in India as we headed towards the Nepalese border we cycled through a small town and looking down a road discovered a temple. Having time we dropped down the road to take pictures and found ourselves being ushered into the grounds once we had donned trousers and removed our shoes.
We entered the grounds, towards the temple and another person then showed us how to tie a scarf over our heads. We stopped at the crest of the temple, not knowing the rules, but another local ushered us in. Brightly lit and full of colour, like the rest of India, it was amazing to look at. People praying, making donations with a prayer being sung out loud for the whole town to hear.
We exit to look at the rest of the grounds and discover a large manmade lake at the back of the temple. Walking around we come across two women and suddenly think this area is only for women! But once again they ushered us in and once I confirmed it was okay to take pictures I was free to photograph this serene place. Further walking around we came to a hall with many paintings from various periods. The lady looking after the hall was trying to explain they were Sikhs and not Muslims; this was clear from the paintings which depicted many battles between the two religions.
It was finally time to leave India and head to Nepal for some trekking and maybe some tigers, if we are fortunate.