Hannah’s Weblog

After a well deserved sleep, warm shower and face mask Kim and I woke early, met up with Will and James, drank some morning chai and caught the 10 hour bus ride to Joshimath.

From Rishikesh, this journey took us from start to finish up through the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. The hair raising road clung tightly to the edge of the mountains, with a sheer drop plumeting down to the river Ganges (nb. It is infact called the river Ganga, once again we name something that is not ours and hence forth in prononcing it incorrectly)…This road was not for the faint hearted I assure you, it was littered with warning signs that reminded drivers of safety in a fantastically Indian way “Speed thrills, do not let it kill” “You have a license to drive, not to fly” “Life is a journey, ensure you live it” etc etc. The excellent driver did us proud with his 30 mph crawl along this terrifyingly narrow, bumpy, crumbling track….. The view luckily distracted us from fear of death…(man I love to dramacticise everything!!) it wasnt that scary infact I was thouroughly engrossed in my book most of the way, took a little nap and listened to Kim’s ipod, so I really enjoyed sitting and watching for hours…… Sunrise over this amazing mountain range was spectacular, cruising through the range passing nothing for hours except other buses doing similar routes. Slowly we came across small villages, then to my surprise towns, then entire civilisation!! I couldnt help thinking how could people live so far away from everything?…..but at the same time what do they need to be near? What is everything?mmmmm…….I wander…They have everything they need plus the added bonus of growing and living in such an idyllic setting! We stopped for breakfast of roti and some veg curry then back on the road……I cannot desribe this journey i’ll let you check out the photos (which I will upload soon)

We arrived in Joshimath 3 hours later than scheduled due to a landslide and the road disappearing down the mountain. We couldnt have been stranded in more of a perfect setting however,we sat and enjoyed the sunshine and I made a little friend who kept me company as we drew together. I knew those  glittery pens would come in handy!

Joshimath for one night, then we caught a cable car up the mountains to Auli. Auli is India’s premier ski resort, and the second highest in the world…..But lets not forget we were still infact in India, so this meant stopping the button lift at 2pm (why would they do that?), charging you Rs50 everytime you use the button lift, and having NO HEATING anywhere!!

We arrived in the middle of a snow blizzard, and were left to our own devices on the top of the mountain with our huge packs minus our waterproofs. Kim and I volunteered to go suss out the hotel that had been raved about (in the lonely liar), it was infact an unfinished concrete eye-sore….The hotel was unfortunatly out of our price range so we covered ourselves with our waterproof gear and headed out to face the snow and cold. Auli had just been covered and was still being covered in a fresh blanket of fine powder. So steps were no longer steps and paths no longer paths. We had to take off our packs and slide them down the steep slippery slopes to where there was more accomodation. We finally found somewhere, and in keeping with the previously mentioned places we have stayed was pretty dam basic. It had a roof, and two bunk beds and a concrete floor, what else did we need?………….(yes! I am managing to sound positive )

 We had an amazing time, dispite the sub zero temperatures. The views were breathtaking and I have never seen so much soft untouched snow! It was up to my waist most of the time, and considering I am not the best skiier this is where I found myself most of the time (beats face first). One thing we couldnt understand was why nowhere had heating, or why it did not work. It is quite unbelievable really as people live there, they must simply have thick skin as we were cold to the bone all the time. We skiied, then slept in the same clothes, with no way of gettin warm this was the only option, oh and then skiied again (without changing or even revealing any bear skin). Luckily however on the second day the clouds were kind enough to stay away and allow the gorgeous Indian sun to shine. We enjoyed a beautiful day, a blue watercolour sky and now we could enjoy the views and suddenly paying the Rs50 per ride up didnt seem so bad. 

 Auli is precious, in its raw, under prepared for skiiers state. Looking back it seems crazy that we could even ski in India, and charming that even at this altitude India remains consistant in its lack of comfort and willinessd to progress. Will and James stayed on a day longer and were fortunate to stay in a little room with room service and a little fire heater, so our experience has to be put down to our scroogy budget, and stingy ability to spend more than Rs100 ( 1 quid) on a room………… Auli was great fun, we drank whisky with sweet milky coffee, ate some scrummy food and the setting was priceless. I have to consider myself lucky enough to have experienced Auli like this. We all discussed and half expect some rich Maharajah to cash in on this untouched resort and build an airport, 5 star hotels and cover it in annoying touts and persistant rickshaw drivers??!!I mean skiing in the Himalayas! Its pretty dang cool!

Kim and I left after skiing on the second day, as we had to get back for our yoga and meditation course. We decended back down to Joshimath, which then seemed pretty warm in comparison and checked in above the equivilent of a greasy spoon. Again I am trying to keep this positive as I do not want to put everone off India (the meditation is obviously  having a good effect on me) the room was mmmmm…basic. But had the luxury of a t.v! Seriously Kim and I were in heaven!!! We scoffed a hearty dinner of rice and tandoori chicken, put on a few extra layers and climmed into our dirty but not disgusting beds (dammit, I said I was trying…). We couldn’t have been happier as we relaxed and watch a cheesy movie about American chicks not wanted to commit. 

It was puuuurfect!