Bullet Returns: Solapur - Pune (Day 2)

The road from Solapur to Pune is really nice. As B would say, makkhan jaisa. We would drive at 80kmph mostly. It was an easy and smooth drive.

We started a little earlier than the previous day. I entertained myself by doing the levitation magic with Bhaskar during breakfast at the Tripursundari hotel. :)

B was to get off at Pune at his parents' place. But the plans changed after we reached.

I kept obsessing about Thalipeeth, a Maharashtrian pancake. So despite the breakfast, we stopped at a dhaba near Indapur. I inquired about thalipeeth and the owner responded with a but-of course.

It was maha tasty and they give this really chilli chutney. It hit home.

Lunch was nice too. B was keen to eat a clean place. It was called Deva. We ate regular fare - like one brinjal curry and dal with roti. But the nice part was sitting outside Deva. It was a good decision to just sit and stare at vehicles passing by. We just kept staring. A car would go. A motorcycle. A truck. A man with a Gandhi cap and a woman. A cycle. Life keeps going. Going on.

We reached Pune by 5pm or so. Who knows. That's how it seemed. The cities are maddening. The traffic. Pollution. Heat. My eyes water and itch. I started sneezing. I live in a cocoon in the city - moving from inside of a car to inside of a home or office. The body loses its tolerance.

B hadn't told his family that we were coming. It was a surprise for them. It was a nice evening. Aunty made nice dinner. I ate heartily. Everyone had to go to someone's place. I slept by 10pm or so - for the next 9 hours - snoring the day out. I remember I had weird dreams.

Bullet Returns: Hyderabad - Bidar - Solapur (Day 1)

After landing, getting my helmet (checked in with a fragile sticker) and getting a shared cab, I reached Bhaskar's place quite late. We started I guess around 11am or so...can't remember. But I remember the feeling when I got on the Bullet - just felt one with it. Like, fish taking to water - I kept telling B.

We stopped first somewhere outside of Hyderabad. The whole region is so dry. The roads were bad. B said it's connected - the region being dry - no agriculture, no money generally so no money for development of roads.

We were riding together after 9+ years - last was Aug or Sept 2007. I realize now that you just don't notice the gap in time. Both of us fit assumed our roles, behaviors as we had earlier so many years back. I kept thinking of 'tuning' among people. We can spend a lot of time with an individual but if the tuning isn't there then working hard towards making tuning happen is weird. On the other side, you may not spend anytime with someone but somehow the tuning happens and time is of no consequence. Also, tuning in one sphere need not translate to other areas of life.

The big difference after all these years is Google maps! When riding at the back, I looked up various places and then randomly felt we should go to Bidar in Karnataka. We thought we'll go there for lunch, may be see a fort or two.

Once Karnataka starts, the roads get better. Bidar is up at a higher altitude. The weather is somewhat cooler as you reach the city. But once you reach the city, it seems like any other tier 4 town in India. We asked someone where we could eat and what we could eat.

He mentioned ABC restaurant near the bus stand. So we went in search of it. Locals tend to point to the "best looking" restaurant when you ask them for references for a good place to eat. It won't necessarily have the tastiest food, leave alone local food.

ABC turned out to be a local Biryani place. We both liked it. They put cauliflowers - nice, tasty ones in the biryani! It was filling but didn't bloat me. B had some chicken kababs. He's cut down a lot what he eats - no sugar, no tea, eats little and I was surprised to see him. He was very lean.

Both of us didn't wear watches. We realized after lunch that it was 3pm. So we said we should start heading towards Sholapur.

On the way out of Bidar, I nearly ran into an auto that was taking a U-turn in the middle of the road. It scared B the whole episode. I don't know what happened. I think I estimated it to turn or what. But I was able to control things and keep going.

That's when the drive started getting difficult. The roads are bumpy leading up to Sholapur. As much as we wanted to avoid night driving, we got stuck by dusk. We were middle of no where.

It being New Year's eve, B wanted to reach a nice place, unwind, eat good food and drink scotch etc. So we continued.

After dusk, it became difficult to see the road. Speed cut down to 40kmph. To engage Bhaskar and to help me avoid the focus on the pain of sitting on the rear seat (it pretty much cuts into your butt after a point - it helps I guess if you have a bigger bum to cushion - I don't!), I started narrating a couple of movie stories - Kali and Charlie - both Malayalam Dulquer Salman movies that I had obsessively watched in 2016.

We finally reached Sholapur after 8pm I think. We weren't keeping track of time. We just moved and moved - alternating when one of us couldn't take the back seat anymore. Despite the challenge, the night was nice in its own way.

A couple of boys on another enfield helped us find Tripursundhari hotel, which Google suggested is a good one (it was OK). We were both exhausted. Ate well. I couldn't drink much more than a bottle of Carlsberg (beer) and then I had ordered two so I had some more - once you stop, the body resists. B had that whiskey that Sug recos (I had introed it to him years ago). We talked well into the night about all kinds of things. It was very nice.

The body gets exhausted faster with age. I could tell the difference from 9 years ago. Or it could be the lack of rhythm of sitting in that motorcycle-angle for long periods of time. It got better the next day. But the roads, if they are bad, bash you up.

Bullet calling

I just booked my tix to hyd. Right after selling off the nano, I got the idea of getting the Bullet back to Mumbai and utilizing the parking lots in the building. It's been years since it's been here. May be 2007 or 2008 when life was so different. I drove to Kaniyakumari back then - the last long drive I guess. Hmmm. Bhaskar and I will be driving from hyd to mumbai now on 31st and 1st. I have a mild worry - very mild but it exists. That's what time does - it makes you forget who you are or were. It's the same Bullet that's gone to Leh, same that's gone to Munnar and so many places in the country. Children or for me, my son - they play a strong role in one's mind. You begin to worry for yourself suddenly. But there's no end to this stuff.

I'm looking forward to this one. It's very short but will be worth the while. Thankfully, I won't be sitting and answering phones or messaging new year wishes. I'll be some place I don't know. Yet.

How could 2016 pass without a trek or trip? It's crazy. Anyways...

Kili: Less than a week to go (wrote on Feb 2, 2014)

We will be trekking, climbing by the weekend. Kilimanjaro. It's happened quite randomly...it was never in my mind to climb this mountain...it's africa's highest, world's highest freestanding and also the highest volcano...it's never been an active volcano. We are climbing via the Rongai route...I learn that it's the least scenic and also the least occupied...it's approaches Kili from the northern side...near to Kenya. I wonder if it'll all be busy, touristy...may be, may be not. I keep thinking about the last night, day...it'll be a 15hour climb and descent...the body just needs to stay put, keep doing its thing.

I've been reasonably fit this time round...yoga has been very helpful. My routine has involved weight training at the gym 3x a week (cross-training everyday, lowers with focus on each leg), running/ walking the full stretch of Juhu beach (to-fro) 2x or so/ week and more recently 2-3 times yoga/ week. The yoga (when I did carefully, slowly) has increased the flexibility of my muscles in a fairly short while...it keeps me safe during weight training.

Will write again...am distracted with TV...some awards show...

Bhutan: Final words

This is the first time I've written this blog so much longer after a travel. Bhutan created a deep impression in my mind and as I wrote it (with the help of my mindmaps/ notes), I could recollect everything...in fact, I could actually see it, feel it, experience it. It's one of those places, I could go back again and again and again. And I could live there. I feel a sense of belonging in some places...in a lot of places actually when I go deep inside. With its rawness, I felt it there...I feel it for Bhutan. The country is rapidly changing, modernizing...it shows up with one of the highest growth rates in The Economist rankings (I think top 5 or 10 for 2013-14). With its changes, it'll also change its perception of happiness. I was curious to find out about this happiness thing...that's why I went. I can't say the people were happier than the rest of us...people are the same everywhere. I saw fear glittering in Sonam's eyes...that night when they trailed off the trail...I heard Cookie talk of his ambitions...I heard stories of uncles who had gone on up to mountains to meditate and never returned...the region is different...they are more calmer, people have an easier, more accepting view of life...but then they also have variations of the same emotions...fear, anger, love, hate, lust, contempt, greed and so on. How could it be any other way?

**
(Below is what I wrote in my notes immediately after the trek)

I was in an Indigo plane after Everest Base Camp. Everything felt strange, difficult. This time not so much. My ear block (I remember now I even had this ailment!) seems to have just disappeared. I'm more adjusting - even accepting. The psychological burden of the trek was interfering...but what a bliss! Is Bhutan really the happiest place - I wonder? There is confusion there - all the basic human tendencies exist. Some are dealt with differently. Well...it feels strange to have my ear and hearing back. My throat....is vague - difficult to explain. Wonder about the Hyd trip - should I simply have gone back to Mumbai? I don't know.

(some random words...)

New way of organizing. Extreme attention to detail. Focus, narrow narrow narrow. Whiteness. Gross National Happiness? Design and priorities. Community. Remote working. Thinking ahead - making list, executing. Stability of mind. Trust. Presence is nice but something more? No fakeness. Fix fly. Tighten. Do less. Cut-out distractions. Empathy. Extreme attn to detail.

(And then I saw this doodle...)

That's that.

Bhutan: Return to the plains (Day 15, 16, 17)

DAY 15
After Koina, we reached the campsite we were supposed to go to the previous night.  It was all the way up. I was glad we didn't do it the previous day. We had an early start and reached the camp 3.5 hours later. Had a good breakfast after.

We kept descending going towards Gasa. Somewhere I tried washing my face...in a waterfall and caught an eye infection. Ok, thank you! I looked a mess again with some gooey coming out of my eye all the time and my eye was red. I think I put some medicine...nothing helped. It finally went away on its own by the next day.

My general state of mind was ruffled with the happenings of the previous day. I'm sure it was the same for everyone. We were okay but also not...something like that. When I reached Gasa, I turned my phone on. And from the messages I gathered that my dad wasn't going to be available in India for his 70th birthday. I had requested for a change in the entire trek schedule (which happened) so that we could coordinate the dates. What fun, I thought. :)

At the final camp site, the trek organizer had got us a lot of goodies...beer, cool drinks, cookies...I can't remember what I ate but basically, I couldn't consume much. The trek and our life there seemed better, nicer. I was feeling very strange being back.

The next morning I called Patta...asking if I could stay at his place and Ahaan and Suzette would come there a day later in Hyderabad...if he wanted to hangout etc. This was the alternate plan to Nana's birthday hangout. So he said yes and that was the plan. (The Hyderabad trip ended up being great fun with Kody and family also joining...Neelu sent me to some closeby expensive hotel for massage...I took a few days to be physically normal).

The dinner was strange. Everyone was there but there were disconnects. But we ate, we spoke, we joked.

DAY 16
The drive to Thimphu was maha fun. Different people took turns being the DJ. We went to see the Punakha dzong on the way. There were these purple flowers...beautiful trees...purple flowers all on the ground, monks sitting chatting, praying, joking. Divya said those were jacaranda trees. I liked the drive. We bought lot of junk food. We bought stuff on the highway...like that red-chillies paste with corn...I loved it. We finally reached Druk hotel. There was TV...I like to watch mindless TV after treks...I watch it without knowing what am watching...just staring into the TV. In some odd way, it helps me reconcile with the reality...to accept that the trek is over and we are in the city...something like that. I remember drawing too. It's what I happily do when I want to do nothing.

That night we had a great time at dinner...wine, gossip and stuff. The hotel manager came up to Mayur and asked if he knew a friend of his who had died a year ago. We were all shocked. He showed us the friend's facebook pic...and told us how dear a friend he was. We talked a lot about rebirth and reincarnation. I was reading Tibetan Book of Living and Dying through the trek and I remember being very active and animated about some story I had read about how an Englishman remembered a past life from several generations ago and helped archeologists discover and make sense of the entire landscape (can't remember where this was)...middle-east/ Europe.

DAY 17
There was sightseeing and stuff the next day. I think I took a break and went to sleep in between...I missed the Thangka painting school...Milan took several pictures...I would've loved to see it from the look of the pics. Very technical art work. Earlier we went to the general post office - it's an interesting place...Bhutan celebrates everyone's success...it could be US going to the moon, there'll be a stamp...India gets independence, there'll be a stamp. It's an amazing, amazing place. And amazing, amazing people.

We had pizza for lunch, did some shopping...the whole day was generally vague for me...being in this city-like life. I loved one book shop...but never bought anything from there.

Bhutan: Koina where hell broke loose (Day 14)

We were descending. I caught on a weird persistent cough...everyone kept asking, how are you? I must've looked a mess...though I couldn't gauge it myself. Our group had its ups and downs through the trek but this was the day when humpty and dumpty had a fall. One part of our group reached the lunch spot late while the others were waiting for well over an hour. Possibly, I could be the cause of that delay :) There was some decisions during lunch on whether we would camp at Koina or beyond and it was finally decided that it would be Koina because of my condition. I was a little confused on what my response needed to be - should I be insisting no, am okay...let's go all the way or should I just follow instructions and not potentially trouble everybody. I decided to follow instructions - that was my role there.

We reached Koina. Our horses had moved ahead, some part of our group had moved ahead. The camping site was moist. Finally the group reunited...the ones who went further, returned. But by then there was so much stress...physical, mental, psychological that we had some fireworks amongst ourselves. Anger, confusion, frustration, sadness and all the stuff that usually follows anger. I did what I usually do...went and did my kriya in one corner in the mountains :) It was nice...calming. Then I cleaned up my bag, settled the various currency notes I had, ate some bar...just kept myself occupied. Nothing that one would say or do at this point would be perceived rationally because everyone's minds were up, up and away and emotion was rife. Tanaav is an amazing thing.

Dusk fell...it was cold. I found the family living in that Koina house (it was a house...with a choking cooking, fireplace inside) very endearing...the father especially. I sat and sketched the mountain ahead and the fallen tree. It seemed as though a landslide had occurred. The father took interest. I was sketching on a card that one Laughing Buddha-like lady had given me in Paro - beginning of the trek. I gave the card to him. It's been several months -- I can still see the image of that landslide place clearly...drawing is an amazing thing. Later the father offered me betel leaves and lime (it's called doma)...it does give a kick...I put it in my mouth. Sharing doma is a friendly gesture.

At night when I went to pee...I saw the moon. It looked like a tube-light...round of course but so bright and white. I didn't need any headlamps.

So that was that. The groups finally reconciled to the situation but stayed distant. Some were quiet, some laughed, some were normal, some were introspective, some observed, some smiled, some ignored...Late at night, a few of the staff members brought back our sleeping bags...they went all the way up and back. Torturous. We had put them through it. Possibly, I had in some way created this situation with my cough and such - I'll never know. When they arrived, the boys were still smiling. It was amazing, humbling.

Koina was very interesting.

Bhutan: Reaching Laya and the rest day (Day 12, 13)

DAY 12

By this time, our group had its own gossip and masala. It was the last day in the mountains...we were actively descending. I felt like spending more time with and within myself. I thought about the Long Tail in a different way...when you pursue happiness or rather what you think gives you happiness, there's also a long tail of dissatisfaction that comes along in small, small ways. It goes hand-in-hand...you can examine any situation and that'll be true. Mumukshatva is to let go of both joy and no-joy...to be neutral and therefore be liberated.

Anyways, the waterfalls started thinning down wherever they were. I remember having a very quiet moment there...chomping on some almonds. We ran into confident locals who waved hi. I could hear the din of JCBs sometimes. One of the staff (everyone called him LT) - a 22 year old kid who used to do photoshopping in an IT park in Thimphu - told me all about Laya's wealthy Nomads. They weren't wealthy to begin with but started finding and selling Cordyseps...the bug that goes into Chinese medicine...it sometimes sells for $12,000/ kg. So the nomads got wealthy, they bought yaks, they bought winter homes in Laya, painted them, rented it out to travelers like us, they also bought a lot of home appliances...

That night, it was one of trek-mates birthdays and Cookie baked a real big cake with carrots and such using just aluminum foil and pressure cooker! It was amazing. The staff gifted a wooden phallus! We had arra (made of barley)...the local liquor. 

We were all getting back to the plains...ouch, ouch, ouch.

DAY 13

This was a very nice relaxing day...it was sunny, the mountains looked spectacular. We gave each other head and shoulder massages...I thought my shoulder would dislocate itself...I learnt that my backpack wasn't a good one...blah blah bleh. I was amused to see Mayur's many many tattoos and I think even one ring. Candi and I made 5 plaits with Divya's extremely long hair...and even tied it with some twigs/ grass.

We could see the majestic Tiger mountain in the distance...I felt like shaving. I borrowed Candi's broken mirror and shaved all my beard...it generally felt nice.

We strolled all over Laya...it's a group of 5 villages. We stopped at a house...the lady invited us up, she had a beautiful baby...we walked more, took more pics...it was laidback, nice. I got into a field and found two fierce dogs guarding it. They were eating something when they spotted me. I didn't know whether to run or stand. I decided to quietly walk back and thanks to their lunch...they ignored me. Finally, we ended up at the alter of someone house...they invited us in. There was a puja going on. The main priest's baritone voice took us to another zone. I felt like meditating. It was all too much. (I've written about this in the Natgeo article).

Bhutan: Sonam the ninja and Cookie the cook

Sonam (he's 36 years old...always dressed as a Ninja in black, with a big knife and he has this Kung-fu type body) gave me company to the campsite...we talked about Nagarjuna movies (he saw Don #1 in which the villain is a Bhutanese actor)...I was surprised that he saw Telugu movies! He told me several things during our walk...about their health system (many doctors, sent by the government to be educated in other countries), their youth wanting to look like Korean pop stars, about the gross national happiness index, about alcohol is offered even to Buddha (nothing wrong...whatever is available in the world is there for us), sex and phallus and divine madman, about no gays in Bhutan, about his work in Japan (he worked there for 5 years), about his parents and farmland, about the development he saw in the last 30 years under the 4th king, about Internet and its usage, about polygamous relationships, about the benevolent 4th king whom people loved (he keeps giving land away and isn't money-minded) and about how he educated people about democracy. He told me once that he was told that he was a bird in his previous life. I generally found him very knowledgeable.

In that chat with Sonam...some themes kept resonating...that people know what's right (inside) and often major decisions are left for them to take instead of a government or a higher authority intervening. The other theme was that nothing is taboo...there's really nothing to be averse to or have obsessiveness towards...everything is the same...on being neutral...there's a gentleness in approach about everything.

Here are my notes of Sonam and Cookie...

Bhutan: My toughest day on the trek...Sinchey La (Day 11)

DAY 11
I didn't sleep well the previous night. It started there. The next morning, I ate a cold, boiled egg...big mistake. My left ankle ached...I padded it with two socks. I coughed. Okay, I thought - let's do this - the highest pass on our trek, the fourth pass...the most difficult one. Sinchey La...over 5,000m.

As I kept trekking, my heart rate kept going up. Nothing seemed okay. I could feel that boiled egg rolling in my stomach. Most of the group had gone ahead. Sonam kept checking on me every half hour or so. I trekked pretty much alone. It was nice in some ways. I'm trying to remember...yes, Milan started last and I think he went ahead somewhere along the way.

We finally caught up at the base of this Sinchey mountain. I was just not up to it. I gulped some Gu gel. Then started...I could see the others as various colored dots in the snow...each color their jacket. I took one slow step at a time. Gasel the horseman met me along the way and insisted I sit on the horse...I think this happened about 7-8 times on the way to the summit. I kept saying no - I think even very firmly. I was trying to tell him that look I can do this...it's just that I have this egg rolling in my stomach...so I'll do it slowly....don't pressurize me! I recall some horse trotted close to me and pushed me to the ground. Luckily, I fell on the side where I wouldn't fall all the way down!

Milan sent instructions through someone for me to pop another Gu gel...I did. But it didn't help. I kept doing it at my pace and finally I reached. I remembered to take Pradeep's Beardo hat out, wear it and take a pic. I was totally drained. Milan, Divya and Amit were waiting on top. Amit was sliding, jumping around. It was a lot of fun...a nice reunion. Milan told us to start descending...can't stay on top for too long and we did.

Divya helped a lot at lunch and at the campsite. At lunch, I had difficulty sitting and serving myself. Back at the camp, I had high fever...fatigue fever I think. I was beat. After vicks, crocin, soup this and that...I recovered by dinner.

After descending Wang De (one of the staff) gave me company...everyone else was far ahead...in my fatigued state, I slipped into a river...wet my boots (ouch it's cold!) plus there was rain...but I finally settled as we reached the plains or lower altitude and the weather didn't matter, I kept walking.