My story continues at the Grand Shiva Hotel. The architecture was quite lovely, lifting my spirits (I was keeping my expectations low). I was impressed by our room—fresh sheets, nightstands, and a fairly clean bathroom. Even the enormous spider we found behind the trash can was not enough to dampen my elation.
While everyone else immediately jumped in the shower, for some reason I hesitated. I did not have the shower shoes I used at the Hanifl Centre, and I was balking at the fact that the shower was directly adjacent to the toilet. My comfort with the idea of spending another day without showering was a sign of growth, I think. If I made it ten days, I could make it eleven. So instead of showering, I simply sat outside and looked at the mountains from a balcony.
My calm demeanor also owed to my (almost) dead phone. A portable charger and a solar charger managed to sustain my battery for ten days, despite the latter charger not working as I intended. I powered my phone off with about 10% battery when I arrived to the hotel, and I was not in a particular hurry to snag time with one of the few wall plugs floating around the group. I told my loved ones I would contact them when I arrived at Hanifl. So, I figured I would stick to my promise and reach a new milestone of disconnectedness.
Soon, we heard word that lunch was ready in the dining room downstairs. Raju and Govin had kindly prepared potatoes, bell peppers, and tortillas for us. Eating our first kitchen-cooked meal in a week and a half was special. Unfortunately, we were warned not to eat the raw cucumbers and tomatoes laid on a platter (a rule of thumb for restaurants outside the Hanifl Centre). I had longed for a salad almost every night of the trek.
Satisfied and a bit tired, we returned to our rooms. I had hours to kill with no phone to distract me, so I sat for a while on the balcony with whomever wanted to talk. I also played some card games when we had enough people. Before lunch, I played Rummy with Simon, Mitch, and Eli; after lunch, I played President with Ally and various others, as well as My Ship Sails (a simple game I used to play with my Grandma and sister). We finished the day with Double Decker Harry, which was Simon’s name for a spin off of Rummikub that uses two decks of playing cards. I came excruciatingly close to victory in this game, but Ally ultimately prevailed. She deserved a win on her birthday.
At around 7:30 PM, we came down to the dining hall for dinner. The meal included chicken, rice, paneer (a popular Indian cheese), and tortillas. To thank Raju and Govin for their help at the hotel and throughout the trek, we all pitched in 500 rupees and wrote them nice cards. They smiled exuberantly as always.
By the time we finished dinner, darkness had begun to settle. Luckily, I was still wired to fall asleep and wake up with the sun, as our intended departure time the next morning was 4:30 AM. We would have left for Hanifl earlier, but internal rules stipulated we only travel with the daylight. Therefore, we planned to leave the mountains at dawn.
When I returned to my room, I still had not showered and was debating a holdout until I retuned to Hanifl. However, the thought of changing into clean clothes in my unclean state roused me to rinse off. I did not bring any shampoo or soap in my day bag for the hotel, and I was not infatuated with the shampoo packets Gaurav gave to us, so I simply stood under the water. I can confirm that every second of the experience was heaven.
Once clean, I changed and prepared for bed. It is remarkable how efficiently one can complete tasks when not facing the constant temptation to freeze time and scroll through a phone. One of my frequent complaints throughout the trip was that there was never anywhere to sit down and relax, but this feature most certainly boosted my productivity. Thankfully, I fell asleep around 9:30 PM, giving me over six hours of sleep before my alarm.
When I entered the dining room at 4:00 AM the next morning, breakfast was waiting. We had bananas, cereal with milk, and hard-boiled eggs. Hard-boiled eggs were never my favorite option, but I seized the opportunity for some protein. We made small talk in the light of our head lamps (I suppose no one found the lights in the dining room, if there were any). Only a seven hour drive through mountain roads stood between me and not needing a head lamp to be a functional human being when the sun was down.
Naturally, we walked out to the coach bus and the Jeep in a thunderstorm. The weather had been cloudy and rainy since our last campsite. During our stay at the hotel, we were literally among the clouds; fog would rise from the valleys and envelop the building. I am fine observing precipitation and cloudy weather as long as I am not in the middle of it. The pouring rain and darkness reinforced my desire for a roof and a warm bed.
The first leg of the drive was nauseating, much like our Jeep ride from the final campsite. For some reason, I again declined to take a motion sickness pill from Vipul. My stomach is typically strong, but not strong enough for a ruthless combination of bumps, turns, car horns, and oncoming traffic. When we arrived at our first rest stop, I begged Vipul for the pill and swallowed it without reservation.
Taking the medication was one of the best decisions I made on the trek. I felt much calmer and easily drifted into an hour-long nap. Fortunately, I was sufficiently awake to observe all of the food Gaurav bought from local merchants along the way. First, he lugged several bags of rice into our already brimming Jeep; then, he bought a large bag of mangos. Gaurav always made me laugh when he talked about how much he loves mangos. After having mangos a few times at the Hanifl Centre, all of us were believers too.
Once the drowsiness abated, I took control of the aux from Alex—partly to play my music, but largely to charge my phone. Most of my picks were uninteresting to Gaurav, but I got his shoulders moving to “Gasolina” and “Levitating” (he was proud to know who Dua Lipa was). When we entered Mussoorie, I played “Coming Home” and “All of the Lights” to celebrate our victory. We felt like champions.
Unfortunately, the mood soured a bit when we started to face Mussoorie traffic. May is a popular time for tourists across India seeking cooler weather and picturesque terrain. One exacerbating factor, aside from the lack of lanes and the density of pedestrians, was the frequency with which large cows walked along the roads. I always wondered who owned the cows, and Gaurav explained that no one did. Men free a cow in honor of Lord Shiva when something they pray for comes true.
If I had a cow to release, I would have done so when we arrived at the Hanifl Centre, because I prayed multiple times during that drive to any deity that would listen. Somehow, we made it alive. Exhausted but triumphant, we unloaded our equipment and stumbled into the cafeteria to enjoy hot samosas with chai. I excitedly turned off Airplane Mode and watched as texts and emails flooded my phone. I had about 270 emails and 240 texts. Fortunately, my family was happy and well, and the only somewhat important call I missed was one from my dentist asking to confirm an appointment.
Nourished, we reported to the back lawn for gear return and cleaning. I ducked out to greet Luke and Kayla, my friends from the other Pitt program in Mussoorie. Fortunately, with all of our hard work, the cleaning was complete in about an hour, giving us the rest of the afternoon to unpack and recover.
Some showered; others crashed in their beds. I spent my afternoon diligently organizing all of my belongings. At around 3:00 PM, I started getting responses from my father, mother, step-mom, and grandmother. I could not wait to hear their voices and share all of my stories. Our phone calls were brief, as everyone was attending my sister’s graduation ceremony. I was sad not to be there, but fortunately I will return in time for her graduation parties.
Just as I was about to lie down, I received a text from Luke that he and the guys from the other program were headed to the gym at Woodstock, which just became available after the high schoolers finished their term. I had enough energy for a workout, so I tagged along. We first used the gym, which was impressive and quite nice. Then, we played basketball on an extremely pristine indoor court. I was happy that I did not lost much of my strength in the gym or touch around the hoop.
Over dinner, I answered some of their questions about my time in the wilderness. One of the more popular items was the fact that we slaughtered and ate a lamb. The trek was gritty and uncomfortable, but I was already looking back on it fondly. I often say that there are two kinds of fun: Type 1 fun, which is fun in the moment, and Type 2 fun, which is not always fun in the moment but rewarding and fulfilling in the rearview. This trek was full of Type 2 fun.
When I returned to the Hanifl Centre, the group gathered to celebrate Ally’s birthday over cake and discuss the next few days in Delhi and Agra. I was sad to realize I had less than a week left in India, but I was also starting to look forward to my bed and my family. Fortunately, I had a couple of days to regroup before taking the train to Delhi. Stay tuned for a blog post about what I learned about leadership, life, and myself during the trek!