The Land of High Contrast

Hello from the Himalayas! We just finished our trek and are staying in McLeod Ganj for the week.

On the plane ride from San Francisco to Hong Kong, I had an OE for Southeast Asia tell me “while India is easily the biggest pain-in-the-butt country to be a traveler, it is without a doubt the most beautiful and rewarding place to experience.” How these words have reigned true. Just from the past couple of days I can give you more than a few examples.

Minutes into day one of our trek, I almost fell off a hill after being knocked to the ground by a mule. Yes, a mule. Then, within the next thirty minutes I had fallen two more times (without a mule’s help). Now, I could have told you this would happen. But even though I knew this, my clumsiness still bothered me. I was beginning to have doubts about wanting to do this hike. I was extremely exhausted by the time we reached our camping grounds. But soon, I realized that the scenery was worth my exhaustion. As I set up my hammock, I listened to the sound of the nearby village — the local children playing, the river water rushing past the rocks, and the drums of a wedding taking place up the hill. Waving at passers-by while writing postcards from my hammock, I felt at peace. I thought to myself, “the work was worth it”. This became a central theme over the next few days of the trek.

No matter how tired and sore I was, no matter how many falls I took, and no matter how bad of a mood I was in, the positives always outweighed the negatives.

This became most apparent on the third day of our trek. I woke up thinking it would be an easy day. Our guides had told us that it was mostly downhill, so it shouldn’t be hard, right? No. When I saw the steep slope that we would basically be rock jumping down, I knew this would be the opposite of an “easy day”. While the first hour was filled with a plethora of imbalance and clumsiness, it wasn’t until I stepped on a slippery rock and slid crotch-first into a bush that I felt actual embarrassment. Not even fifteen minutes later I fell once again, this time it was hands first into a puddle. Frustrated, I told the group that I needed some time without anyone talking to me. During our next break, I sat my angsty self down on a rock overlooking a river. I began to calm down, but all calmness flew out the window once I noticed I was sitting in goat poop. While I couldn’t help but laugh, I was done. I just wanted to get to the campsite and go to sleep.

While my mood was at a record low for this trip so far, I began to slowly brighten up the closer we got to camp — not because of the prospect of sleep and a warm meal, but because of the landscape. The layers of mountains and the river running between them could only bring a smile to your face. As we arrived at camp and were served a warm chai, I remembered “the work was worth it”.

This trip is going to be hard — it’s supposed to be — but the people we meet and the experiences we will have will be completely worth it.

Until next time,
Jordan