I have learned and experienced a lot of things in India, esp humanity. I am grateful to all the kind people who have helped me along the way, some of whom are strangers. Kindness requires no language.
The most valuable lesson I have learned is patience. There is no way you can hurry situations to your favour in India. You have nothing but patience to deal with all the unexpected situations. New tag line for me "patience patience meditation".
Next is ecology. I am surprised there are barely plastic bags in India. Eco bags are available everywhere and some of the bags are beautiful/funky.
Another interesting lesson I have learned is to ask stupid questions. No one will laugh at you. In fact, they will gladly explain it to you. I have gained immerse knowledge by asking these questions.
Just want to say a BiG THANK YOU to all the Angels below.
1. An Indian uncle on the Mumbai - Ahmadabad train who helped me get a refund for my lunch. It was an unexpected surprise.
2. A honest auto rickshaw uncle who charged me only 10rupee (while others are charging me 50rupee ) for a 1km distance (Haridwar railway to Haridwar bus stand). Gave him more than 10rupee.
3. The taxi driver who charged me only 10rupee for a ride from Hunder to Disket at 5.30AM. He didnt want more than this... I was baffled.
4. Mr. Stobgais Shalak of Lingchen tours at Leh, Ladakh who taught me how to go to Nubra Valley and Kargil the local way. Thank you for helping me arrange for early taxi pick ups (5am and 4.30am respectively) to Nubra Valley and Kargil. I cant Thank You enough.
5. Mr. Chander Singh, owner of Mandakini Guest house, Gangotri. Thank you for your kind initiative for recharging your mobile immediately and let me use it after I asked you if it was really true the phone lines in Gangotri uses satellite. I had use the public phone service earlier and the staff told me it cost 10rupees/minute because it requires satellite, not phone lines. I offer to pay him for the recharge but he said "You are most welcome". He is a Nepali and told me hindi has 36 alphabets and is easy to learn.
6. Mr Wajid (whom I met on the bus to Kargil) who helped me find a shared car to Kashmir. Despite his shared car departs the following day at 2pm, he do his best to find the shared car to Kashmir on the same day for me. He managed to find one that departs at 5.30pm so that I do not have to stay overnight at Kargil. I arrived safely at Kashmir at 12.30am. I cant Thank You enough.
7. Mr Mohd Hussain, the driver (Kargil to Kashmir) aka "my 24hr security guard in Kashmir".
At the start of the trip, he make sure I sit in the middle seat of the jeep no matter what (i dont know why he is so persistent that i take the middle seat). Maybe he is worried I may fall off the window?
During dinner break, he made sure I do not go missing. So cautious that he even brought me into a vegetarian eatery and told me not to step out even after i had finish my dinner. He will pick me up 30mins later. He said "This is KASHMIR".
When we arrived at 12.30am, I was the last to leave the car. I looked at the surroundings and realised there are no guest houses nearby. So, I asked if he know of any safe place to stay for the night. He said "You stay here, dont go out. I will find a place for you to stay." He went for 10mins and came back to the car. He found a boat house nearby for me. He said "even if you stay in the boat house, I dont feel safe because I dont know the boat house owner. I will stay at the same boat house as you (next room), so if anything happen, you can call me. Normally he just sleep in the car and goes back to Kargil the next evening with new passengers.
The next day, I borrowed his mobile to call my friend Fayaz. I will meet Fayaz at 2pm, after lunch. Mr. Hussein spoke to Fayaz in Kashmiri informing him where to meet me (i dont know the place) and he waited with me for 3omins before my friend comes. He made sure I meet my friend safely. (I told him it is alright I wait for my friend myself..I felt bad for imposing him since last night. He said no, because i do not have mobile..if anything happens..i cannot find help).
I was so overwhelmed by his kindness and responsibility. He did everything to make sure I am safe in Kashmir. Shukuria (Thank You in Kashmiri)! I cant Thank You enough.
8. Mr. Shah Firdous, the internet man/computer man/superman. Thank you so much for finishing all my stuffs continuously for 3days. Your kind effort meant so much to my host and me. Shukuria! I cant Thank You enough.
9. The owner of Manu Guesthouse, Manali (sorry, i didnt get your name) who helped me get a refund of 400rupees for the Manali-Leh highway mini bus ticket even though I did not purchase the ticket from you. Thank you and appreciate your kindness.
10. A honest auto rickshaw in Varanasi. He quoted me 200rupees for a round trip to Sarnarth while others were asking for 350rupees. Paid him 350rupee + some mangoes as I added 1 more route to Varanasi train station to change my ticket date before returning to Varanasi, near the ghats. Despite he knew only limited English, he understands and delivers it perfectly.
Special Thanks to Ohkita Sama and Sing ping. Thank you very much for taking care of my customers while I was away. Appreciate your hardwork. どうもありがとうございました
Thank you for reading and hope you will enjoy my photos.
