Back down to 'India'

From the high dry cool mountain air to the  hot and humid plains. The climate, landscape, and culture transforms quickly back to what feels more like the 'India' that would come to mind when one thinks of the name.

After the top of the final mountain pass leaving the region in rain shadow we continue to wind down over a couple of days. Going from nearly 4000 meters elevation (actually the lowest pass) to near sea level. Cruising through the first real jungle experienced in over 3 months is exhilarating as the views become obscured by a thick wall of sub tropical trees and shrubs. The silence of the dry mountain desert is replaced with the loud hum of insects and the songs of birds.
Feeling giddy with all the greenery. :)

The increase in stimulus and in life continues into the villages and cities as we come into Manali and Kullu areas. More crowded homes, people, traffic, pollution bring a shift in energy, and a less personal interconnected energy between people. We try to face this shift with an open mind, not to find judgement and comparison with that of the life up in the high mountains. Instead focusing on how all these people are just like us, with the same physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Being around so many people is an exciting opportunity to share in the compassion of this oneness!

As we continue from Manali down down the Apple orchards are replaced by increasingly tropical trees, curry trees call out from the roadside along with guava and bananas ready to pluck.
We can't ride to close to the edge as nettle is thriving there as well. An abundance of nutrition ready to heal the body and soul.

We feel greatful to be experiencing this transition on a bicycle. Feeling more connected to the shift in environment, people, and place than we could have inside the closed doors of a vehicle.

Our first night after Manali we are feeling very much back in 'India' as we are  reminded by the tremendous hospitality here. As we are asking about a safe place to put our tent a family on the hillside welcomes us into their home for the night. We spend time talking and exchanging ideas and culture on the terrace and then they treat us to an extremely rich fulfilling dinner of chapattis dripping in ghee and perfectly spiced vegetables straight from their backyard. In the typical Indian way we are served first and treated like royalty as they bring in cut up fruits and warm glasses of milk to top off the meal, always trying to give more and more.
There is a feeling of immense warmth in this hospitality as the gratitude feels mutual.
Or gratitude at their generosity feels at balance at the happiness and fulfillment they receive at being able to give.

After we finish eating they send us to bed then have their dinner. Though we always wish we could enjoy the meal all together with them in a more casual way we appreciate that this isn't the way new guests are often treated in a Hindu home. The saying 'Guest is God' is too engrained into their being.

We are sent off in the morning with giant smiles and kisses blown back and forth between the beautiful two wives of the house. The ladies that make everything in the family happen with such grace and selflessness.

Continuing down the vegetation continues to shift and we continue to be greeted with warmth. Pedestrians and drivers share smiles, 'Namastes', and some calls out of 'very nice!'
Curiosity of people in what we are doing and what we think of their country increases as we leave the well cycled tourist route between manali and leh and become more of a novelty.

We have a train booked from from Dehradun to Varanasi for the next day so it's our only day to ride as far as we are able before taking a night bus to Dehradun in the evening. After this the culture people and place shifts much more rapidly as we get whisked a way to a new world with the power of fossil fuels.

Shooooooom!!!
(We are actually on the train flying past fields of rice in Uttar Pradesh as I write this)

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!