On our vacations, Jack tells me these crazy stories of near-death experiences he's just had, after he hikes up a mountain and almost falls off a cliff, or rides his bike for hours into the woods and meets a mountain lion. Well, hon, I had mine today... about 100 times over!
I have a video to show the insane drive we took up to the Ganges River. No, it wasn't switch-back mountain driving, though there were moments of that, driving into the foothills of the Himalayas and all. No, it was the hundreds of near-misses and head-on collisions with motorcycles, buses, and even cows. The taxi driver was quite good, looking back, but it was a non-stop adrenaline-rush for sure. These people would be really, really good at those driving video games. I still have no earthly idea how we never hit anything or anyone, but we are safe and sound on a train at the moment, so no worries. If you want to pray for something, I think I'm now more worried about crashing than getting sick.
Anyway, the reason we drove to Rishikesh today was to see a pilgrimage that Hindus take every 12 years. They trek for miles to end up at the River Ganges. They believe that the river has special properties and healing powers...flowing from the Hindu gods. Many elderly people make the trip in hopes to die there. I wouldn't doubt if there were a million people along the river today.
Our crazy taxi driver took us as far as cars were permitted and dropped us off. We made the uncomfortable walk down to the river amongst thousands of poor, barefoot, lost people trying to find salvation. It was a bit unnerving to say the least. Abdul led us through the crowds, and Kevin protected us from the back. Linda and I couldn't stand the stench or the unknown germs, so we covered our faces with scarves and tried not to suffocate. On the way back uphill it got quite hot, but I wasn't about to take that scarf away from my face. I thought I might pass out because my breathing was so impeded, but I made it. Never would want to do it again, but fascinated nonetheless.
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