Today was my 27th birthday and was by far the best birthday I have ever had. For one, I am in India, so that was a guarantee. Also, I have been wanting to be 27 for a long time. Odd numbers are way better than even numbers and 27 is specifically appealing to me. There is an entire psychology I have developed behind that, but I won't go into that now.
Here is how my birthday went down. I hired a guide named Pinku, who was really more like a mountain goat than a man. We did a day trek in the Himalayas. I hiked up to Triund from McLeod Ganj, which is typically 3.5 hours, but we did it in 2 hours since I was hiking with a mountain goat. On the way, I learned several things, one of which is that rhododendrons are edible. Who knew? And we have plenty of those in Seattle. They make them into chutneys or teas or eat them with chillies. I can verify it because I ate several with Pinku on the trail today. But you have to be careful and eat them at the right time or they will make you vomit or get a headache. This was explained to me anyway.
I was feeling quite in the Himalayan element when we had to squeeze through several hundred sheep and goats on the trail. The sheepherders were moving them to a different area for this time of year.
After we reached Triund in just two hours, I decided I would rather go on further than turn back to so early. The trail was difficult and exhausting, but only an hour further and I could reach the snow line so we pressed on. There are several chi huts at different stopping points along the way, where I met some other foreigners. We had lunch at the one located at the snow line. It was totally amazing. There were thousands of ladybugs on the ground and I think I was responsible for stepping on quite a few because they couldn't be avoided. And there in front of me was Moon peak, a snowy mountain pass that was my stop sign for my hike. Several people had attempted to climb it that day with crampons and ropes, but they turned back for whatever reason. My legs were already feeling it just making it to the snow line.
And just because I am in a country of complete contrast, the hike couldn't end with this perfect scenario. On the way down we went a different way, which was sun exposed the entire time. I was sliding over loose rocks and gravel, no real trail for a good portion of the way. I was feeling a bit aggravated that we didn't go the same way we came because it was so perfect--really hard and challenging, but completely worth it. The other side of the mountain was my nemesis. My knees were aching from all of the pounding and sliding. We finally made it down near this waterfall, but I was feeling too tired to walk over and even look at it. I just wanted to make it back so I could take a hot shower. After the trail leveled out I began to feel better and soon forgot that I was feeling grumpy. It only took us a couple of hours to climb the mountain and it took me nearly 3 hours to make it back down because the trail was so tedious. It usually goes faster on the way down, but that was not the case. We also had to end with an uphill climb since we came down a different way. When we made it back I asked how far this hike was. I was told it would be 9 km round trip. So I was thinking I was really out of shape and pretty lame for taking so long, even though I made it faster than what they said it would take. But then I learned from Pinku it was actually 9 km to Triund, the first stop.... another couple of kilometers past that was the snow line. So it was more than double what I had thought making a total of 22-23 kilometers. That made me feel a bit better since there was justification for my worn out body.
After I got back I treated myself to a hot shower. We have the luxury of having a shower in our hotel room this time and there is hot water for the first time in weeks and weeks. I met up with Joseph and we went out to a birthday dinner. He had scouted a couple of restaurants during the day while I was on my hike so we sat on the rooftop of this hotel and had a really nice meal. That's right, we ate chicken. Oh, the goodness of non-veg. Just as I was getting ready to order dessert he said, "okay, we have a party to go to. We will have dessert there." I was very surprised. Now, if you haven't stopped reading at this point out of boredom, then you will be surprised too. I spent my 27th birthday at a surprise party with some Tibetan Buddhist monks. That's right, I said monks.
Yesterday, we were walking on the road and we met some Monks along the way coming back from an English class. They have been speaking English for three weeks. We went and sat with them for a couple of hours and I helped them practice English. They were so fun to hang with and had a great sense of humor. So tonight, they wanted to celebrate my birthday with me. We went to their apartment and had some birthday cake. You can't imagine how hard I was laughing listening to them attempting to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. They also surprised me with a special white scarf that is to signify good luck. I was also given a bracelet, a hand drawn card, and a blessing on my birthday cake. It was very memorable and the best and most interesting surprise party I have ever had.
Every evening in McLeod Ganj there is a candle light procession with the Tibetan monks through the streets, which ends at the temple with some chanting and prayers. We joined the procession the other night, which was very peaceful.
It is incredible to see such a peaceful religion and people who have experienced so much brutality. One of the monks I met the other day trekked for 44 days across the himalayas into Nepal to escape with a group of Tibetan refugees some 15 or more years ago. He stayed in Nepal until just this year when he came to India to learn English.
We walk past tents everyday where Monks are sitting in a hunger strike to protest against China.
