It seems like just yesterday.
I had always wanted to go to India. There are many places I want to travel to actually, but India was at the top of the list. And in March of 2019, I got there. For six amazing weeks!
Yep, six whole weeks!
It is fairly inexpensive to stay in India. Eating is pretty cheap too if you avoid meat. This is easy to do as there are many vegetarians in India as well as among the Tibetan Buddhist population where I was and therefore many vegetarian food options.
So the expense of going to India is the getting there. The expensive flight, insurance, and visa together cost more than the whole six weeks of hotels, restaurant meals, a couple of sightseeing days, and a few souvenirs and clothes. I lived nicely on about $30 per day there. I was told many times there were cheaper places to sleep but I had good light, a locked lobby at night, and a clean room, so I was good where I was.
On top of that, the flight is long. I mean really, really long. At the time when I went, there was some trouble with Pakistan and we had to skirt around rather than over. The flight alone took over 20 hours (16 or so normally) plus the connecting flight on either end, plus the layovers, plus the drive to and from airports, plus a 12-hour flight delay due to all the rerouting. I left my house at 6 p.m. Friday night and arrived at my destination mid-day on Monday.
So, I decided that if it was that expensive and took that long to get there and back I should make it worth my while and stay as long as I could.
I was not overly worried about traveling alone but I did have reservations about getting lost or something odd. I also did not want to be anywhere too hot. So I chose Dharamshala, nestled into the lower Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh.
I chose this particular spot for several reasons. For one, it is the home of the Dalai Lama.
This in turn means that there is a settlement of displaced Tibetans there. Since going to Tibet is more difficult under Chinese rule I could possibly get to partake in a bit of Tibetan culture while I was in India.
Secondly, it is a place where many come from around the world come to visit. English is a major language in India, but not always the main one in many areas. I knew English would be quite prevalent in Dharamshala. This put me at ease. I also figured this made it relatively safe as the whole economy in that area is based on tourism. People don't come back if you mess with them.
And, as mentioned above I did not want to be too hot. By going in March as winter was fading, and being at the higher elevation, together made for perfect weather for a very large part of my stay there.
I generally ate vegetarian while I was there in order to avoid getting any stomach problems as much as possible. It is known there as "Delhi Belly," and even locals are conscientious of what they eat and drink. It is wise to avoid anything not cooked and served hot, don't drink anything cold unless it's sealed (bottled water or soda, etc), boiled hot drinks (tea everywhere) seem to be fine, and don't eat street food. I avoided meat just because it can be somewhat sketchy even in the states and it wasn't really necessary to have a for a few weeks. It worked! I was completely fine the whole six weeks I was there.
I took a couple of classes, took a couple of all-day sightseeing taxi trips at my own pace, and bought a small handful of souvenirs (I only had a carry-on!), and helped with conversational English in the afternoons. Mostly though I just wandered around. Lots of walking. There is a lot of uphill in the Himalayas!
I just wanted to meet people and really see the place I was at. I think I did that. I sat and played a video game with a keeper of a small roadside food shack. I had tea with a shop owner and was invited for more around town. When I had trouble accessing money from an ATM before leaving several shopowners I had spoke with throughout my stay told me how we could make it work if my way didn't work out.
And most importantly, I made real friends that I am still in touch with even now. People I care about and miss. The one upside to technology is it is so much easier to stay in touch across the distance.
I hope someday (soon?!) I can go back.....