From the City to the Hills...

September 13th
     
     After a five hour train ride follow by a near vomit-inducing taxi ride into the Himalayan foothills, it was a delight to be in Mussoorie. The air was much cooler, and with only about 30,000 people in it, the village pace was a nice change.

Mussoorie Village life

Some friendly locals

                                                                                                                                                                                  Monkeys thunder across tin rooftops, and wreak havoc in people's kitchens if they leave their doors open (we even saw two monkeys climb into a car after carefully making sure the driver was nowhere in site, searching for "the goods").

Naughty Monkey

      The steep & narrow roads switchback up the mountainside, and are packed tightly with shops, some if which are so tiny, the shop keeper literally hardly fits inside along with their merchandise. People's houses, shops, and hotels are stacked on top of one another, many of which are disintegrating. The air smells of food, incense, and garbage. Families roast and sell corn on the side of the street. The prayers from a Muslim and a Hindu temple are projected over a speaker and fill the air.  Sherpas (sometimes accompanied by mules) trek up and down the mountain roads carrying unbelievable loads of produce, building supplies, and appliances on their backs and heads. 

   It appears that for many, life here demands resilience; people work remarkably hard to achieve even the most basic of things. In the midst of their daily grind, people here are gentle, kind, and engaging.

Young boy selling roasted corn

Even if someone is carrying a load of rocks and soil on their head, we are almost always greeted with a smile and "namaste."