Hi Everyone! The past few weeks have been full of activity. Here are a few photos to show where I have been and what I've been doing.
I arrived in Dehradun a few weeks ago, and have secured myself a lovely little efficiency apartment above the home of some very kind Doonites in the suburb of Rajpur. Here is the view from my balcony
I have been warned to give the monkeys a wide berth, and I quote one of my most adamantly animal-loving vegetarian friends in reference to monkeys: "Monkeys are pure evil. Give no quarter." I guess I haven't been here long enough to stop thinking they are very cute.
Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, one of the most-loved holidays on the Indian calendar, was a few weeks ago. Houses were strung with elaborate light displays and people were shooting fireworks, at all hours of the day and night, for several days. I went up to Mussoorie to celebrate Diwali with some other westerners. We watched the 365 degree display of fireworks from the roof and set off a few of our own. They were difficult to capture in on film, but here are some of the houses done up in Diwali lights.
Mussoorie is quite beautiful, here are a few views from around town:
I was excited to meet a fellow cobbler. He was very pleased to learn that I also used to make shoes. Here is the Indian version of Fourth Ave. Birkenstock
This past weekend we hiked to Yamunotri, the temple at the source of the Yamuna river. The temple itself was closed for the season, but the weather was beautiful and the hike was a lot of fun. The temple at Yamunotri was closed for the season, but we saw a few Shiva temples and beautiful views of the valley. Note the snow-capped glacier that is the source of the river!
The intrepid hikers
Our conveyance to the trailhead (some 6 hours from Mussoorie), the classic Indian car, the Ambassador.
Okay, this post is quite long enough. Love to you all!
