So much more- really wishing I could post photos!

I saw the Himalayas today!

After a dinner of KFC, Eric headed home and Dean and I headed to bed. We don’t understand the television, so we just went to bed. Dean was asleep in five seconds and I worked on my journal here and read a little before going to sleep.

We managed to order our own breakfast without Eric. I asked if we needed to pay now, but we were told we would ‘pay after some time.’ I am not sure exactly when, but I am guessing when we check out.

Eric and Prem showed up a little after 10 for our trip to Mooserie - I am guessing on spelling as they spell phonetically and you might see six different ways for each location each day. It is not pronounced like Missouri, but more like Moose. Eric warned me to wear my bands and to take Dramamine. I am glad I did. The road winds up 5000 feet to the city. It is built into the mountain. There are rice fields that are terraced. It was a hazy day. Prem termed it fuzzy. We had lunch at what looked like an American Pizza joint complete with photos of famous movie stars, but it also had a lot of Beatles paraphernalia and many of the signs said Liverpool on them. It was quite eclectic. The cooks all wore hairnets- that was way out of the norm for India. The roads are very tiny and very winding. We walked up to a flat place in order to make it easier for Prem to pick us up.

After lunch we went to an observation deck to see the Himalayas. It was just that a two layer concrete slab. Eric paid 20 rupees each for us to go up. If we had only wanted to stay for 3 minutes it would have been less. I just don’t think you can look at the Himalayas for only 3 minutes! It was beautiful. I have been amazed by the handiwork of man on this trip such as the Taj Mahal and other buildings, but no one can top the handiwork of God. What a beautiful creation he gave us to enjoy. If these rocks were to cry out as mentioned in scripture I can not even begin to imagine what a majestic sound that would be. The size of them, even from a distance, is humongous.

Prem waited for us down low. We stopped a little ways down the mountain to enjoy a grilled cheese and a chocolate pancake. The grilled cheese was perfect. The pancake was more like a brownie. We enjoyed just sitting and visiting at the little open air café. For the first time since we have been here, we saw a dog that came up for attention. All others have just ignored us. The four of us laughed and talked. Prem admired the money clips that Dean and Eric used. He liked them so much, that he asked us to send him one. We are very happy to do that. Prem is a delight. He has been a favorite of everyone who has come to visit Eric and of Eric’s friends. He owns two taxis. He drives one and employs another driver. I am so happy we are here to help boost his business. With us here he is making about 30 a day. Many other days he does not work. We were telling him about our tour and the way it worked. He started asking questions. You could almost see the wheels turning in his mind on how he could start such a business to increase his income.

We are going to Prem’s house for dinner tomorrow. We are excited to meet his family.

We winded our way back down the mountain to Mall road. It is an open air market- another one of the ones where each store is about the size of u-haul complete with garage door type door. Each time we go into a market, I am a little less overwhelmed. It is getting so I can actually shop without feeling the pressure. Today it was better as they were not so pushy. We were in a tourist area, but it was mainly Indian tourist. I don’t think we saw another American today.

Eric says that at any given time 20% of the male Indian population is relieving themselves along the side of the road. I am certain he must be correct. Women do not have it as easy. I have decided when I get home, I am going to drink gallons. I have avoided drinking here as much as possible in order to avoid having to go to the restrooms.

We used an internet café tonight. It was open air. By the time we were finished, my hands were freezing. We went to Eric’s favorite Indian restaurant tonight. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that my son would actually like a dish that is similar to creamed spinach. It is so far from the 5 items he ate as a child. Dean has done really well for someone who never even wanted to try Indian food. He prefers the rice, beans and bread, but he has branched out to several other things.

A day around town and dinner with Prem’s family

Our room got warm just about the time we got up this morning. The days started off much warmer than the last couple of days. Eric and Prem picked us up and we went to the Buddhist monastery in Clement Town. It was quite spectacular. This is run by Tibetan Buddhists. They left Tibet when China took over. There are prayers on flags all over the property. There are cylindrical metal spinners that circle the large Buddha. A person spins them as they go along the path. It supposedly increases the intensity of the prayer. I have so many photos of these things, but we still do not have internet.

We went to a department store for me to find a Kurta. I really wanted to be able to try it on, and I could not do that in the market.

We visited a subway for lunch. It was good, but very slow. They make one sandwich at a time – not the traditional assembly line. We took Prem one before making our way to the market. This market was more of a local market where the locals shop.

I wanted to buy Joy Anna a pair of curled toe shoes for her fairy costume. The problem is they only make curled toes for men. I was really disappointed that the smallest ones were large on me, so they really would not fit her. I did end up with a really funky pair of flat sandals for me for less than 3.50.We bought a couple more shawls to go with the Kurtas. Now, Joy Anna, Ashley and I all have Kurta and scarves should we need to dress up for anything. We stopped by Eric’s on our way to Prem’s. We had brought several games, candy, and Texas souvenirs. Eric had done our laundry for us.

Prem drove us the scenic route so we could see his new home that is being built. It will have 2 rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It is lower in the valley yet still far enough from the river to be safe. Prem’s family is delightful. We had chi with his brother in law before going to Prem’s for dinner. There are several small houses/rooms connected in one common area where three families live. Everyone came together for dinner. It is very small and very cozy. They are very gracious hosts. We had a wonderful meal and great dessert. I do not normally like anything with coconut, but this was really good.

After dinner, we passed out the goodies. We had taken cheapy little sunglasses (I had to buy a whole package to get two for Eric and Ashley to use in some photos) party hats, and don’t break the ice. The kids played and danced. I had also taken fun dip. That was new experience for them. It was huge hit with everyone except Santoshi, Prem’s wife. I promised to send chocolate next time for her.

Prem is quite a jokester. He pretended his cat pooped in Dean’s shoe. He is something else. We all laughed and had a great time. The little girls and I played the clapping games that are universal for girls. Santoshi capped off the evening by serving Chi again. Prem;s family has really taken Eric in. I am so glad he has them here. There is certainly a very strong bond.

Tonight we talked about budgeting and learning to save. This is a new concept, but one they really want to learn. I am going to send Eric the Dave Ramsey book, so he can help them figure out a budget. Santoshi thinks the house will never be finished, so hopefully budgeting will help them get it done.

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Our hotel is probably the 2nd dumpiest I have ever stayed in. It does run a close second to the hotel in Ocompo, Mexico. The other rooms look much nicer than ours. The electricity has gone out most day, but today it went out at 11 and stayed out- it is out over most of the city. When there is no electricity there is no water. Unlike the hotel in Ocompo, there is no water hose to fill up the bucket to use to flush. We stayed 3 nights and not once did they pick up our breakfast tray – they apologized each night when Eric took it down. They have not cleaned the room or brought fresh towels. Tonight it was so cold and the toilet would not flush, so we decided to spend the night with Eric. There was also a wedding going on there. The noise was deafening. Eric called Prem to come get us, checked us out, went to 4 ATMs before finding one with electricity, paid us out and we met him here at his house. He doesn’t have water pressure for showers but at least we are warm.

Sunday we went to Rajpur. We had lunch at a Tibetan eatery and had chi in a bazaar where the taxi drivers hang out. It was quite exciting. There was a very large Langor monkey there. It is not a common monkey for that area. They have lots of the little bunders. Langors are pretty and gray. They Bunders are red. They are the little thieves of the area. While we sat there, we saw Bunders steal from people, fruit stands and each other. The big Langor was just hanging out in a tree directly across from us. He even took a nap with his head on a branch. I guess it was for entertainment value, but several of the txi drivers decided to run him off by shooting at him with a sling shot. He was furious. He charged down the tree from limb to limb and then went back up the same way. Eric and Prem decided it was pretty dumb to do that since having a Langor there runs the Bunders away. They finally chased him away. It was so cool to see him just amble away across the roof tops. One young calf likes to hang out with the taxi drivers. They think maybe in its previous life it was a taxi driver. There is a stray dog there. The taxi drivers call him Kilometer because he goes in circles chasing his tail. His tail is only a nub which makes it that much harder to catch.

We saw several people go up with the hill walking beside a horse with a load. One had another horse with no lead just walking along behind- head outstretched as if being led. A few minutes later a horse came pounding up the street with no person. It was several minutes before a man with a horse trudged past us. We guess they went together. Overall it was fairly entertaining at the taxi stand today.

We made a long trek up a hill to go to the Tibetan arts and crafts store, but it was closed. The city had once been occupied by Muslims, but the Hindus came in and took over. There are several ruins of Islamic origin that are pretty cool. Now there is a large population of Tibetans. This is a huge Yoga center. People come for several weeks to learn and practice the art of yoga.

We sat for over an hour at the internet café hoping to post our blog, but with no electricity, we never had an opportunity. Instead we sat in a cold hotel room and waited until dinner time. We had dinner with Autumn, a friend of Eric’s here. We ate a very upscale restaurant and it only cost about 40.00 for the 4 of us – an appetizer, 4 entrees and 4 desserts. I am going to have to join the gym when I get home.

After dinner we made our trek to Eric’s. Supposedly a line was cut on his internet, but they said it would be back on yesterday. They lied.

His roommate has gone skiing for a few days, so there was room for us