Leaving Nainital

Day 9

Woke up in Nainital, overcast day, though the view from the guesthouse balcony was mesmirising.

Ok this keyboard sucks major ass.

We left and rode to Almora, about 120 Kilometers away, also in the hills, though a bit lower. Nainital is 1900 meters, adn Almora is 1700. The ride was awesome, full of beautiful scenic vistas and jaw-dropping mountain ranges. We also saw baboons, monkeys, cows, goats and rabied dogs.

When we got to almora it started to rain. We wanted to get our luggage rack fixed, since it had broken in one part. We stopped at a welder in town, and he took off with the bike to somewhere, came back 20 minutes later. Fixed. Or so we thought. We left and made our way up a precarious hill to a mound called Kasar Devi, which is teh name of the temple that occupies that mound. This a spot that lots of Israelis with motorcycles like to visit. Its a breathtaking place.

On the way up, the rain increased and all of a sudden the bike just stopped. It wouldnt start, and the rain continued. We rolled the bike down the hill in neutral to the nearest guest house, called the Pink House. There was a bike on the roof, with jamaican flag stickers and a marijuana leaf sticker, so we knew an israeli was already living there. Turns out there was a couple.

Tuval, 22, helped with bike, which as it turns out, was just an idle problem. We went to sleep early after chatting with the israeli couple for a bit.

Day 10

Forgot to mention that on the way up the hill to Kasar Devi, after fixing the luggage rack, the whole luggage rack fell apart. So in the morning I took it to a place called Dani's Autos, and spent the whole day fixing this rack. Tuval told me to never ever take my eyes of my bike at a mechanic, as they may create a new problem where on edidnt exist, so I just sat and watched them perform. I am now an expert in welding motorcycle luggage racks. The whole procedure cost a whopping 220 r, or about five bucks. I then blogged on the internet, and then went back to watch the sunset with Michal, who read books all day. Michal, turns out, is a bookworm. She has already completed three books since we arrived in India. Not much happens in Kasar Devi at night. It's really dark, and i think people go to sleep early. This keyboard sucks so bad. We cooked a friday ight dinner with our guest house mates, Moaz and Puah.

At the Pink House we dont actually get a bucket of hot water in the morning, but we actually have to make a fire and boil our own water...definitely back to the basics. And the bathroom doesnt have toilet, but a ceramic hole in the floor that you pee into or crouch over. You then manually poor water down.

Day 11

Michal nad I rode around Almora in the hills and then hiked a bit. We then sat in the local cafe with other Israelis and some Austrians and Japanese and ate Thali and read books. Very chill. At night we cooked again with Moaz and Puah, who call each other Baby and Boobik, constantly.

Day 12

We rode to the Kasar Devi temple, and talked with some Hindus there. We took off our shoes and prayed to the Lord Vishnu. I tried to talk with the Priest but he was out to lunch.

We then rode to Jageshwar about 38 kilometers away, to visit a site with 124 small temples nestled in a forest of deodars. The ride was pleasant, but the temples were unimpressive. We decided this was the last temple we wanted to visit after the Priest made us give a donation. Some kids asked us for money and we took their pictures.

On the way back I started noticing bike problems. When we came back I decided with Moaz that the problem was the sprocket on the back wheel, which has at least four broken teeth. We went to the mechanic up the hill, and he told me to fix this in the morning.

Day 13

I changed the sprocket in the morning at the mechanic, and we left Almora. Our next destination was Rishikesh, which is where I am now.