Holy men at the Baijnath temple

One of my little models in front of the temple structures

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2003-08-26 - Rudraprayag - Baijnath - Kausani (Day 133)

The termites were pretty reasonable and did keep to their side of the bed, though from the droppings of wood on the floor they did not get much sleep. The sun is bright and the view over the river below the hotel is a lovely way to start the day. Like most houses here, the roof is flat and I take breakfast on the top of the hotel watching the river start its long course across India. The manager of the hotel has gone to Delhi leaving the cook in charge of the place. He is a pleasant fellow, and even though he doesn't speak much English he sits down at the table and asks as much as he can about the trip. I use the Lonely Planet to convey as much as I can to convey the trip and while he is interested, I can see that what I'm doing is simply incomprehensible. There is no concept of the distance or what is involved and the drive from Dehra Dun is much easier to grasp and seems much more impressive then the ride across north India. Its much the same feeling as when I talk to people from where I grow up about life in Taiwan, the travels, etc - so far removed from their own life that it has no reality for them.

I head off and it was a pleasant ride for an hour when I came to the first stream across the road. I was laughing, "you call THIS a stream?!" Why I drove the motorcycle across the Grand Canyon in Zanskar...." and just plowed in without stopping. I am thinking how everything after the Manali-Leh and Zanskar roads I ever go on again will be a let down when I hit the second stream still laughing at how easy they are. In truth I should have slowed down but my confidence crossing water has gone up after so many rivers that I felt fine just plowing through. The third comes along 20 minutes later, this one is getting a little deeper, and then there is a fourth and a fifth, which have my boots soaked and my socks in a puddle. Still thinking that wasn't too bad, here comes the sixth. It is funny how humans take so long to learn that if you tempt the gods they will decide to play with you! The sixth I slowed down for, as it was deep but made it across though the end was a little shaky. I am heading back up a range now and the streams have become stronger and deeper as I have gone up which is a little strange but not really a concern right now as the road is getting tough. The water is turning a lot of the road to mud and the driving is starting to get challenging again. The seventh stream comes along and this one I stop to look at and try to find a way across, it's up to my calves and with a loose rock bottom. I'm not laughing any more as these are getting hard (and the water cold) and I'm wondering how badly I might have annoyed the water god and how much of a licking I was going to have to take for laughing at him.

I come around one bend on the side of the mountain, look forward around another corner, and see a huge river running down the side of the mountain, all white and just a torrent. Oh, oh...I guess I REALLY pissed him off! I'm shaking my head now as I drive the kilometer to the river just waiting to see the road completely taken out, but I'm lucky on this one, there is a bridge and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Not for long though and the seventh and eighth crossings come up both as deep as the last. I make it through though the bike got stuck in one, my boots are filled with water and I'm really worried now about what might be ahead. There is only this one road and the only other option is 2 days back to Dehra Dun - which isn't very interesting a thought and of course my visa is just a few days from expiring so I don't have the time anyway.

I come to the ninth crossing and it is a beauty. Wide and deep on big loose stones and I cannot see the bottom. I drive in but this time the gods were out to make their point, I hit a rock and go into the water. The beast keeps running and a man who was looking into the water from the other side comes in to help me get the bike up and off the rock. OK! OK! I get the point! I am not laughing at ANY water even a trickle from a tree branch again!

Arriving in little town of Baijnath without further incident, the gods apparently having been placated, I visit the 12th century temples. Lonely Planet said that these were worth taking an hour-long bus ride there and back from Kausani but I wouldn't go that far. The temples were interesting but I wasn't that impressed and after only about 10 minutes was turning to go when three little urchins showed up and became my little models for the temple. There were a couple of girls and a little boy who were all excited when I showed them the pictures on the back of the camera and led me from one spot to another asking me to photograph them here, and there and so on. They were so cute the temple became a lot of fun and I ended up spending another hour with them.

I had to cut it short as the sky had become very black and it was clear that I was in for another nasty monsoon shower. The next town was 19km up through the mountains and it was going to be close. As I get on the bike, I feel the first drops of rain and know this is going to be a heck of a ride up the mountain. I am trying to negotiate with the same gods who were playing with me this morning, "come on, hold off for just 20 minutes, ok? Give me a break; it's been a tough day!." [Editor's note: it is clear that our hero has been traveling alone a little too long!] They gave me 20 minutes almost exactly before the deluge started though there were teases with a light sprinkle, which threatened to open at any minute the whole way. I pulled into the first hotel just as the downpour started and in the time it took me to get off the bike and into reception, I was soaked through. They got me I the end, but that was ok, I got my 20 minutes and getting the luggage off the bike I was able to get in the shower and then settle back with a book and watch the rain with a very different attitude then if I'd been driving through it.

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