25th of January, to 2nd of February, 2023.
We move to an apartment in Bir. The boys are renting for a few months, and because there are two bedrooms, they are sharing one, and letting me stay in the other. My bedroom has the bathroom and we also have a third and fourth rooms for a tiny kitchen and a non-living room (we never used like that).
Bir is located in Himachal Pradesh state, which would kind of become my favourite state in India. Although I really love Kerala and Punjab too. I think that more than just the space, the land, the territory, it has a lot to do with the people I’ve met in these states, and my time with them.
I have no money. And the boys know that. So, basically, they are taking care of me, food wise; and for water… well, funnily enough, even though so many people go nuts when it comes to drinking water in India being safe or not, here up North, we are drinking water from the tap. Technically, is coming from the Himalayas, but still, tap water, right?
I am looking for a volunteer work here in the North (for reasons which I will explain soon), so I don’t need to bother the guys for too long. But they seem so sincere on their offer for me to stay longer, that I really want to stay. We have fun together, and it is so chill too. At least I try to help with the cooking and cleaning the dishes after, so I can be helpful in somehow.
The view from the rooftop is amazing! The Himalayas! Some days, the air is so clear that it seems as you can almost touch the mountains. It is so beautiful! And the rooftop is huge! The building has two floors and the rooftop. We live on the first floor, and on the ground floor are some local shops.
The boys keep working on their websites, and I on my writing. They are also developing a project together, like a hiking and tours company. I am looking for a volunteer work in a Buddhist Nunnery; for that reason, it needs to be here up North, where most of them are located. They have plans of buying a van, to convert into a campervan, so they can live on it, travel with it, and use for work with the tour company. I keep sending e-mails to Buddhist Nunneries nearby because the only Buddhist Temple on Workaway website rejects me. The reason? I cannot stay one month with them. I can, but I rather not, so nope! Simram sometimes talks about me joining them with the tour company project. It is supposed to be called BroHikers. I think it is very sweet of him, but my plans of keep travelling around the world are still my purpose.
We normally have breakfast here, and sometimes we have it in the rooftop, with our wonderful view. Simram make parathas sometimes and they are great! I make Poha (rice made flat grains), this very traditional Indian breakfast. Sometimes I make it savoury, with onions, garlic, peppers and turmeric; sometimes sweet, with milk and sugar, just like porridge. We always have coffee, but that is made by Miles, who always kindly offer to prepare it.
Sometimes we go to town, and hang around in some of the coffee shops there, so the boys can use the wi-fi to work. I use it too, of course, and keep waiting for some answer from the nunneries. But we like to come back home in the evening time and chill. We hang around the boy’s room, and just chat. Well, actually, most of the times Simram pass out so it is basically just me and Miles chatting. Laugh.
One night, Miles and I get into a really deep conversation about spirituality, which leads to a conversation about extraterrestrial life. There is a strong storm, full of lovely thunders and beautiful lightnings. It is getting really late, around 3 a.m., so I go to sleep. Soon after that, when I am deep sleeping, the strongest lightning I have ever heard in my life, strike the Earth. It was so close, but so close, that it felt as it was next door. And so loud, but so loud, that my heartbeat went over the roof! I was fricking scared! Don’t ask me why! For several minutes I was sitting in my bed, awake, and with the strangest feeling that aliens were right outside my door. Perhaps Miles and I pissed them off with our talking. Who knows?
I actually really like Miles. He is a rare type of guy, with a mentality very much difficult to find. He is very open minded, but still being very much down to earth, rational and liberal at the same time. We can talk about interesting but tricky topics, like religion, for example, without the feeling that we are trying to manipulate each other into our own opinion. We just share our thoughts, freely, and that’s it. Do you know how rare is to find a friend like that? I do!
Even though I am having a great time with the guys, I feel that’s my time to leave. I’ve been here for over a week now but, in the best way, it seems like much more. So, even without a positive answer from any nunnery, I decide to change my strategy and go looking for them in person. I write down some addresses; get directions to them; and get ready to be back on the road.
One important thing I almost forgot to mention, Bir Biling is the second most famous place in the world for paragliding. Yep! Only behind a place in the Swiss Alps. I had no idea about that before getting here! I thought it was just a small village in the mountains, where I could get some piece of mind and learn about Yoga. Nope! It is full of backpacker hostel, coffee shops, tourist companies, paragliding companies, bars, and tourists. I think that in average, per day, you can see about 200 or even 300 landings. Or to put in another way, around 300 people flying in the sky every day. Not really the kind of attention I was looking for when I chose to come here. What to do?
On my last day, the guys walk with me until the road from where I will hitchhike. They have always encouraged me with their lovely words about my journey, saying always good things about it. As I said before, there are always great things to be found even in the worst-case scenarios. Miles and Simram were two pearls I got out of a disaster Workaway experience, and for that, I will be always thankful to Aryamarga and Akshak.
10 Years Around the World 