Today is supposed to be an actual rest day.
There are only a couple of things on the to do list.
First, we need to check our SIM cards again. Due to a mysterious reason it was not working in my phone yesterday. Whatever I tried, we had only one working. Even that fact is another piece of the puzzle.
Second, we need to have proper breakfast because Melroy didn't eat too much yesterday.
And that was it already. Both was best to do at the market. So we went there by bus. We went to the store where we got the SIM. And first surprise:
Today the card works in my phone. But that solved the phone issues we had. Melroy actually didn't need a separate SIM, he just needed a hotspot to make online calls. That was done, then they recommended us a nice restaurant for breakfast.
And we found this:
I wonder how "Chicken Scnitzel" tastes like. Should have ordered it. Maybe it's tastier than the Schnitzel with H. Who knows. It's also intersting that it runs together with the deserts.
Still while we had food, Melroy got another call. He went out, and when returning he was like:
"Bro, I think I gotta return."
I was startled. "Hmm? What happened? Everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's just... My sister is getting married and we invite the groom over to our house. In two days. That means everyone must be there. Even me."
Ouh damn. That's crazy. I didn't need to say anything. Although I started to think what we could do about it. Deep down I felt like this is exactly meant to happen as it happened. He was a guardian angel for the first day and now his presence is needed somewhere else, and I gotta be on my own.
He couldn't believe it though, "why do I have to leave already? I'm not even necessary to be there. It's just having food and drinking chai. Man. Couldn't they inform me a little bit earlier?"
What I didn't get though how urgent the situation was. He then said: "The flight is at 1PM."
I checked my watch and saw that's in less than two hours. We were in the middle of breakfast. He should be there at least one hour, rather two hours before.
We left things as they were. We hurried out. On the way we needed to withdraw some cash as well. Went into another bus. Reached the hostel with one hour to go.
And then it started to be fun. Reeaaally fun. Calling a cab would take too long. Taking a lift is too risky. A bus even riskier.
There was only one option. Which was also the quickest.
We rent a scooter and drive to the airport ourselves. Only challenge.
He can drive to there. I would have to drive back. But again, there was no other option.
There was no time for thinking.
And at the airport we said goodbye. Back then his plan was to return immediately after the function.
And then there I was. Standing with the scooter.
Needing to return to the hostel. Safely.
I sent all my prayers out. I went through all the instructions from Hari. Felt confident.
Wanted to start the scooter. And?
It didn't turn on. No matter what I tried. It just didn't turn on. Wonderful.
I had to ask someone else for help. And they tried the same thing as I did, it didn't work, and I was relieved.
That scooter had one more safety step. When the stand is out, it won't turn on. We removed it, it started.
And I was about to have my first drive with a scooter on Indian roads.
It felt liberating. I felt in control. Really, that moment was as if entire Ladakh was at my disposal.
Until someone honked at me and only later I'd realize what I did wrong. I was driving on the right lane. As I was used to in Germany. But that lane here was for overtaking.
My adrenaline was on level nine thousand. Until I reached.
And I was proud and called Hari immediately, thanking him for the instruction. Although I thought it was nice to have, I didn't expect it to become necessary at some point.
But it took quite some energy out of me and in turn I simply walked into the room, took a shower, and fell to sleep.
After waking up, I simply walked to the terrace, opened my laptop and tried to write.
One e-mail was very important. A German member of the Bundestag wants to visit and know more about Light on German. Drafting that answer took quite some time. Apart from that it was impossible to write more because other people sat next to me and we started talking. It was deep conversations. The acclimatization of the coming days should be marked with deep conversations. This time it was mainly with a Bavarian guy from Munich. Talking in Bavarian seemed a little weird. Since he was here already for several weeks he could guide me a little bit. Good restaurants, we talked about special women, but most importantly he heard from a girl who did a similar thing than I wanted to:
In Zanskar valley, there is supposed to be a multiday hike from monastery to monastery.
And that was basically all for today.
I was guided for the first two days, so I could enjoy the other days in my own speed. And speed is the right keyword. Because even though motorbiking was fun, it felt too fast for me personally, I had no connection with the surroundings. It didn't feel like I earned the environments. There was less reward for it compared to hiking, slowly, at peace, in relative silence, with actual physical exercise.
So I knew what I gotta do. And I also knew how I'd travel around.
Either by bus, or by taking a lift to a starting point. Everyone says, both are easy. From there onwards then, I'd walk. And stay with local people.
Crazy though, what happened with Melroy. And even crazier, that my intuition was already aligned with it.
I spent the time resting. Tomorrow I'd need energy.
Because I want to change the place I stay. Respecting the words of a British guy who travelled through Ladakh for over 20 years already:
"Just don't get too comfortable."
