Back in Rishikesh with the noise, beggars, people and difficult decisions about what to have for dinner.
Bring the motorbike to get it's last bits done but as always it takes much longer then I thought it would. Juan, Sue and I are planning a trip to Jim Corbett National park so have to make sure bike is all ready to go. After 2 days of hanging out around mechanics and Alok's shop drinking buckets of Chai the work is done and she is finished. It is not time wasted as I get to know Alok and his family. I also get to be a privileged guest and the evening ceremony on the river bank, where I get to wave around the clensing fires and give offerings to Ganesh in the Ganga.
Spider Man 3 is starting in the local cinema and its an opportunity I don't intend to miss. Going to the cinema is one thing I do miss and from what I hear the Indian cinema experience is not one to be missed.
Juan, Sue and I squeeze onto the bike (Indian style) and off we go.
*A short note on driving in India:
I have been driving around on bike for a couple of days now and I have to say it is really an experience. There are no rules of the road here except one and that is "Right of way goes to the bigger vehicles". You can have no ego driving on these roads. Pedestrian ways are also the high ways for whatever vehicles can fit on them. The only way to get back and forth across the river that divides the area here is by 2 suspension bridges that span the valley (see pictures). Crossing back and forth on these by motorbike is a challenge as they are always full of people, scooters, rickshaws, cows and other motorbikes. The MOST important piece of equipment on the bike is by far the horn and then the brakes.
Drop by Alok's shop for a drink, he produces a bottle of whiskey (very rare here as is a holy city) and I have my first drink in over a month and one is enough.
Then head to cinema. The building is reminiscent of the Classic in Harolds Cross (for those of you that remember - never forget). Buying the treats was an exercise in confusion and patients. For some reason the guy just could not get his head around it, all we wanted was 3 water, 2 popcorn and a packet of crisps. I really have no idea what was so confusing for him but it was like a very complicated game of chess with him taking out and putting back bottles of water and packets of popcorn and handing money back and forth. I'm convinced I made a profit in the end.
The cinema was a sweat box, the seats where covered in that fake leather and it was like those summer drives to the beach in the car before A/C was invented.
The movie was of course in Hindi (I think it was better that way as we could make up our own dialogue and I'm sure it was much better then the movies). The cinema here is more like a cafe with people coming and going constantly, people talking on their mobiles or shouting at the movie. Was great!
Then a cooling trip back on empty roads and bridges.
