A Dream Actualized

So I can remember wanting to go to India when I was very young. I didn't know what I was looking at-even that a place named India existed. I was interested, drawn to the pictures of mountains I saw in a book. I've enjoyed scaling, climbing, getting high...to higher places for as long as I can remember. There's a rush, a good, comforting felling about being a tiny speck, way up high in a huge, huge place. Its nice to feel small and be able to look across county lines, state lines, across rivers and lakes and lay your gaze clear through patches of sunlight on to encroaching clouds.

This began the desire and I tucked it neatly, safely, and quietly away in the dresser drawer, in a far corner underneath the conventions, conveniences, and niceties of my life in Maine and New Hampshire. It was a page in a book, 2D and glossy- bound. It was something romantically intangible and over time became just another thing that would be "cool to do".

I flew to Calcutta on November 11th. I flew to Bagdogra on November 12th. I spent 9 days seeing Calcutta, Darjeeling, Pelling, Gangtok, and Rumtek India. They are all cities in the sates of West Bengal (Calcutta and Darjeeling) and Sikkim (Pelling, Gangtok, and Rumtek) and each have their own charm. I didn't do any true mountain climbing. I was traveling alone and the weather was sub par, so I decided to see the cities and their people instead. I did 2 pretty long treks and one short day hike, but they certainly weren't what I envisioned when I made the plan to go to the foothills of the Himalayas. I'll climb from the Nepalese side this summer if everything works out. That being said, I had a blast in India. I was shocked, stunned, and stopped- speechless by its beauty. My pictures aren't great, not even good, but they begin to capture a little bit of each of the places I went.

Arthur and Oneil made the trip really great. I don't have anything much to say about it except enjoy the photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81996&id=1632204269&l=4ddf559b0c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81997&id=1632204269&l=750359d79c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82000&id=1632204269&l=14d45817d5

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82026&id=1632204269&l=f59b601fcd

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81999&id=1632204269&l=11aaced551

Back to the binding, the reading, the touching pages for a while.