Green Hats & Uganda
Uganda. No, don´t worry, I am still in India, still high in the mountains here in Kalpa. Although, I must admit that I do have this African nation on my mind. But more about that in a moment.
If you happen to be fond of remoteness, simplicity and experiencing what life was like before the internet, shopping malls and much else of modern civilization, Kalpa should be etched into your personal ´must-see´ list.
Less than one thousand people call this area home, and most of those are scattered in the outerlying villages in the forest. The village center is a paved intersection the size of a dentist´s office where four walking paths connect. There are a couple of shops, selling nothing more than toothpaste, sacks of rice and near-rotten bananas. The two ´restaurants´ are merely tiny wooden huts serving a most basic assortment of unappetizing soups, noodle dishes and inedible omelets that take over an hour to prepare. Electricity is sporadic, spiders share your bed. Steep, uphill hikes in the thin air are required to reach anywhere. But that is all part of the appeal here, in placing oneself in an environment so unlike what your body and mind have become accustomed to during the course of your life.
The local Kinnauri people, dressed in their traditional green velvet hats and thick woolen vests, are most hospitable. They create a pleasant atmosphere, quite content with their simple existence in one of the most difficult to reach places in the world. Their smiling faces are a unique shade of brown, almost a hint of purple that creates the beautiful effect of appearing dark and light skinned at the same time. They are definitely mountain faces, worn from the cold wind and inhospitable terrain, but they are also happy faces, with soft light eyes and frequent laughter.
A Tibetan Gompa, with colorful prayer flags flapping in the strong wind, sits above an exotic wooden Hindu temple in the oldest part of the village. The dwellings are all made of piled stone and wooden beams, with rooftops of slate to hold in any warmth. The Himalayas are always in sight, always reminding you of the grandeur of this planet. Their massive presence holds the power to make you feel so ridiculously small yet so unbelievably confident at the same time. You want to prostrate under their magnificence and then climb to its highest peak.
The main activity for visitors in Kalpa is doing nothing. Although occasional walks along the paths and narrow roads allow you to explore the pine forests and even more remote villages of the area. Look below, over the straight edge of the road and you see the river thousands of feet below. Look above and you not only see the snow line directly in front of you, but death-defyingly placed villages proud of the disbelief they create, ¨Ha ha, you can´t even fathom how we exist up here!¨
By four in the afternoon, when the sun has vanished behind the mountains, the light breeze turns into a cold wind and the temperature drops considerably. Noses start running, ears start aching and the body shivers, forcing us to return to our hotel room, bury ourselves under our four thick blankets and watch a movie on the only English-language television station we receive. Tonight we watched ´The Last King of Scotland´.
And here is where Uganda comes into play. Oddly enough, we met two British fellows yesterday who had arrived into India from Uganda a couple of weeks ago. They could do nothing else but recommend visiting this African nation, talking non-stop about its beauty and people. And the ´The Last King of Scotland´? Uganda…a country hardly mentioned during the past 31 years of my life has now suddenly appeared twice in two days, just at a time when I am trying to decide where to go next…hmmm….
Tags: India
dbaron
It does seem that perhaps Uganda’s heat is next up for you . . . but I am putting Kalpa on my “tdbid” list (to do before I die). . . . sounds like my kind of place . . . you did say there were few people there, right?
Travel safe.