Marc’s Journey to India

I just returned at 4:30 yesterday morning after a fantastic week in the western Himalayas. I have to admit that I was pretty skeptical about this trip for a couple of reasons: I didn’t know the students well, and only 3 out of the twenty actually completed the fist task of bringing their passport to school within a 7-10 day window. In addition, just looking at the online weather report for the area just made me shiver. Both the students and the weather easily exceeded my expectations, and we truly had a wonderful time!

Arriving at the Delhi airport in the mid-afternoon, the Snow Leopard Adventure Company took over. For the rest of the time they organized and took care of everything. We visited a historic mosque sight and had dinner before hitting the hotel for bed. Up at around 4, we needed to get to the railway station for our early departure.

We arrived in Hardiwar, and then went on up to the Snow Leopard Beach Camp, situated right on the Ganges, where we spent most of our time.

(morning view from my tent)

We went on a hike that afternoon, and finished up with Akshay, an environmentalist, giving a presentation on the western Himalayas. His having taken all the pictures for the slideshow brought him a lot of respect and admiration from our students.

The next morning after breakfast, we put on our wet suites and rafted down into the town of Rishikesh – a holy city along the Ganges. The water definitely took our breath away, but those of us crazy enough to jump into the water were quickly warmed by the wet suites (praise God!) as soon as we got back into the boat. That afternoon, we wandered around Rishikesh, and then went to observe a Hindu evening prayer session. That night we moved to a different camp along a national park. Along the way I had a great conversation with Akshay, who leads such prayer vigils when the main holy man is away from his temple. He shared his frustration about the ceremony we had just observed, stating that it was all "for show," that this temple was very well funded, but the prayers which are meant to be personal had become quite showy and shallow there. I shared that our churches also struggle to find make sure that our worship meaningful, but we are often tempted along similar lines. Isn't it interesting that two extremely different religions are confronted with such similar temptations and issues....

(a solitary holy man is meditating on this side of the river, while a body is being burned in a fire at the point just beyond the rocks on the far side)

The next morning we went to visit a nearby orphanage, where after introductions with the older students and a tour of the campus, our kids played games organized by the boys at the orphanage. Our seniors took the lead here, which encouraged our younger students to feel comfortable joining in the games.

(some of the boys at the orphanage)

That afternoon we went on a bike ride around the area. The following morning we took a jeep safari into the national park. Although we chased fresh evidence that elephants were nearby, we missed them, but we did see over 40 spotted dear, over 20 peacocks, and lots of other beautiful birds.

We went from there to a spot above the beach camp, from where we rafted down to the camp. Since we did this more rapid stretch in the afternoon, the water was much higher and faster, so the journey which was meant to take an hour and a half took only 45 minutes! The camp staff was ready, though, meeting us with cups of tomato soup as we walked onto the beach.

(enjoying a relaxing afternoon after the raft trip)

The next day, we hiked up and down a mountain. We consistently climbed uphill for the first two and a half hours, and were rewarded with a great vista for our box lunches.

(along the way)

(celebrating our having made it to the top!)

(children in a village we hiked through)
Our last day was an epic 28-hour journey home, which included rides on more buses, a train, and planes. We arrived back at the school safely and on time at 4:30. I am extremely proud of our students, as it was a demanding, and often cold week. Night temperatures got down to 2-4 degrees Celcius, so the highlight of each evening was sitting around a camp fire. The students really came together throughout the week, and we all had a wonderful time! Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers, as they were much needed and used!