Burn Out.... (What! This Early??)

We have overdone it…

In our enthusiasm to get involved and hands-on immediately, ignoring warnings to take it easy in the heat and acclimatize slowly, we have definitely overdone it.

We need to rest up a bit, but one thing we have discovered… Clean Himalaya really does need some help on their admin. At present, no one has had any time to collate any information on the different rubbish collections runs, how long they are taking, who is sorting their waste into organic and non-organic etc, etc. This is all data that could be useful and help paint an overall picture about what is going on. As an IT specialist (Marc) and an administrator (Corin) we undertake to get information collated.

The first job is to get some spreadsheets written so that we have some data collection forms to work on. We agree a plan with Jitendra and Susan and retire to the cool of the EnlightenNext office to make a start.

The office computer seems OK at first. Marc gets it tidied up and we get to work. After 20 minutes or so, it shuts itself down – it has overheated…. There is nothing to do but wait for it to cool down. As soon as we get up and running again, there is a powercut! This sequence of events carries on – what should have been a morning’s work, in fact, takes all day.

In order to resolve the overheating (the computer, not us..) problem, we need to travel down to the main town of Rishikesh, which is much bigger than Tapovan and has computer and tool shops. We take the equivalent of the local bus, a motorized rickshaw, that you can hop on and off for the rupee equivalent of a few pence.

Rishkesh has the same kind of feel as Tapovan, but just on a larger scale. It is more colourful, dirtier, noisier, smellier and even more packed. However, if you need to buy a particular item, it is the best place to go. The shops are all open fronted and seem to be grouped into shops selling the same kind of item or service, all the fruit stalls together, clothes shops together etc etc. Wandering through the market, it suddenly opens out on to the water front by the Ganges, where all the stalls are selling incense and orange garlands of flowers. It is a treat for the senses!

In Rishikesh, we have discovered the best eating place we have come across so far. We have no kitchen, so all meals have to be eaten out. That’s OK, as it is easy to get a cheap, tasty meal – but the Rajasthani is a cut above the others places we have been to.

It does not look much from the outside or the inside, to be frank! There are 5 or 6 rows of marble effect tables, and the walls are lined by garish and exotic pictures of Hindu gods. To keep the temperature bearable, 8 fans whirr at full speed overhead. Each table is taken, but service and eating is very speedy and it does not take long to get seated. The staff are all eager Nepalese waiters and cooks, it is very busy, but everyone seems to know exactly what they are doing and soon your selection from the menu of India and Chinese dishes arrives fresh at the table.

Marc has also had a visit to a local barber. This was quite an experience – not only a good haircut, but a full head massage too, complete with eucalyptus oil! He looked very smart, but completely spaced out after the pounding, rubbing and twisting that he was subjected to.

The weather is worth a mention – my English conditioning has finally got the better of me. It is can be a lot hotter than we were ready for. About 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Both of us have lived and worked in hot countries, but this has taken us by surprise. When the sun is high in the sky, it is a fantastic sight, but just walking a short distance feels like a big deal, let alone traipsing along for a couple of hours collecting rubbish. The nights are cooler, but it is still hard to sleep despite cooling showers and ceiling fans.

It can cloud over, though, very quickly. The temperature drops to a more manageable level, but this has proved to be a warning of an approaching thunderstorm. The storms are spectacular. Great dark clouds forming over the hills save everything they have got and finally hurl their full weight of wind and rain down on the world below in short, but intense bursts. Black sky, shutters banging and trees bending to the ground in the wind, rain drenching everything and everyone who can’t get to shelter quickly enough. We are still a month or so away from the monsoon season, what on earth will it be like then?