Which way

Coming to Tiuni, entering another State Uttarpradesh from Himachal Pradesh I can feel the difference. Electricity is not working properly, internetconnectivity poor, the first impression of Tuini at night, what a bazar, feels like only shacks here…. Again I got a hotel invitation. I just said to me supporters, looking around ‚in the middle of the cold night I appreciate a warm blanket, even though it’s dirty‘ not knowing how supersmelly it was by then. Anyway I slept deep and long, weeping out the ugly smell and dirt on the way next morning.

Due during the night conditions and the task, what route to take towards Dehradun it took a while to find a place inside me, where a decision could be done. 3 roads were optional. One, the bigger one , I anyway would not like to take. So, two left. One of them is through the mountains towards Moussouri. This is the one I prefered most. It’s through a nearly 3000 m pass. This road is narrow and about 10 km longer than the 3rd option. But I really have to feel into this. The 3rd road goes through Purola. Annelie, who 7 years ago, walked with me through Romania, and wrote a book about her experiences on that 3 month journey, also wrote some years earlier a book about Uma, a German women, which lives there, close to Purola. So, should I go see Uma because of Annelie’s connection or because Uma is an interesting person? Uma is now in her 80th and lives since the 1950th in the area somewhere around Purola in a Hermitage. Annelie also told me, she maid not be there , often nowadays in Punjab.  And not 100% clear, where to find her anyway. She mentioned two villages on whatsapp voice message I could not understand proparbly. I asked Annelie to write the village names down. No reply. Hmmm.
Anyway. I decided to take the way through the 3000 m mountain. Soon after, a guy talks to me, sensing that I was thinking. He said, that the way through the 3000 m pass is not allowed to foreigners, because of a military area. I could walk only 60 km, then the military area begins. Ok. Then it will be the road towards Purola.

I make my day, still barefoot walking shortly before a small village. The street seems to be more raff, so I have to wear my slippers a km before reaching my day goal. It seems, that after walking so many places in India, now I have to get to know more Hindu places. Because my night is again in a Hindu Temple.(I walked in Punjab through ‚Sikh territory‘, in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh I was often interested in buddhist places) Together with 6 or 7 other people we sleep in nice clean blankets on the floor there. It is a good and calmful, peaceful experience.

This third way is also so good. Nature so beautiful. Famous Hanol temple I reach  in the afternoon. To my surprise about 100 other people stay at the temple also at night. Dinner is served by the temple at 8 pm. This is always a torture for me. At 5 pm I get normally so hungry. In the Hanol village  there is no real food and no fruits to get at 5pm. So I have to wait. But at 8pm my stomache is just closed up. At 6 still open and hungry, waiting. At 7pm still open, hungry and waiting. At 8 pm no real need to eat anymore. But there is also no breakfast early, because people eat late. What to do. Ok. I eat at 8.15pm finally, with the risk that I can’t sleep because of eating late.
The blankets come from a store room, they smell a little moldy, but do I get used to it? We all sleep on verandas on side buildings of the temple. Here is Vishnu worshipped, today I don’t feel a real connection.
My barefoot shoes are now always inside the bag. The slippers I left outside the temple area. In the morning they where gone? At least not there where I left them. A shop keeper tells me to look at the dining house… not there. I come back to the shelf at the temple gate… oh, they are back. Somebody wore them. It just does not feel nice, that someone took my slippers, it feels this person wore them in a unrespectful way. It takes about 30-40 min. Then the bad feeling disappears. They are back again.