Ellen Besso Coaching

Our week in India has been very rich, very eventful. In fact it feels like 2 or 3 weeks. We left McLeod Ganj Hillstation last night at 7 pm for an overnight trip back to Delhi to prepare to fly to Varanasi on Tuesday. As mentioned the buses go fast & pass a lot, whether they’re in the city or the country. The 1st part of the journey down from the Himalayan foothills involved many switchbacks (it’s about 1500 metres/4500 feet elevation up there), & buses backing up to allow other buses around corners! The whole trip, both ways was a 12 hr vertical bump as the roads are full of pot-holes in most areas of India. So almost no sleep, which led to a headache & travel insecurities, which come up of course when we’re over-tired & overstressed. I wondered, first silently & tortuously, then aloud to Don, my partner, if I would be up to the demands of Varanasi, what with the burning ghats & all (it’s high karma to die in V & to have your body burnt on a pyre, you’ve likely read about this. Only holy people, children & those too poor for wood are put uncremated into the Ganges).

The dirt & cow dung is getting to me (the holy cows roam the streets). I’m learning to deal with the beggars better…you have to develop a thick skin, & a philosophy for giving/not giving. My latest method is to give intuitively, still favouring women & disabled people. Some of the moms of young babies in McLeod Ganj say “no money, no money, when you try to give them something”. It turns out they want you to buy them powdered milk, which costs 10 – 20 times what you would give in cash, but it’s for a good cause.

A good part of travel is ‘housekeeping’ or ‘trip management’, especially if you move around frequently. You have to have a ready cash flow & make on-going bus, train, plane & possibly hotel reservations, although we winged it for M.G. It all takes time, effort & stamina.

All for now. Varanasi notes in 2-3 days.