On the Road Again...

Our time in Mussoorie has come to a close. The flurry of socializing over the weekend was fun. It's so good to have so many old friends here. Monday was a quiet day, the first of a week-long break for staff and students. There was only one person in the office; I stopped by, but my work for this time was mainly finished. Our longtime dhobi, Om Prakash, came by in the morning with our laundry from last Thursday. Because of the constant mist, it wasn't completely dry, so I draped the things all over our furniture. (Most of it went into trunks for the Dunda village project and I didn't think it was a good idea to put damp clothes inside.)

I was told to feel free to use the washer and dryer (!) that have been placed in the guest room area. It took me most of the day to run two loads through, plus putting a number of the dhoti-cleaned things in. The washer took about 90 minutes and the dryer at least that long. But what a treat to be able to use it and bring virtually no dirty clothing along!

Dan with Om Prakash

Manoj carrying our bags down the stairs

 We left quite early for the train station in Dehra Dun. The Dusshera holiday was on Tuesday and we wanted to be sure to be ready to deal with traffic. Indeed, there was a procession near the Clock Tower in DD and our driver skirted the city to avoid it. We were nearly an hour early, but fortunately the A/C chair car was ready and we could go in and sit. We are always well fed on the Shatabdi train -- tea with sandwich, savory and sweet snacks; soup and bread sticks; dinner tray of rice, dal, curry and roti. And a cup of ice cream to finish off. It was a long ride and we got to our hotel about midnight. The Metropolis in Pahar Ganj is comfortable and we are used to the area now.

We had our usual breakfast at a place around the corner. Dan had an omelet and I had "banana porridge" (dhalia, cracked wheat cereal) and toast. I never eat plain white toast at home, but there is something about breakfast toast in India that tastes delicious, especially with chai.

Buttered toast - one order is 4 pieces! (I only ate two)

Banana porridge -- doesn't look too colorful, but delicious and served with honey

It's now about 11:00 AM and Dan just left to go into Connaught Place. I am going much closer, to Karol Bagh, where I'm planning to visit the West Side clothing store. I found some good things there last year, so wish me luck!

Next post in Bangalore after our 36-hour train journey. (A/C sleeper)