Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

We had to find a place where we could baptize our bag... And that... is not easy. Because in August, it rains in India. Not all the time but enough to make any hike a bit tedious.

I know of two superb (and dry) trekking areas in India: Ladakh and Spiti Valley. But I had already explored these places (in August, and with no rain) but I was a bit reluctant to go there, mostly because of the altitude with my little one. For example, my mother had a bad mountain sickness in Spiti Valley.

I then explored Himachal Pradesh, with options around Manali (less far than Spiti Valley) but the prospect of a 15 hour bus journey to get there stopped me immediately. Which the local organiser found surprising and difficult to understand; and quite frankly I don’t know how Indians manage to do such trips with children...

I then went on the trail of Uttarakhand where I had had a very nice (and wet) experience in August in the region of Kumaon. But we were in a nice hotel, the rain sounded more romantic than if I had been in a tent. Yet many treks in this region (mostly pilgrimages) can ONLY be done during monsoon. So I guess it is possible to trek there in this season. A heavy rain put an end to my considerations, when I heard in the news about landslides – you should have seen the debacle in 2013, with some 5,700 people disappeared in these landslides.

So I ended up considering Kashmir and bought tickets before anyone could discourage me: I know the reputation of Kashmir but if you base your decision on reputation, you don't do anything anymore! As soon as I told my (Kashmiri) Pilates instructor she warned me: it's crazy (not to say stupid) to go there on August 15^th (India independence day) when the insurgents who want secession are taking advantage of the summer snowmelt to come down and create some chaos in the capital. Oh well well, the tickets were booked, so let’s see! And there, BOOM!, barely a few days later, an rebel was killed, the conflict started all over again, 350 were injured, curfew was set up. Still I didn’t panic. I had one month left for things to calm down.

And to add to this, a few days later, I got to know that one of the girls in our group was pregnant! She asked her gynecologist for advice and the latter reacted in a very unambiguously way: “Trekking in Kashmir in August? But why? Are you telling me you want to go to Kashmir now? I am a Kashmiri and I tell you it is out of question right now with all that is happening!”. My friend asked her to make abstraction of the destination and to advice whether she could do a trek... And she was not overly enthusiastic: her concern was physical exercise, when it is recommended to take it easy during the first trimester. “Why do you want to get tired?” She gave up on explaining! Because it is true, when you think of it, why get tired?And here we were three weeks before departure, without any program. The situation was not abating in Kashmir, to the point that airlines and tourist agencies paying were fully reimbursing any booking. And to be honest I had starting wondering if this all not a sign of destiny: take it easy woman and go relax by the sea in some luxury resort... So I surfed the net, from the Andaman Islands to Koh Sa Mui. And during this trip, I came across an ad for Nepal. Nepal! How could I not think of it before??

Trekking in Nepal in August? But why?

Well here is why…

It all started on a cool day of April 2015, while me and my family were visiting the Corsican mountains, with a 4-month-old Baby Samurai baby. I was so proud, carrying my offspring like a mama Kangaroo! But after a couple hours a family overtook us, and they were carrying a 12-month-old baby in special trekking carrier, an amazing thing. And THIS gave me lots of ideas!

When we started wondering where to go for the summer holidays this year, I immediately pictured a short trek with 20-month-old Baby Samurai. The first part of the plan was relatively easy: finding an amazing carrier. It is not really available in India. But a French girl happened to be selling hers on a website of expatriates. I bought it without a second thought!

Well, not so easy easy to adapt to be honest... Be it only because of the climate and the wildlife.

For example from May to June it was hot. So hot even the mosquitoes did not survive here, and it was nice! At nearly fifty degrees, you are at high risk of liquefaction, at least of your brain. Even the pool water becomes too hot. One or two sandstorms to spice up everything and give a little fun to the cleaning lady, as the house is apparently completely permeable to dust. From time to time we can spot a snake looking for water, possibly in the pool, even he is hot the poor thing...

End of June – beginning of July there were ups and downs, and a little rain. Just enough for flies to hatch. Quite a nuisance these flies. Obviously, when it gets hot the AC guy comes by to check that everything works well in the office. And as everything works well, he decides to be a bit zealous and loosen some valves. Following which he creates a water damage and flees the crime scene, letting water flowing from the ceiling cheerfully. How nice was it, all of us sweat profusely in the office during the following week!

And then mid-July it began to rain a little more, almost once a week. Just enough for mosquitoes to resuscitate this time! And at the end of the month, a day or two of heavy rains destroyed a lot of infrastructure – well, they forgot to put a drainage system when they built the city so I don’t get how everybody got so surprised by the flooded roads – and left Gurgaon stranded for almost an entire night (cf below what the poor rich of my society had to go through, tough life!). And gave life back to the... ants! Yes yes! So at the moment there is a waltz of flies, mosquitoes and ants. And the temperatures are quite pleasant (minus the humidity otherwise it would be too much happiness).

Apart from all these summer, climate and entomological considerations, life isn't so bad in our big quite house. What is a little painful is that nothing is at a walkable distance. But hey, we can’t have everything!