Recently, I decided to take a solo trip to Mount Abu, the highest mountain in Rajasthan.
One might say that this journey was a spontaneous decision. Especially, since I booked the hotel and bus three days before I left. I on the other hand would say that it was a wise decision. Solo adventures are honestly, enlightening. I know it sounds cliché but I truly felt like I experienced a few of those “life moments”, where you rely on your intuition and live in the present. For starters, I know very few people who are willing to explore a random path up the side of a small mountain, solely by following a map located on a business card (more on this later). I also know very few people who are willing to deal with my constant photography when I explore new places. Either way, going loner allowed me to tap into the side of me that's willing to take small leaps of faith based on educated guesses and intuition.
My first experience with riding a bus in India wasn’t actually terrible. Sure there was a metal bar running into my leg the entire trip, but at least the Traveller Van had AC. Just after noon, we began the drive up Mount Abu road - one of those roads with kick backs and turns as it ascends the mountain. After reaching the hill station, the bus continued down the road for almost a mile, stopping in front of the travel office and elevated public toilettes - a decent landmark (definitely not a highlight). After jumping from the bus, I walked a mile to my hotel and "checked in.” There was no power, so I had to stop back at the office an hour later. While waiting for the power, I ate my gluten free packed lunch and cleaned out my day pack, with the exception of my camera. Once the power was back on I stopped by the front desk to "recheck-in" and ask what I should see/where I should go. The manager handed me a business card. On it was a small map of Mount Abu. This would be my guide for the next two days.
So, I walked.
I walked from the hotel to the middle of the market in Mount Abu. I walked from the market to Nakki Lake. I walked around Nakki lake till I found a stone stairwell that no one seemed interested in using and made the climb. This stairwell also sat below a large landmark, Toad Rock… so I assumed I was heading somewhere interesting. As I climbed the stairs I came across a Hindu priest sitting next to a small temple. He asked if I knew “Hanuman” and then blessed me. This small interaction seemed to invigorate me with new energy as I continued on my journey to the top.
At the top of the path, I stopped to take it all in. I was standing on a massive boulder overlooking a lake in the middle of a city. It was pretty dope. Interesting was the man who had set up shop underneath toad rock. This man understood the demand of climbing stairs and was clearly waiting on some thirsty tourists… glad I'm an Eagle Scout and brought my own water.
My next stop on the business card map was good ole, Honeymoon Point, located a little further down the road next to the lake. I'm not sure if the Honeymoon in the spot's name is supposed to be because the place is romantic… or if it's more in line with being peaceful, like a honeymoon from life. This was my favorite spot on the mountain. (See Last Photo)
I then walked around the rest of the lake.
I continued past road construction, saw some tourists get stuck on some roots in the middle of the lake, and passed two different monkey families. My new mission was to go to the Famous Dilwara Jain Temples which closed at 6pm. (Also spelled Delwara Temples)
Booking it up a road that looked similar to the road on my business card map, I ran into a fork and a grouping of shops. I asked a man which way to the temples. He said “yes” and pointed to my left. Following his advice of "yes", I took the road to my left (I really need to work on my Hindi). Within a few minutes I knew that I had gone the wrong way, but this was an adventure so, what the hell. Instead of finding the Dilwara temples (which were at least 3 km to the right of the shop keep), I stumbled upon the stairway to a Hindu temple, the Adhar Devi Temple. It didn't take much for me to decide to head up to the top. Being on a time crunch, I made the trek fairly quickly. Once I reached the top and the temple, I removed my shoes and headed inside. The pathway weaved through the stone taking me to a point where I was forced to leave my bag with a security guard and get on my hands and knees to crawl through an opening. The temple was carved into the rock. While I can't really describe what I felt or saw when I made it through I’ll never forget crawling into a worship chamber.
It was now 4:30pm. I set a quick pace walking down the temple stairs and back down the road to where it forked. This time I took the right and was headed to the famous Jain temples. I walked and walked, until I finally saw the Dilwara Temples in the distance. By the time I reached them on foot, it was 5:15PM. While I was lucky that I had made it on time, I was forced to check my bag and my phones, with the bag check outside of the temples. No photos for this part of the adventure; however, I can tell you that the temples were absolutely stunning and the marble sculptures were mind blowing. The oldest temple was built almost 1000 years ago. Insanity.
After gawking at the detail and exploring the temples like an awestruck tourist, I realized that the sun was setting and I needed to return before dark. Lucky for me, I'm a fast walker (yes, that was a pun). I made it back to the hill station with just enough daylight for me to grab a cold coffee at the local CCD (Café Coffee Day – it’s a big café chain in India). As I approached the café, I heard a familiar voice ask, "Walker?" It was the only other American I’ve met since moving to India.
A few weeks earlier I met Ariel, who is another American (from Chicago) living in Udaipur and is here as a Fulbright Scholar. Ariel, her fellow Fulbright Scholar, Soham (from Arizona), and friend Rachit (from Udaipur), just happened to also be exploring Mount Abu. My mind was blown. 163 km from Udaipur. Damn, it really it is a small world. After grabbing coffee and then dinner, we made plans to explore the next day. I won't bore you by typing out the extended stories from the following day; instead, I’ll leave you with a thought and a few photos:
What if making spontaneous decisions to explore the world around us, is our subconscious' way of telling us to slow down and to live in the present? By chance, could those choices and moments lead us to finding meaning in things that we would normally overlook, pass by, or otherwise never have known? If I had never pulled the trigger on this weekend trip, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see breath taking views, to take a stroll off the beaten path (following a business card map), or make new friends.
Cheers!