The Door Incident
Trip Start
Jun 30, 2008
1
4
15
Trip End
Jul 28, 2008
Rekong peo,
India
Friday, July 4, 2008
Ten hours on a local bus from Shimla to Rekong Peo in Kinnaur Valley. The road was filled with bumps and hairpin turns. About half the windows on the bus were busted and glass shards littered the floor where it mixed with puke and god knows what else. I am seated - using the term seated loosely here, as I was floating in zero gravity from time to time - close to the front door which was warped, bent and in a poor shape. It wouldn't keep closed and sprang open with a loud clash every ten minutes or so. Closing it was a challenge of both strength and dexterity but as I was sitting closest it was only natural that I acted the part as doorman.
I have to admit that I was proud of myself. There were so many things that could have annoyed - or scared - me, but they didn't. I remember being scared shitless driving on buses in the moutains on my last trip here, but now there was no fear
My bed in Rekong Peo
. None at all. I was at peace. I was able to put all body functions to idle and just be in the bus, with only very few thoughts passing through my quiet mind. And as I was sitting there, marvelling at my newfound mastery of myself, something happened. A posh looking Indian guy goes to a seat closer to the door than mine, and as it sprang open I gestured to him to close the door as he was in a better position. There was nothing but scorn in his eyes. Lifting his nose and turning his back on me, I was infuriated. I refused to close the door which was now flapping very close to the rocky walls. Finally I put my arm out of the used-to-be window and smacked the door close as hard as I could. Unfortunately for me, the outside of the door was painted with puke and full of glass shards and metal splinters. Judging from the sensation in my left hand, I was now on my way deep into the Himalayas with a broken hand and blood poisoning. Rinsing and disinfecting the wound was no easy task on that road. Asking some locals on the bus, I made sure there was a doctor in Rekong Peo in case I needed an amputation (no mom, I'm okay). After this my co-passengers worked up the compassion to help me with the door. That is until they all fell asleep and was left alone with the door from hell.It didn't take long to realize what had happened. I had allowed myself to become pissed off and the result was loss of peace and self-control
Weed growing everywhere, Rekong Peo
. From then on I accepted my lot on the bus and didn't expect anything from the others.I had chosen to travel by night to avoid paying for a room. That was stupid on so many levels. First of all I didn't see any of the scenery, except a few electric lights above me and below me. Secondly I didn't get a minute of sleep because I had to watch the door closely at all times. And thirdly I arrived at 4:30 in the morning in a town that was pitch black and all the hotels were closed. I wondered what Frodo would have done and found a bench at the bus stop. You would think that sleeping would be easy. Not so. A very loud gang war broke out in the streets around me. I think the cows won. At least the donkeys and the dogs were howling and hee-hawing as if they were being eaten alive.
At dawn I dragged myself into a guest house and ended up paying for the whole night anyway.
I've decided not to write about spiritual stuff unless I've experienced it first hand. Here's one. The mantra "Om Namah Shivaya" works for me. I used it to surrender my anger and pain and it worked like a charm. To me it means something like: I greet you, force of change and destruction. We are one and I'm causing this pain myself. I give it up. My life and death is in your hands. I will no longer worry about it.
And guess what. As I stopped fighting the world, the world stopped fighting me.
I went to bed that morning with a red and swollen hand. I woke up with no swelling, normal colour and almost no pain (completely gone now). I did go to see a doctor just in case, but he sent me away with eyes saying "what a cry-baby".
