Return to the Winterline

We watched the sun set behind the winterline tonight -- the line of temperature inversion at around 6000 feet, where the dust and fog and smoke from ground level is trapped, forming a very distinct curtain behind which the sun's light completely disappears.
We are now at 7500 feet, at the Rokeby Guest House in Landour Cantonment, Mussoorie.
The guest house is a luxury renovation of Christopher's old school dormitory, so it is a special treat for us to stay a night here.
We are visiting Woodstock School for a nostalgic return to the mountains and the campus, and particularly so that Coleman can meet up with his classmates before they all graduate from high school -- he will not be able to attend their graduation here, as he will be preparing for his own graduation in Dhahran next June. Our Eid-al-Adha holiday week allows just a few days in the mountains, given the lengthy travel time and the fact that Air India preponed our return flight by a day.
It has been a marvelous nostalgic trip thus far, meeting with old friends, catching up on the gossip (both personal and school-related), and enjoying the smells and tastes and the very cool mountain air. We have of course walked more than we would ever have imagined, up and down hills, and along the single "Mall Road" that follows the hilltop for several miles. Along that road on Saturday we met literally dozens of friends and acquaintances out for a stroll or drive. Barb got a torn blouse repaired at our local tailor, and her bible re-bound at the bookbinder, all while we strolled into town for the day. And we are becoming inured to the very-close-shave driving practiced on the very narrow mountain roads.

India is vibrant as ever. Prices are noticeably higher now, particularly for gasoline. Some of the infrastructure is improved -- the Delhi airport and the Delhi metro are fantastic now, and some of the roads are newly-surfaced. But there is little change in Mussoorie, and at Woodstock, in the past 2 years. Woodstock is anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new principal in November.

Pictures? Click on the picture below to see an album

2011India

Comments

Riding the Bus often

From 201010 Saudi scenes It is ironic that this land of cheap gasoline has so much group transport -- buses. From 201010 Saudi scenes Our housing compound has a Toyota-Coaster bus that takes some to/from school (we usually go earlier and return later, on a similar bus that the school provides). Driver Yahya takes residents on the 90-minute trip down to the Big City shopping every Thursday morning. The above picture shows our group one Thursday, usually going to Ikea or the new Lulu's Hypermarket , or the Dhahran Mall. Coleman rides a different bus every day to and from school -- usually 100 minutes there, 80 minutes back. His bus is evidently an old tourist bus, usually comfortable but a bit dusty. The air-conditioning usually works too well. I've ridden it with him several times, to attend business meetings at the district office. From 201010 Saudi scenes There he is, at 5:45am every morning, at the start of the bus run. Fortunately only about 20 stu...

EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico . There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver. Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government. As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time. I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government? And what will it take to recover from the damage? Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever? Only ni...

Yikes! Russian Chocolate!

The other day we chanced upon a Slavic grocery store. We went inside, marveled at all the products from various eastern european countries, from Czechia to Poland to Yugoslavia to Russia to Kazakhstan. I grabbed a chocolate bar... and now I realize that it's Russian, imported via Germany. The ingredients list is written in Russian, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek; and a separate ingredients sticker pasted over it in German. No Portuguese or Spanish or English. Hmm. How did it get here? And what sort of sanctions are imposed on Russian confectioners? The chocolate itself is just okay, nothing special.

Thomas journals

Search This Blog