quarter break.

last weekend was quarter break here. so as residence staff i had to plan a trip for the kids who couldn't go home. we decided to head off into the hills for some camping, trekking and the famous temple of yamunotri. so after a 6 hour jeep ride on thursday afternoon, a tire puncture, and a landslide, we arrived in the tiny potatoe village of hanuman chatti. we were lucky that there was one tiny chai stall open and we found some rooms where we crashed for the night.

don't worry mom, there was a hospital... sort of

early morning chai

there was a small group of boys who wanted to go "extreme" and find some snow and camp on one of the local peaks. we were thinking after a day we'd reach snow and then camp... but after 2 hours we were waist deep... so we headed back and camped with the rest of the group.

we did a day hike up to the yamunotri temple one day, this a view looking back down the valley

this is the famous temple.. pretty dirty and tacky, but we'd heard of hot springs being here.

we'd set ourselves up for some filthy, luke warm springs... but they were super hot! i can't remember the last time i had a bath... no bathtubs here in india. the holy sadhu's in their skimpy sumo style shorts was pretty funny. the girls were a bit disapointed though as the ladies section is below the mens with all of the dirtier runoff water... the equality hasn't quite made it here.. this is kyle and i soaking up the holy goodness. legend says that one dip in these waters and you will be spared from a horrible death! so we were pretty confident on the drive home...

it was a great way to spend our easter break... and there was also a hindi festival going on at the same time called "holi". this festival is basically a big water fight, but the water is dyed with many bright colors... it was neat watching the villagers go at it and hearing the drum procession as different groups marched through town trying to find their next victims. for the most part they left us alone but we managed to get some color at the temple... my color looked more like a war wound to the head so i think some people were concerned as we walked by... just another reason to stare.