Himalayan Farm Farewell

Just like while writing the last post, I'm again waiting for a train. I'm leaving from Kathgodam, the station I arrived in just two days ago. I'm traveling through the night and early tomorrow morning I'm getting off in the Chakki Bank station. From there I'll continue to Dharamsala, or more precisely McLeod Ganj, the home of Tibetan government in exile. But I'll tell you more about it, when I'm actually there.

The two days at the farm went too quickly and I didn't really feel like going yet. I'm seriously considering a second stay there before leaving India. What made leaving a bit easier though, was the fact that four other people left yesterday. Only four volunteers remain now and Niraj was the only one of the four who was staying at the farm with me before our hospital touring started.

Even if saying goodbye to the people started on Sunday night already, leaving the peace, beauty and tranquility of the farm life behind today was still not easy. There is something magical about the place. If you are considering volunteering in India, you're physically fit and you're not too much of a hygiene freak, this is where you need to go. Ok, I admit, it's not as Indian as other places may be, but the welcoming and social commune atmosphere more than makes up for it.

Yesterday I did a trip further up the mountain to an abandoned farm with two others. It was again a combination of business and pleasure, since we had our axes with us for firewood collecting. The farm is not much more than a small hut, but you can still see the fields that had stayed clearer than I expected for not being taken care of for the last twenty years. The real sight for me up on the hill was not the farm itself, but the mountain spring where the water to the farm and to the villages below comes from (picture). I've seen springs before, but nothing comparable. The water gushes out of the holes between rocks and it almost looks as though the spring was a boiling pot of water. The picture of the spring doesn't show this as clearly unfortunately.

Please also check out the other pictures from the farm (and the hospital tour). This link takes you to the folder.