ThoughtWorks: Immersion: Pune: Climbing the Mountain

This might be a long one, since so much happened today. %^}

The day started later than usual, since it’s Saturday. I got up, and discovered that my toilet wouldn’t flush, and there was very little water pressure in the sink. I called downstairs, they sent up one of the fellows (houseboys?), and he said oh yes everything is okay – the water got turned off to the toilet.

I did some email and stuff, then went to take a shower. The pressure was so low that it wouldn’t even keep the button thingie out so I could take a shower. And it would have been a cold shower, because there was no hot water. I just got ready as best I could (ugh), went downstairs, and learned that “we have a problem with the water”. Yeah, no kidding! %^}

Breakfast was the usual – masala omelet, white toast, cup of tea. Then I came back to my room to take my pills, grab my camera, tripod, and a couple of lenses, and catch an auto (rick, rickshaw) by myself for the first time to go to the office where we were all to meet and get on our bus for our outing.

“IBM Tower” (the complex where the TW office is, also houses a building that all IBM, and is known as the IBM Tower)

“30 rupees”

“20” (I know this, having taken a rick there every day)

“25”

“20” (start to walk away)

“Okay – you sit please”

Half way there he says something about “go back empty”. I gave him 25 after all, just because 5 rupees is like 12 cents and what the heck.

We all arrived (although some had to spend a bit of time in the bathroom – they’re all suffering from flu, stomach problems, etc), got on the bus, and off we went. Two hour drive to go 30km (about 20 miles) because we had to drive through the center of Pune to get there.

We passed the temple I now think of as the Temple of Stolen Shoes along the way. %^}

We finally got there, and got off the bus and prepared to start our “trek”. I’d been thinking it would be a leisurely stroll through the Indian countryside up to the fort. Oh, was I ever wrong. Steep, hot, humid, and did I mention steep? We were told it would take about 1.5 – 2 hours. And it did. And the killer is that at any moment in time, you have two choices: go up or go back down. There’s no “I quit”, because you’re in the middle of a rocky, muddy, sometimes a bit close to the edge trail that seems to go on forever.

It was a freakin' mountain. Maybe a small mountain, but a mountain. My new friend Xu Wei (shoe way) walked with me, and insisted on carrying my camera and tripod much of the way (he treats me with great respect as I’ve been teaching him English, including carefully helping him with his pronunciation)(he lives in Beijing with his wife, and used to climb 15 floors to his office every day just because he liked to). Then he tried to insist on carrying my sling pack, and I wouldn’t let him. He was really quite solicitous, and it was nice. I was totally wasted about half way up. The last time I was that hot, sweaty, and exhausted was the time I did four masters karate seminars in one day, the day before a karate tournament.

Each time there was a step up onto a rock (as opposed to just trail), I’d stop, stare at it for a moment, work up my energy and will, and step up. It was work. I’m proud of myself that I did it, and in retrospect would have been just as happy to ride the bus up. Sigh.

Xu Wei: “Maybe you need a rest, Doc”

Xu Wei: “Let me carry bag, Doc”

Xu Wei: “Maybe walk slow, take rests, Doc – better that way”

Me: “Yes, mother”

He got the humor. %^}

We finally got to the top of the trail, where we found a stone wall, and a bunch of people milling and walking. I looked to my right and realized that we had to climb 100 or more steps to get up to the fort. It was almost enough to break me, but it didn’t! Up we went, and finally got to the scenic part, which was quite spectacular (other than the mist and smog and such).

I took pictures with my friends, then went off a little ways to take more pictures from a small promontory which promised an excellent view. I asked Xu Wei to take care of my bag for me.

So there I went to take pictures, including of some of the locals. And it started to rain. So I grabbed camera and tripod and started moving toward where I’d left the others.

Of course – no doubt you’ve guessed – they weren’t there. So I didn’t have my bag to put my camera in, didn’t have anything to cover it with, so started moving quickly to the nearest shelter – an archway along the path, about 100 paces away. I huddled there for a bit with some others. The rain eased to something like a stiff drizzle, so I started moving again. The rain became harder, and I moved as rapidly as I reasonably could to the next inadequate shelter. This continued until I got to the parking area.

I was totally soaked through by then, and had done my best to shield my camera from the rain. I looked around, didn’t see anyone I knew, walked around these rough sort of covered areas, and then went a bit further where I found the bus (really more like a van that seats 15). I climbed in and the driver, a fellow named Ramesh, immediately grabbed a cloth and started wiping the water off my tripod and camera! He just didn’t even think about it and started helping.

After a short while, I went back out and wandered a bit more. Nikki came up (she had ridden up in the bus), and we walked back to the bus together. Ramesh continued to dry and clean my camera. He really did quite a remarkable job, blowing water out of cracks, wiping and cleaning. Nikki and I talked and rested. Nikki is originally from the UK, living in Sydney now (was in Brisbane), and is 41, married to Graham (also a techie, was a helicopter pilot, back to being a techie), and a truly delightful person. She’s closest in age to me of the entire group, and we’ve had some lovely conversations.

Anyway, a while later Subhash came to the bus (he’s 23, from Bangalore, smart and very brash), dropped off some things, and asked me if I wanted to come back out. At that point, I was tired, wet, and didn’t want to take my camera out again since it hadn’t totally stopped raining.

I napped for a bit, talked with Nikki some more, and a couple of the others showed up: Pushpa (originally from the Bangalore area, now living in the UK, married), Marc (37, from Perth and now living in Sydney, married to Natalie, who prefers to be known as Nat) and Aideen (as Irish as they come, with fair skin and red hair, somewhere in her mid- or late-twenties, married to a man name Patel who has never been to India). Aideen had, apparently, reached her limit of – umm – intestinal endurance and had finally relieved herself in a pit toilet that had a minimum of privacy. Marc was in bad shape, finally grabbed his small roll of toilet paper and went off to do the same somewhere. This is, as I mentioned, a bit of a theme with this group (other than me!).

Others started drifting in over the next 1.5 – 2 hours until all but Chris Kozak and Subhash were in the bus. Then we sat and waited and waited and sat. Pradip (one of the ThoughtWorkers from the Pune office was with us, because Rixt – our chief trainer – hadn’t yet recovered from her sickness that kept coming and going) went off to find a spot where he’d have a signal on his phone so he could try to call Chris. Which he did and he did and finally Chris and Subhash came back. Whew.

The drive down the mountain was hairy. Small, narrow, twisty, frequently dirt and potholed road with traffic going both ways. And we made it.

I had the driver drop me nearby, outside Pune Central, since he had to pass this way and everyone else in the bus was either going back to the office or to the bungalows which are near the office. (Gautam wasn’t there because he flew to be with his family in Bangalore today, and Chris moved to the bungalows from the hotel last night)

And I GOT TO TAKE A NICE HOT SHOWER! Yay! My pants (actually “pants” means underwear to the Brits and Aussies, they say trousers) had dried – one of the nice, light pairs I bought at REI – as had my shirt. My pants (meaning underwear), however, had not and I was SERIOUSLY glad to get them off!

Then I went downstairs to the restaurant for paneer mutter with nan and mineral water (bottled water), followed by TWO fruit custards. Y’see, the rest of the group, after deserting me on the hill, had wandered together and gotten lunch. I hadn’t – so all I’d had was some cookies (biscuits in Aussie/British English) and water.

Now, I’m replete, clean, and ready for a bit of TV and rest.

And am pulling the 700+ pictures I took today onto this computer so I can review them and upload them.

Life, all things considered, is quite good.

The only question in my mind is whether I’ll be frozen with muscle pain in my legs tomorrow or Monday. LOL