I am so ready to start sleeping on a new bed. This mattress really sucks and I’m awake several times throughout the night feeling cold and sore again. I wake up for good at 6:45, having slept through all three of my alarms and the yoga class I wanted to attend. It takes about ten minutes of being awake to realize that something besides my back doesn’t feel quite right. Also, I need to use the bathroom. Now. Like this second. I stayed too long in one city: Delhi Belly has found me.
From what I’ve heard, I’ve been “blessed” with a comparatively mild case. It’s more like a mild dose of Delhi diarrhea with a few stomach cramps now and then. At least I get a warning so I know when to go to the bathroom: there’s a loud gurgling noise somewhere in my intestines, I feel a little dizzy and maybe burp. It’s an odd combination of factors and kind of makes me wonder exactly what’s going on in my body right now. After an hour of alternating trips to the bathroom and fits of sleep I start to feel a little nauseous. Okay, now this is NOT an encouraging development. The urge isn’t overly strong and kind of comes and goes, but it’s there nonetheless.
Fortunately, I came to India prepared for precisely such a scenario. I open up my first aid kit and pull out the following: plastic measuring spoon, Immodium, anti-diarrhea syrup, charcoal tablets and anti-nausea syrup. I proceed to heavily self-medicate and try to fall asleep again. I start thinking back to what I ate yesterday and try to figure out what could have caused it. Breakfast at Devraj? I probably would have felt sick sooner. The orange from the street market? Doubtful, I peeled it myself and it didn’t have any bad spots. The cookies from the street vendor? Maybe, but that doesn’t seem likely, either. Drinks with Bhav? I’ve had several there and been fine, and I don’t think drinks cause diarrhea. Dinner at the ashram? I think we have a winner. They served boiled spinach in a very watery sauce and I’ve gotten really sick from greens before.
When I wake up an hour and a half later I feel like I’m functioning at about 75% and that’s enough for me to get out of bed and out of the ashram. Bhav and I decide to take one last walk up to Laxman Jhula to get one more slice of cheese toast. I start to feel like I’m dying about 15 minutes into a 45-minute walk, but that’s only on the uphills. Oh, wait, we’re in the Himalayas and there’s a fair number of uphills to deal with. After frequent breaks because I can’t catch my breath—wasn’t the problem with my stomach? Why can’t I breathe?—we finally make it to Devraj. The cheese toast is as good as I remember and I take a risk on some lemon-mint juice that is so fresh the crushed mint turns it green. 
The walk back is about as enjoyable/easy, but now I have extra motivation to make it: beach time! I’ve brought my towel and I’m wearing my swimsuit and I intend to actually swim, not just wade, in the Ganges. We seek out a suitable spot away from as many creepy old men as we can and I quickly throw off my clothes and head for the water. IT’S FRICKIN’ FREEZING. I can’t breathe again, but now it’s for a totally different reason than before. I’ve completely forgotten I’m sick as every inch of my skin shrivels and pricks up into goosebumps. I force myself to swim out about 10 feet then hightail back onto shore. I manage to get Bhav to go in up to his knees, but he wimps out after that.
Unfortunately, the flies begin to swarm our legs after only about 20 minutes of lying on the sand, so we head back towards the Ashram where he’ll go to his music lesson and I’ll check on my tickets. As I think about it, I have no idea what to do if I don’t get out of here tonight. The power in Rishikesh has been going in and out for a couple days now (my first experience with power outages), adding unnecessary drama to the whole situation, and while I wait for the internet cafes to be up and running again I take a nap. When I can finally check my tickets for the train tonight I’m relieved to see that one of them has been confirmed. I’m finally moving on! More importantly, I’m finally ready to move on!
I really don’t know what I’m going to do without Bhavesh to talk to and get me good deals on things. It’s so great that I met someone I got along with so well and had so much in common with right when I needed a pick-me-up. He’s the main reason my morale has finally risen to travel-ready levels again. Staying in Rishikesh longer was absolutely the right thing to do, but I also think moving on again is the best move to make now.
So I get on my third train looking forward to (okay, maybe slightly dreading) the craziness that is Varanasi and trying not to get nervous about not having a hotel reservation already. Quick calls to mom and Oke drain the talk-time on my phone after just ten minutes, but it’s enough for me to be able to fall asleep easily, knowing that I’ve at least checked in with people I care about.
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