Accidents and incidents in Rishikesh

Today was a day of accidents, injuries, and discomfort, but it was still enjoyable, if exhausting 😂.

It started when I fell in the bathroom. I'd had a shower, got dressed, and dried my hair. I then stepped back into the bathroom and slipped backwards in spectacular fashion. The first thing to hit the tiled floor was my right elbow. It hurt like hell, and judging by the amount of blood everywhere, I'd clearly done some damage! When I managed to stand up, I promptly threw up. After a while, I managed to get myself together, clean and dress my wound (I had an inch-long cut right across my elbow bone), and get changed. I then checked my blood sugar as usual before breakfast, only to find that it was 10.8 (it should be between 5 and 6). After an initial panic, and with the help of Google, I established that the spike was due to the trauma of the fall.

Apparently, in these scenarios, the body wants to make sure there’s enough glucose (sugar) available to use as fuel to fight off infection and repair any damage it’s facing. To do this, it triggers the production of stress hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol, glucagon, and growth hormone, all of which signal the liver to release more glucose into the bloodstream. This stress response can lead to potentially dangerous elevated blood sugar levels.

Feeling calmer, I decided it was best to skip breakfast, so as not to raise my blood sugar even more. I just had a black coffee and a couple of glasses of water, along with a painkiller to ease the throbbing in my elbow. I also needed to replace the dressing I'd put on, as the wound was still bleeding a lot. I contemplated cancelling my trip and going to A & E for about a milli-second. Then I set off to meet my guide 😂.

On the way, I got pooped on by a pigeon! It's the second time in the past couple of weeks. I thought it was supposed to be lucky 😄. I then went to an ATM and found the previous customer's card still in the machine. I'd seen a white guy leaving the booth as I was crossing the road, but I couldn't see him now. I got my money and then went looking for him. As I reached the place where I was meeting my guide, I recognised the guy coming out of a nearby shop. After doing a namecheck, I returned his card to him. He was a very grateful American. This was turning into an eventful day!

I found a pharmacy to buy more dressings and surgical tape, and then went to start my tour. My guide, Navin, was on time, and we set off. It soon became clear that Navin is a very religious man. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but we did spend a lot of time during the day visiting temples, paying our respects at shrines, listening to gurus teaching in Hindi, touching statues, genuflecting on steps, and praying. The last three were just Navin, not me. I did enjoy the stories about the gods, but I could have done without all the physical manifestations of his faith during the time I was paying for 😄. He also spent a lot of time on the phone to other people. Other than that, he was a great guide 😂.

We visited the Darshan of Lakshman Jhula Ashram, and a little further down the street, another temple. Here, Navin was keen to join in a ceremony that was going on. He encouraged me to join in, but I made it clear I would rather stand back and observe. Despite his explanations, it was all a bit baffling to be honest!Read more