RISHIKESH!!!!

Day 8 (Jan 8th)

I wake up to Brenden saying…"did we sleep through the alarm?" I gasp…moment of panic…WHAT!? It was 6am~now we have 30 minutes to get out of the hotel, get a taxi, get to the train staion, buy tickets, AND get on the RIGHT train! Ok…here we go! I felt like I was on the "Amazing Race" or something! I threw on my clothes, with no time to brush my teeth I threw the few things I hadn't packed the night before in my bag and ran for the elevator. We got a taxi super fast and with it being so early in the morning there was not much traffic so we got to the station around 6:20, ran in trying to find the ticket counter as we were stepping over the many people that seemed to live there…sleeping under blankets and on top of all their belongings. So this is where I believe we began to get scammed…A man with a name tag who appeared to be working there, and who we thought was "helping us" told us that the ticket booth does not open until 8am, but you can get tickets at the office down the street. He then proceeded to walk us to a "government" taxi that would take us there very fast so we could catch the 7:20 train…which by the way was not listed on any of the websites we had looked at the day before…What to do? We cant read any of the signs to try an figure out what to do on our own so we take this taxi to the "ticket office" which was really just a travel agent who then proceeds to tell that all the trains out of New Delhi are sold out for 3 days but we could get a car to Rishikesh right now. It's so amazing to me, in retrospect, how you can fall for scams that you have been told about, read about, and prepared yourself NOT to fall for! But when you are in the moment, when you think you will be stuck in a city that is sucking the life out of you for 3 more days~ its like you will do anything to get out, believe anything. Now I never like to speak of people in general, because I try really hard to allow each individual to be who they are instead of clustering them together in a "group", but these people we were dealing with on several occasions in New Delhi seemed to be pros at scamming, they know all the tricks, know what to say, and how to say it to make you trust them. So, most likely needless to say, we took a private car to Rishikesh for the equivalent of $80 including toll roads and gas (250km/155 miles). My India book says this drive will take about 6 hours…we got there in 4 1/2! By the time we got on the road it was 8am and we were in for the ride of a lifetime! I believe that if our driver came to the US and raced in Nascar~he would win. Its hard to explain how people drive here…so lets say you are on a 2 lane road (each one headed in opposite directions), the middle of the road would be like a "3rd" lane and the shoulders of the road would be like the "4th" and "5th" lanes! So everyone is constantly trying to get in front of the next, ALWAYS passing each other and constantly honking their horns. From what I can tell people don't honk their horns to be rude or because they are angry, but rather to let you know they are there. I have even seen a tuk tuk that had painted on the rear "Honk Please"! So for 4 1/2 hours we were constantly weaving in and out of cars, rickshaws, tuk tuk's, motorcycles, scooters, wagons, horse pulled buggies, cows, bulls, dogs, goats, and people on foot! It was such a crazy ride I have no idea how on earth I actually fell asleep for a while! I just kept telling myself that I needed to have faith that this man knew what he was doing and that I would arrive safely. I did chant to myself for some time in the beginning…one on my teachers in Colorado, Santosh, had suggested a Durga mantra. Durga is the Goddess of protection and Dung is her bija (seed) sound. Om Dung Durgaye Namaha. I have found this mantra to be very soothing in times that I feel unsure:) Thank you Santosh! 

Everyone has Gods and Goddesses on the dash

First glimpse of the Ganges!

Giant statue on the drive

So about 12:30 we arrived in Rishikesh (Northeast India), a place I have been reading about, looking at pictures of, and dreaming of for probably about 6 months. Would it be all I have hoped for? As we got out of the taxi, stretched our legs and strapped our bags on our backs my heart began to race in anticipation. 

We needed to find the foot bridge to cross the Ganges~ our driver said to make a right and then a another right from the parking lot where he had dropped us off. So I took the lead and began walking down this fairly narrow street, on each side of the street there were many little "shops" and stands with people selling all sorts of beautiful things from clothes, jewelry, art, statues, food…the smells were amazing~ a strange mix of spices, and incense, fresh air off the cool water of the Ganges. Ahhh…just what I needed! To finally get out of the city and be at the base of the Himalayan Mountains was truly an amazing feeling! Not too far down the road we found the footbridge as promised. Wow! I was walking across the almighty Mother Ganga!  I could hardly believe it. There were many others coming and going, workers pushing there food carts across, bicycles, and even motorcycles! And monkeys…everywhere! As we got to the other side there were some benches off to the side so we took a rest and got some pictures:) 

Foot bridge

Now we were on a mission to find Parmarth Niketan Ashram, the place I hope to study at for a month in March. I was hoping to get a chance to stay there for a night or two to be able to check it out and be sure it was what I wanted to invest my time and money in for my continued education in India. The Ashram is right behind a clock tower that is on the ghat (steps) to the Ganges. We found the tower but then was unsure of where to go from there…so I started walking around asking people…finally I found someone that seemed to understand my English but could not speak much English…he sort of ran off but then returned with another gentleman that worked at the Ashram. I asked him if we could stay for a night or two and unfortunately he said "that is not possible".  I was bummed but began to inquire about the yoga course I was interested in taking and he have me the email to contact Tara. He also sent us with a young man to take us to "a good clean hotel with heaters in the rooms and hot water". So we followed this young man through the narrow streets of Rishikesh to a place called Hotel Nirvana Palace. The moment we walked into this beautiful place we were treated with kindness. I was able to check out 3 different kinds of rooms to have my choice on amenities  and price. All of the rooms were very nice and affordable. We chose a room with a balcony and windows, a nice shower, simple but comfortable. t was 2500 Rupees a night (about $45) offers 2 daily yoga classes, message, and has a very delicious restaurant. The entire staff is so pleasant and helpful and continued to offer tips, advice, or sometimes just good conversation and company! Once we got our stuff up to our room we had some lunch at the hotel~Dal (lentils), Garlic Naan (yummy bread), I forgot what kind of vegetable we got but it was also very good and the Honey Lemon Ginger Tea was amazing! After lunch we set out to explore the town~so much to see! Cows everywhere~just hanging out on the streets…and you know what that means~ you have to watch your step…cow poop! Again, there are monkeys everywhere, and I don't think I would ever tire from watching them…way better than TV! We explored for wail and as the sun began to sink it got cold! Which I don't think I have really mentioned yet…it has been way more cold here than I would have ever imagined! I have been layering almost all the clothes I brought with me:) So we found some gloves at a little shop before we headed to our first Ganga Aarti. A Ganga Aarti is a ceremony of prayer, song, chanting, and many other offerings to Mother Ganga including fire, flowers, and insence. I hope to learn more about the true meaning behind everything that is happening during an Aarti but my basic understanding of it is that it is a holy fire ceremony where all can offer thanks to the life giving waters of the Ganges. It was truly magnificent. Before we entered the ghat (steps) we bought a "candle" which is this beautiful arangment of  flowers(w/no stems) in a basket make of big leaves, it has a stick of insence and these little square thins that light on fire. Many many people purchase these from locals, usually little kids selling them on the street, to light at the Aarti. The Aarti begins with mantra chanting(prayer) and a fire ceremony that is said to invite the positive vibration throughout. As I sat there on the ghat in front of this giant statue of Shiva on the Ganges I couldn't help but shed a few tears. Tears of many emotions…it was so surreal that I was actually sitting here, in a place I had only seen pictures of. The magic that surrounded me was so incredible I was overwhelmed and the tears just began to stream down my face, tears of excitement, joy, and I believe most of all, tears of accomplishment. I did. I had set an intention, and there I was, sitting right where I had hoped to be one day. So cool.

Top of clock tower

cow on the ghat!

super cute kids wanted a picture with me:)

Ganga Aarti

My first sunset on the Ganges

Shiva on the Ganga

One day too many...

Day 7 (Jan 7th)

Today was "one day too many" in New Delhi. After a wonderful tour and a great day to ourselves at the temples we should have moved on, but instead we decided to go do some shopping. We got a taxi to take us to the Seik Temple first which was cool even though it was under major construction. You take your shoes off, wash your feet and cover your head, they had live music and chanting that I sat to enjoy for some time. It was just neat to watch the people and try to figure out what is happening all around you. Many devotees would bring flowers or scarfs to offer to the puja (ceremony), and it seemed that the man performing the ceremony (who I assumed to be some sort of a priest) would bless the items and then add them to the beautiful arrangement. In the back corner of the temple there was a very fancily decorated room with a bed in it…not sure who sleeps there, if anyone, but before anyone left the temple they would go back and kneel in front of the stained glass doors that enclosed the room/bed and bow/pray/give thanks and gratitude. On the way out of the temple you hold your hands out (right on top of left…in India you eat with your right hand and clean yourself with your left. Most do not use toilet paper but instead there is a facet next to the toilet and you clean yourself that way, so you never offer your left hand out to anyone or take anything with your left, only your right.) and someone gives you a little bit of something with the consistency of a thick oatmeal, I have no idea what it was but it sure did taste good! It seemed to me that it was something similar to communion in a catholic church. Outside of the temple there was a reflection pool with a lot of coy fish, many people were putting there feet in the water and splashing the water on their face and over there head. I think they do this as a way of blessing themselves with the water in which they believe to be holy water. While I was admiring the beauty around me a young boy asked me, in very few words, if I would take a picture with this old man. I don't know who the man was, maybe his grandfather, of coarse I did and they both were very grateful. 

Cool ladder:)

Again our driver waited for us and took us to Connaught Place for some shopping. This is where things started to get a bit crazy…we wanted him to just drop us off but instead  he drove around the entire shopping center and then drove us to a textile store. What you have to understand is that stores in India, from my experience, are not like stores in the USA. Here, the second you walk into a store you are getting haggled, but the thing is, you don't even realize it until it is too late! As soon as we walked into the store we were invited towards the right to "have a look", seemed harmless…within minutes they had us sitting comfortably on a couch serving us green tea and showing/explaining how they make these hand made rugs in Kashmir, AND THEN THE REAL SHOW began as they began showing us all of these beautiful rugs, having us take off our shoes to walk on them and feel how soft they are…man o man I wanted one so bad but it was out of my budget so I said thank you I would think about it, that I am traveling for 3 months and would be back in Delhi at the end of my trip and might come back if funds allow…oh no…he was not having that! He would not leave me alone, reminding me of the quality of the rugs, and how I am a friend of theirs so the price does not come from here( pointing at his head) but from here (pointing at his heart). My my. Finally I had to be very stern and tell him NO THANK YOU and walk away. Then I tried to buy some new shirts and the same thing happened! Well, thankfully  I stood my ground and survived my first shopping experience in India :) By the time we got out of there I was spent. I felt completely exhausted and sick to my stomach. When we got back out to the taxi he seemed very disappointed that we had not bought a lot of things…I don't know this for sure but it seemed like he would get some sort of a commission from our purchase…which is why he took us to a particular store instead of just letting us walk around! When we got back to the hotel I should have just taken a nap but instead I spent a bunch of wasted time on the computer trying to get us train tickets to Rishikesh for the next day but all of the websites were unhelpful and we were unable to purchase out tickets ahead of time so we decided we would just get to the station extra early to be sure we could get to Rishikesh. 

It was time for dinner but I was still not feeling well at all. I don't know if it was the green tea or just the crazy vibration of the city that was getting to me but I felt very sick to my stomach. We decided to check out My Humble House, the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. It was a very beautiful place, so elegant, I was sad I couldn't really enjoy it. I attempted to eat some clear broth vegetable soup but it was very hard to get down…towards the end of the meal the waiter asked me if I was okay, I told him I wasn't feeling well and he said he was sorry to hear that. A few minutes later he came with a pot of Jasmine Tea…he said it was very good for the body and it would help me feel better~ and it did!  We went to settle our bill for the hotel at the front desk so we wouldn't have to do it in the morning and then headed back to the room to pack so we would be ready to leave for the train station by 5:00am…the train would be leaving at 6:30am. First lesson…always set your own alarm!!!

A Spiritual Disneyland...3rd day in New Delhi

Day 6 (Jan 6th)

Today we went to Swaminarayan Akshardham (google me… www.akshardham.com) This place was so amazing! We took a small van taxi from the hotel and negotiated a price of 900 Rupees which is less than $18. It was about a 20 minute ride there arriving around 12noon. When we got there the taxi driver kept saying…"I wait for you"…we kept trying to refuse and just pay for our ride there but he would not take our money! We felt bad because we had planned on staying at the temple and exploring its grounds the whole day, considering it is set on 100 acres! But he would not take no for an answer so we headed towards the front gate. Photography is strictly prohibited so we took a few shots before we headed in and decided to use the bathroom too…my first Indian toilet experience of the trip…wasn't as bad as I had conjured up in my head! It basically looks like the bottom part of an american toilet without the seat and its on the ground with traction spots on each side for your feet…squat and go! 

Before you can enter the grounds you have to turn in any bags, cameras, and phones. They have a really cool system though. Once you get to the counter you take your camera/phone out of your bag and they have a surveillance camera that catches everything and is connected to a number that is also on a metal "coin" that they give to you. So then when you are ready to leave you turn in your coin and they check the video to be sure that the right person is picking up the right bag/camera/phone. So anyway, my India book called this place the "Disneyland of Temples"…and I would have to agree!  We spent the entire day there. The main temple is totally breath taking and I felt like I could stand there and stare at it for hours…I guess I kinda did! Around the bottom of the outside of the temple they have carvings of depicting different stories from ancient text, gods/goddesses and so forth, so realistic. The temple is carved out of red stone and white marble and built without the use of any steel! You should definitely check out the website to get a better understanding of what I mean! The inside is equally impressive. There are several exhibitions throughout the grounds including a boat ride (which reminded me of 'Its a small world after all" ride) that takes you through the history and tells the story of India, a life size diorama that moves from room to room telling the story of Neelkanth Varni (this whole place is dedicated to him), who was an enlighten being and yogi by the age of 11, and a really cool musical color water fountain show after sunset. It was such a cool day and was nice to be on our own enjoying it all at our own pace. As we were walking out we started placing bets on wether or not our taxi driver would still be waiting for us (it was 730pm when we were leaving!) and if not how easy it would be to make it back to the hotel…sure enough, after 7 1/2 hours there he was waiting for us with a smile and was happy to take us anywhere else we wanted to go! We could not believe it! When we arrived at the hotel we gave him 2000 rupee's ($36) and he acted very surprised and so very grateful! We think that maybe he meant 900 rupee's round trip…so when we gave him double that he asked if we need a taxi for tomorrow:) We probably gave him too much but it felt good to make someone else so happy and to see the gratitude he expressed was priceless! 

By this time we were starving and were lucky to get a reservation in one of the hotels restaurants Bukhara. It has been said to be one of the best places to eat in all of Asia! We had just enough time to shower and get ready for dinner at 915. The restaurant was very unique and delicious. I had something called Alloo Dum…potato stuffed with cheese,nuts, and dried fruit covered in a yummy sauce that was spicy…but not so spicy I couldn't handle it:) YUMMY! With a full tummy I was so exhausted we went straight to bed and got a wonderful nights sleep. 

Swaminarayan Akshardham