Ganga Beach Resort Rishikesh

... to a Puja celebration which happens every sunset where there is a big celebration, blessings with fire and chanting led by a groiup og very devout young boys and a Guru. Quite a spirtual atmosphere.
Yoga going well and I'm losing weight too.Going to a cookery class today It will be nice to eat some interesting foo instead of the Satvic mush we have in the Ashram.

... one of the most sacred places in India, the guy giving tickets on a government-run bus is still trying to rip off foreigners.

We made it to Rishikesh about an hour later, found a riskshaw, and began the drive to Lakshman Jhula, the part of town where many travelers stay. A few minutes into the ride, it started pouring rain, and soon the streets began to overflow with water. I wasn't sure our rickshaw would be able to make it through the huge puddles ...

... edge. The Ganga aarti is a typical Indian affair. We joined the mass of worshipers and took our place on the ghats that lead down to the fast flowing Ganga, watching as men and women bathed and children played in the cold, clean current. There was a real carnival atmosphere but a noticeable lack of tourists and so consequently, at times, it felt as if myself and Mish were the main attraction of the evening. The sinking sun gave rise to a new light as people ...

... do Lakshman Jhula - placi sie ok Rs 80, za 'public'- Rs 10/osobe.
Przy moscie Lakshman Jhula sa 2 restauracje z pieknym widokiem na gory, Gange i Rishkesh - German Bakery. Mozna tam spedzic godziny czytajac i wtapiajac sie w obraz tego co jest za oknem/tarasem. Po przejsciu na druga strone swietej rzeki mozna wybrac sie na bardzo mily spacer wzdluz jej brzegu i dojsc do Ram Jhula (ok 2km ...

Chers lecteurs,
Pardon de ne pas m'etre manifestee beaucoup durant les deux derniers mois. Cest que jai ete tres occupee et il mest arrive vraiment toutes sortes de choses. Mieux vaut reprendre ou javais laisse...
Jvous avais donc quittes a Varanasi, la sueur au front deja, lestomac en compote, le moral un peu bas...comme javais dit, quoiqu'extraordinaire, Varanasi est presque trop intense.
Deja apres 10 minutes passees a Rishikesh ca allait mieux. Rishikesh ...

... which brought me another opportunity, an excuse to shop! Myself and couple of the girls decided to go into the larger town to get something appropriate. The market directly across the bridge is pretty touristy so at lunch I asked the waiter if he could recommend something better. He mentioned the local Rishikesh market so we headed there instead. What an adventure that was! Of course, everything is an adventure in India but it's really nice to go somewhere where ...

An easy overnight train brought us to Haridwar, where we hauled our increasingly heavier bags down the road looking for a bite to eat. A few poori bhajis later, we took a bus from Haridwar, past its large bronze? statue of Shiva, and innumerable billboards for Fun Valley amusement park with "striking cars" (bumper cars) and "water disco"... An Australian friend joined us in trusting a rickshaw ...

... Fort a fantastic spectacular built for previous Indian Monarchs. We nearly got cheated again by the Rickshaw driver telling us the fort was closed and offering to take us somewhere else - for more money of course. However our street knowledge kicked in and we managed to get into the Fort with no problems. At the Fort there was a show about the history of the Indian monarchy which was all very interesting. However this went on for a bit ...

... me informed of significant parts of the ceremony. It was truly a spiritually rejuvenating experience for me! After Ravi, Rakesh and I parted ways until the next day's trip back to Haridwar for a tour of its significant temples I decided to have a small dinner at Dev Raj Coffee Corner, of all things a German bakery and restaurant apparently run by locals. I had a 'vegetable sizzler' which was a large grilled mixed-vegetable patty ...

... Mumbai to the himalayan region and back down towards Delhi) in under 7 weeks, im in need of rest! Rishikesh is the perfect place to do just that, its the place where the beatles came to stay in an ashram (spiritual centre where people do yoga meditation find their "inner selfs" then go back home and go back to their normal ways.....*cough*). Anyway Lennon and co ended up writing the entire white album here so this ...