Hotel Raj Palace Rishikesh

... quite appropriately they were smoking a joint in the Beatles old room. Nice folks, we chatted a bit before wandering the rest of the Ashram grounds. <br><br>We finished the day off walking back along the Ganges. A small group of Hindus were taking part in a ceremony, and as they finished, Teri and I decided we too should float diyas down the river. As I placed mine in, I washed my face in the cool river water, and I believe I thusly washed a few of my sins away... <br><br>

... my stomach. (I ended up not ordering a single Indian dish the whole time I stayed here - especially with feeling sick, I started to get a little tired of Indian food and wanted to eat something more comfortable for a few days, so it was nice to be in a place that offers pizza, pasta, salads, and even burritos.)<br><br>Saturday morning, we decided to attempt yoga. I woke up still not feeling well but decided to go for it anyway and make the most of my time here ...

... I was regularly invited to place chess with the father, or play 'make silly faces' with the sprog. Really good people, who clearly took their job very seriously (the father was quite distressed the day after a bunch of pricks (Israeli, sorry but who else) had a loud party (fireworks and huge speakers and screaming) at three am). He apologised to me endlessly, like it was his fault, and gave me a huge grin and slap on the back when he told me said pricks were leaving ...

... etait offert par un autre prof mais la plupart du temps je faisais une 'self-practice' au lieu...un cours de yoga a moi-meme. 18h: souper, et je me couchais rarement apres 21h30. 2 fois par semaine, apres le souper, on chantait aussi, ce qu'on appelle kiirtan; ce sont des chants et/ou mantras en hindi chantes en groupe...la premiere fois cetait tres emouvant...jy ai vraiment pris gout...cest une facon parmi tant dautres de mediter. <br>POur la bouffe ctait tout sattvic ...

... and asked to get pictures of us. This happens quite a bit around here. It's funny because we (the foreigners and the locals) are like two aliens checking each other out, each wanting a picture of the other. I want to take a pic of them taking a pic of me...next time!<br><br>Three cars the size of a mini cooper came to get us and we packed in like sardines (7 of us in each tiny car) and sped off to the bridge. It was 1:30am when we finally arrived back at the ...

... We widdled away several hours this afternoon chatting about life.<br><br>The day before yesterday was my first yoga and meditation class. I started with the guided chanting class that ends in meditation.<br><br>I'm finding it ***********centrate on the meditation for some reason....I think. I'm not quite sleeping but I'm not quite meditating ...

... us with all of our Ashram activities. They were originally from Vancouver, but have lived there for over 20 years! They are also some of the most Canadian people we've met, even in Canada. It was really nice to have such friends who were from our Country. GO Canada! By the 3rd day we were there, Swami Susan had talked to the head Swami, and set up a concert for us at one of the evening Satsangs. Every night, the Ashram holds a ceremony, very similar to ...

Greetings my friends. We have escaped the ashram for the afternoon to get some caffeine sugar and internet!!! We did kirtan (chanting) last night, got ourselves to yoga class from 6 - 8:30 am and then joined in a fire puja (ceremony) this morning, so I think we've earned it. :) Chai, glorious chai, I cannot get enough. Here's a shot of our favoite (or at least first ) chai wallah, whose sugary connoction got us through 2 mornings ...

... nice (I think we were spoiled by our room in Agra). The resort dress code is casual...but the majority of the guests we saw walking in were in white tops and bottoms...turns out white pajamas are provided by the hotel to all guests and that's the preferred attire during your stay at Ananda. It's sort of refreshing to not have to pick a set of clothes each morning to wear. So we donned our PJ's and went to the restaurant for lunch. We ate three meals ...

... then for a select few who arrange it ahead of time they get to perform a puja on the steps leading into the river with fire. Overall there were some truly spectacular, memorable moments this weekend- I have now stood in the Ganga and done puja on its banks, seen people bathe in it, walked across it on a bridge, taken a boat across it. I have stayed in an ashram with the river flowing right off my back porch, with views of cloud-covered mountains in the ...