Hotel The Great Ganga Rishikesh

... both sides of the streets, are stuffed into every bit of available space. And nuzzled between them, sales people tout their crafts from tables (mostly a combination of everyday spiritual needs and T-shirts). It was wonderful, and strange, and really made us kinda curious.

Our second day was going to be more pro-active. Almost right away we spotted a tall temple and decided to go there. Not that we knew anything about it, but decided that it was tall and there ...

... avoiding attacks from the many monkeys who climb around trying to steal any food that people are carrying with them. The Ganges runs right through this part of Rishikesh and separates the sections with only two pedestrian bridges allowing people to pass across. As I got closer to the LJ bridge, it was easy to see all the ashrams, yoga centers, and temples along the river, and it was a really cool view. There were also a few ghats near the bridge and you could ...

... music', pieknie ubrani studenci z ahsramu siedza dookola ognia/paleniska na brzegu Gangi
i oddaja sie modlom i chantowaniu przez jakis czas, by pozniej zlozyc ofiare swietej rzece wraz z podziekowaniami i zyczeniami dla siebie i rodziny. Wszystko jest tu ladnie zagrane i mile dla publicznosci i oka reportera. W Haridwar jest chaos nieodlaczny w tym kraju i moze dlatego jest to tak autentyczneJ?

... company. They were clearly very close friends but were kind enough to accept me into their little gang for a few weeks, for which I'm very grateful. They were, essentially, 'nice girls'. They didn't smoke or swear, they were warm and friendly, they liked pretty things etc etc. Too few girls like that these days in my opinion. Helene was a cheerful, big grinned blond who would never miss an opportunity to laugh. Our conversations tended to be pretty light, as was her style ...

... leau est propre, verte et magnifique, pleine de gros poissons engraisses au chapatis, et ya les grandes montagnes en arriere-plan, avec un vent bien frais et parfois tres fort qui souffle de l'Himalaya.
Apres 2 nuits passees dans une guesthouse, jai emmenage dans un ashram; Anand Prakash Ashram si le nom vous interesse. Le batiment etait magnifique, le jardin luxuriant, les salles de yoga inspirantes et la terasse sur le toit un vrai havre. Le prof principal de ...

... because I MUST be rich, being white and all. They made some room for me on the bench and he whips out the saris with flair on the stage. The stage was full of beautiful, bright, embroidered fabric and it just made my head start to spin. I found some nice ones but when I told them I needed the choli in a couple hours, they said no.....:( Barbara, the Italian lady, found a beautiful outfit though) I ended up buying a simple tunic back in the touristy area. I still ...

... bus, and I swear my voice was hoarse by the time we got there because the air pollution heading towards Delhi is pretty awful with power plants and heavy vehicles along the way. Arriving in Delhi, I found a decent room in Parah Gang, the place where cheap travelers go to stay. Delhi food is SO good. At a little open-kitchen restaurant, I had some good veg. biryani and later joined the ...

... spending about an hour at the temple, we drove back down the valley to the Rishikesh marketplace for lunch.  Indian food has really grown on me over the past few weeks, and I will be disappointed when it is not as easily available anymore.  But until I leave, I've decided to eat good Indian meals at every opportunity, to really get my fix.  After lunch, we drove up to the side of a road a ...

... to help, I still feel litle I have been beaten up and my entire back hurts. Of well, that will mean more yoga classes then. The place I am staying in in great. It is across the river from teh centre of town and apart from the odd motorbike there is NO traffic, no honking, no screaming, and the streets are really clean. I think I'll settle here for a few days until I have regained my sanity and my back is no ...

... alot, i cant actually believe im gonna be leaving! but its onto Singapore and then ive got half a year, 6 months, 24 weeks or alot of days to explore the whole of SE asia. Hopefully Delhi will give me plenty of chance to explore some of the sites i missed out the first time, get plenty of lovely indian food down me, upload a whole plethora of photos and decide where i want to spend my birthday. Exciting times. Love xxxx