Raj Resort Rishikesh

Sono arrivatoi a Rishikesh dopo non so nemmeno quante ore di viaggio in bus. Ero stanco e affamato. Trovata una sistemazione decente ho pero' trovato la forza di buttarmi alla scoperta della citta' e delle rive del Gange.
Non mi e' piaciuta. La citta', architettonicamente, e' molto bella e il fatto che in mezzo ad essa scorra il Gange le conferisce sicuramente un certo fascino. L ...

... children in all things that seem to put your life at risk and when Issy and Ady were standing at the edge of the drop, not daring to jump, their calls of please Daddy, you do it first were falling on the biggest deaf ears in the Ganges. That was until I saw a young girl launch herself from the top and my pride finally awakened to which I clambered up and made a graceful double pike dive into the depths below. (well something like that). Issy and Ady followed and then ...

... The walk was only suppsoed to take around 30 minutes. About an hour in, I was feeling very sick and kept considering turning back but thought that we must be close and if I could only make it to the waterfall, swimming might help refresh me. Thirty minutes later, we still hadn't made it and were not on the uphill climb. I told the girls to go without me and I would just wait for them. As soon as they left, I threw up my breakfast and then sat on a bench trying ...

... On my last day in Rishikesh, while I was sitting in the usual scenic coffee shop (chatting with Mr New Zealand about macro-economic theory or American protectionism or some **** like that), I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Naama, the lovely Israeli from Nepal who I feared was going to die in Chitwan. We hadn't had a chance to say goodbye in Kathmandu, so we had a quick chat and catch up. It was brief, but great to see her again. American Prick: Similar to English prick ...

... We widdled away several hours this afternoon chatting about life.

The day before yesterday was my first yoga and meditation class. I started with the guided chanting class that ends in meditation.

I'm finding it ***********centrate on the meditation for some reason....I think. I'm not quite sleeping but I'm not quite meditating ...

... 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 ...

... what he explained, a staircase that extended beyond my sight.  I asked if he was coming, and he emphatically shook his head no.  I was having Ace Ventura 2 flashbacks, but decided to walk the stairs up to the temple on the top of the mountain anyway.  Once I got up, I had a beautiful view of the entire Ganges river valley, as well as the distant view of the Himalayas to the north ...

... seminars & theological talks.

On the first night we were drawn towards a gathering of people on a ghat (steps down to the river). An enormous opal statue looks back at the hundreds of people sat on the steps. The ceremony lasted nearly two hours with lots of Hare Krishna looking devotees chanting and clapping away with some westerners who had clearly been here too long. We later sat in silence eating our vegetarian slop cross-legged and barefooted ...

So, so tired...up at 4AM this morning to catch a 6AM flight to Delhi then continuing on to Rishikesh. But it's fine...because we've saved the best destination for last...Rishikesh and the Ananda Spa. You can google it and read it for yourself, but Ananda has been voted as the #1 destination spa for the past three years by Conde Nast along with a bunch of other magazines and awards. It's one of those places that attract celebrities, rock stars and people who ...

... away all the previous sins of your life to start again. The majority of the pilgrims here are very approachable and friendly, although a few resort to begging on the roadside, but from all comers as opposed to the usual tactic of seeking out tourists for the moolah! I' ve had plenty of interesting conversations here, there are plenty of friendly people who just want to sit chill and discuss anything and ...