Royal Inn Dehradun

Diwali in Dehradun is the best!  My idea of Quintessential Indian diwali celebrations. Lots of taash and fabulous food at friends, homes.  

My cousin's place in Dehradun is set in the hills in Dehradun, and you can see Masoorie in the distance.  The garden is beautifully lit up with Diyas and the house is decorated with flowers in every room. Its stunning and I find a lot of peace whenever I visit.

... I also trekked
through some short cut paths instead of using cemented up hill route all the
distance of 1.5 kms. A few resting places have been added with the provision of
shops vending snacks, tea, water, Prasad, temple lockets, books, mementoes etc.
12.45 PM : Just
before reaching hill top, while negotiating a short cut climb, I ...

... claim to fame, vandalising Sir Paul's old digs, but we felt it wise to beat a retreat before a mob of angry Beatle loving hippies tried to lynch us ('that's sacrilege maaaan!'). Isreali night: Getting bored now so won't write much. Essentially, Israel's independence day took place during out time here, and as such, all the Israelis (ie, a lot of people) headed down to the beach for a party. Sat with the Norwegians on the outskirts of the bash while Brian (a Jewish American) ran around ...

... in traditional clothes with their faces painted white and their heads mostly shaved but with a little black ponytail sticking straight up) sitting in the front of it and causes much traffic as all the Indian tourists stop to take pictures. Once they have finished their pictures, they will shove you out of their way if they want to pass you, regardless of how patiently you might have been waiting for them. The next street is full of shops...colorful material for stoles and shawls, t ...

Hi Everyone, I am back from the Vipassana Retreat in Dehradun...very happy I did it, and also glad that I was flying blind when I decided to go. I might not have done it if I knew more about the retreat itself and the facility at which it was held. But the core practice is exactly what this 62 year old woman needs to rein in her wild, untamed, often torturous mind. I have never felt more hopeful of actually being able to do that now that I have this practice. I highly recommend ...

... with it and was very helpful. I had to get back to Haridwar to meet up with my friend Keely, this was a rickshaw ride down the hill and then a one hour bumpy bus journey. The rickshaw driver convinced me that it would be safe to put my big bag on his roof rack with no ties, a recipe fo disaster you may think but succesfful after a lot of worrying on the way down the hill. Haridwar is one of the most holiest places in India ...

... Haridwar, une de sept villes sacree de l'Hindouisme. A l'approche de la ville sainte, je longe le Ganges sur quelques kilometres, borde par des tonnes et des tonnes d'ordures, certaines parcelles brules, certaines en train de l'etre et d'autres en attente d'autat. Tout cela offre une odeur globale des plus subtiles qui me rappelle encore une fois la relativite de la notion de purete de la religion hindoue se butant indeniablement a nos notions ...

... I've been out of town for the past three weekends, but this weekend I will hopefully take the gondola ride, and shop in the bazaar and eat some good food and mayyyybe go hiking, though I'm VERY hesitant to... I was playing badminton yesterday at my neighbors house (winning might I add!) and I sat down after an intense game with 2 LEECHES on my feet, sucking my blood, trying to steal my life! Gross gross grossss! On Tuesday I went shopping in ...

... Haridwar after I finish making the film. Later on, I had some chow mein on the side of the road by the monastery for 16 rs and bought some water, lemons, ginger, and honey to make some of my favorite tea. I played some net-less badminton with the 10-year-old daughter of the family after the dad got tired of it and showed them some of my art and photos. They also showed me some photos from their trip to Badrinath and the Valley of Flowers, and Mrs. Dwarkada invited ...

... Amazing! How can that possibly work? The antibiotics and cough syrup came to about $2. Then I stopped by Café Coffee Day and was shocked to realize my drink cost as much as my combined prescriptions. By the time I got back, I had missed class. I sat in that waiting room a couple of hours, reading Ragtime in Simla, wondering what other diseases I was picking up by being there. I wondered if I'd be there in ...