The Ganges

We ended up staying in Shimla for one more day…it was way too comfortable what with the enclosed toilets, paved roads sans cows and power. On Thursday, we boarded a bus at 5:15 AM for an 9 hour journey out of the Himalayas bound for Rishikesh, the world capital of yoga and the city the Beatles made famous back in the day by visiting an ashram. Eleven exhausting hours later, Gundula and I vowed to not set foot on a bus for the rest of this trip…something worthy of celebration! We celebrated by treating ourselves to a rickshaw ride into Rishikesh. Rickshaws, it turns out, are even louder, bumpier and dustier. Scratch those too.

The Ganges River runs through Rishikesh. It is a massive, brown and powerfully flowing river. At this point of the river, pretty fresh out of the Himalayas still, it is relatively clean. We each went up to our knees yesterday. I even splashed water on my arms and forehead so that maybe it would qualify as ‘bathing’. Bathing in the Ganges, considered by Hindus a holy river, is supposed to wash away your sins. It felt cold and wet to me….my fingers are crossed that what I did counted as bathing and that my sins are far downstream by now!

Rishikesh is real India. There are sadhus everywhere. Sadhus are the holy saints of Hinduism who give up their families and all of their possessions to devote their life to God. They wear either bright orange or white and seem to be very chilled out people. The sadhus share the riverside with hundreds of people bathing in the Ganges, cows who have free reign of the place and flies who follow the cows. Not to brag, but I have become quite adept at watching what’s going on all around me while sidestepping cow poop. Also, my fly swatting skills have quadrupled since arriving…Grandma, you’d be proud! ;)

We checked into the Parmarth Niketan Ashram which came highly recommended. The room is basic, as most have been, but it’s surrounded by beautiful gardens and sculptures of Shiva and hundreds of other Hindu Gods. We completed a Panchkarma treatment at their spa Friday and this morning. Friday's treatment consisted of Abhayanga (an ayurvedic massage with oil), Shirodhara (hot oil that dripped on my third eye for 30 minutes) and an ayurvedic steam treatment. It was heavenly and oh boy was I greasy! This morning, I got another oily massage and this time they put oil in my nose and ears. I have been hacking and spitting like a true Indian ever since. Also, my hearing and sense of smell seems to be hypersensitive....not a great day to fight the car horns and smells at the local market! I met with the ayurvedic doctor to get some insight on my health. Unfortunately, I have come down with yet another rash (thank you body!). This time, my rash is from Indian vitamins that I purchased to help offset the severe lack of protein I’ve had since arriving here. The doctor was pretty insightful. He told me to stay away from cheese. I followed the advice by ordering a brownie with ice cream for lunch. There’s always tomorrow.

In other news, I have made a major move and booked a flight home. My brother and I will turn Thailand and Laos upside down here in a few weeks, then I’ll have a few weeks to explore Cambodia and visit some new friends in Vietnam. From there, I’m heading to Ecuador to sail around the Galapagos Islands. Then, it’s home, sweet home. I’ll be Stateside by Friday, October 29th. For a lot of reasons, it is time and I am ready. It’s a bittersweet feeling to know that this trip has an end in sight now, but I am ready for a different kind of purpose in my life. I will happily accept any offers of couches to sleep on while I look for gainful employment!!

To close this entry, I’d like to share a passage from a book I’m currently reading called Holy Cow – An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald. Sarah is an Aussie girl who traveled and subsequently moved to India. It is hilarious. My favorite line, talking about the traffic which could apply anywhere in the country really…’It’s as if Delhi is blind and driving by sound – except it seems many are deaf.’