My travels around India

Rishikesh at the foothills of the Himalayas

Our first full day in Rishikesh. We had breakfast at the Hotel Prasanna, right by the river Ganges. We seemed to be the only people at the hotel. So they gave us plastic chairs and table to eat our breakfast right in the early morning sun. The air is incredibly clear so the sun feels as hot as if you're right next to it.

Rishikesh's foothills

I have a cold runny nose etc. which as gotten around via the three of us, living in close proximity. Especially as we've moved from a seriously hot part of India in the south to the north, where the temperature has dropped considerably if you're not in the sun and at night it's as cold as England is on a mild day. 

We were staying at the Laxmi Lodge, paying 1000 Rupees a day which apparently is very expensive for a hotel room for the three of us, especially since the room was filthy. We spent a whole two hours thoroughly cleaning it, making it feel more like our home in Tiruvannamalai. 

Laxmi Lodge, Rishikesh

It's a lot colder up here with much cleaner air because of the mountains-but still hot when the sun is out, there isn't much wind, but it is very damp in the air because of Ganges air. When we first arrived across the Ram Jhula bridge, there was no water whatsoever under us. It's most likely because it isn't their rainy season, when they have monsoon type weather, but across a different bridge there is water, so it's a little bit confusing.

Our taxi ride to Rishikesh from Dehradun off the plane, was more than comfortable, unlike the taxi rides in the south from Tiruvannamalai, there are less potholes, more bendy roads, leading up hill. Driven in a Toyota type jeep vehicle with decent suspension. Luxury.

With the difference in temperature there are no mosquitoes or just less, because they can't survive in the cold, which we're all very happy about. 

The people are so different here in Rishikesh compared to Tiru, which may be obvious, but as I've only seen the same Southern Indian's the northern Indians are friendlier and happier. It honestly feels like a different country sometimes, the cultures are very different somehow. Their eyes are different, lighter, compared to very dark eyes in the south, I'm noticing. It could possibly be because they live near the mountains, where it's not as sunny.

Local school children

According to Wikipedia the temperatures for February are 7 degrees at it's coldest, but they didn't say that the average temperatures in the sun would be 19+ with a slight chilliness to the air which is very nice. 

We are now going to stay in Swami Swatantranand Ashram a bit further down the road, where Mooji's satsangs will take place, helping out there. Again we've had to clean the room, but it's now perfectly home like. 

Wandering around trying to find food for dinner we have to find places in town, as breakfast and lunch is served for us here at the Ashram. So we wandered into town, finding some people from the Ashram to eat with, a restaurant called the Madras Hotel- The Dosa Cafe. They feature 101+ Dosa options on the menu. I tried a bit of someone's special Dosa which contains all of the options in one, it was delicious. They have a Facebook page which I've liked.

It was equally interesting to see how they do things in the kitchen, it's in a very small space, with an open bit at the back through the wall onto the street. They were wearing hair nets, (something I've never seen before in India) and proper chef whites.

 

Traffic police women who kindly posed for a picture

Our first few days in Rishikesh have been a whirlwind, but altogether amazing experience for me personally. I for one would love to come back here in the future. But we have 24 days left here, I'm hoping it won't fly by, because I'm so enjoying it all.