Rishikesh - the yoga capital (and scene) of the world

Am now in Rishikesh in Northern western India. This place was made famous by the Beatles who hung out in a Ashram in the 60s for a while. Don't think a lot has changed since except maybe a million more tourist shops. It is very touristy here and you could be forgiven for thinking you are in Tel-aviv as this is a big destination on the Israeli tourist map.



The 24hr train ride from Varanasi was soooo sloooooowwwww. It felt like we spent more time stopped than moving. Luckily there were a few of us 'westies' so were able to organise some serious card cames as well as being entertained by the snake charmer busker. This guy was running around with a type of flute and a cobra in a basket! One of the more 'interesting' moments of Indian train travel. Glad i wasn't sharing a berth with him and his friend!
Anyway we eventually arrived at our destination and managed to bypass the pesky rickshaw drivers and take the local bus for a fraction of the rickshaw price.




Rishikesh is great and I really like it here and have meet some great travellers. I'm sharing a room with a Chillean/Australian guy whose a bit of the quiet contemplative side but a great roomie.

I'm actually staying in a chilledout little area of Rishikesh right next to the Ghanges called Laksham Jhula. There is also a great beach just up the road nicknamed 'Goa Beach' due to all the westerners who hang out there. I've been doing daily laps across to the other side. On a grim note I found out today 17 have drowned there in the last 4 months due to the strong currents. Hmm I found it ok and am a pretty strong swimmer so think will still swim there as a dip in the arvo is really refreshing. I have tried only one yoga class which i didn't really get into. Yoga over here is very different from home and apart from the language difference (he kept telling us 'u sleep now' instead of 'lie down') and the flow of the asanas didn't feel that great. He had us doing a 7 min headstand in the first 20mins which felt really wrong...

I was planning to go to the 'Valley of Flowers' tomorrow in the far north but have found out it is closed due to snow. Phew 10 hour bus trip from hell saved for another day!

Thursday....have moved guesthouses and now staying in this great place called the Bombay guest house. Like the same suggests is a bit like a old palace and rooms have heaps of character. It is also surronded by trees full of monkeys and everymorning we get entertained by this acrabatic and daring guys...

I plan to go and spend a few days in Ashram right on the river a couple of ks up the road from this town..Should be very 'shanti' and relaxing doing yoga nd meditation.. till next time.

Varanasi - part II

It has almost been a week since I arrived in Varansi and am loving it here. It's tough at times: the 40 deg+ heat, the smell, the rubbish, the minefield of crap (cow, dog and human) everywhere not too mention the swarming mass of people, and the constant begging and 'wot u want, rickshaw, hashish, opium?' But the magic of listening to a free tabla and sitar concert on the banks of the river makes up for it all!





I've moved to the heart of the Godulia, the old city which is a maze of narrow alleyways. They say you haven't been in Varanasi until you've been lost at least a couple of times which i have! My guest house is right on the river and is run by a quirky Japanese women and her Indian philosopher husband. My room even has a little balcony and costs all of $2 night! There is even a roof top area which I've slept on during the really hot nights. Ah yes and also the power goes off here on a regular basis and a few times I have woken up in a pool of sweat when the fan has stopped during the middle of the night. NB pic to the right is the view from the roof!

Last night we had a big storm which was such a relief as the heat had been building up for a few days. And the cool air was a life saver.







There are a few travelers here that I have meet but is actually pretty tourist free due to the heat. The other night a few of us from the guest house went to a 'dance' party at a swanky hotel on the outskirts of Varansi. It turned out to be one of those great impromptu traveling moments. When we arrived, we doubled the numbers and the hotel was so impressed that we'd made the effort they gave us free drinks all night! There was plenty of dancing and the music was both good and bad. Not surprisingly it ended up being a late one and not before a 3am visit to the pool was had by all!

Today I borrowed a beast of a bicycle (at least it had gears) and cycled out to Sarantha, about 10ks from here which is where Buddhism began and Buddha gave his first speech in the 5th century. A really pretty place with some great ruins, Sarantha made for a nice break from chaotic Varanasi. Riding on the roads is daunting at first as the traffic is incredible but mostly other bicycles, rickshaws, pedestrians, cows and the occasional truck or bus. Even though there are virtually no rules and one has to be incredibly alert it actually feels safer than riding on some roads back home. Happy to say i made it back in one piece and felt pretty confident. I think with the boating and now the riding, I'm definitely becoming a local. Just have to work on the language!

Unfortunately time is moving on and tomorrow i'm catching a train for 16 hours to the base of the western Indian Himalayas to a place called Rishikesh, which is supposed to be the yoga capital of the world. Will be sad to leave Varnasi but definitely plan to return one day.

Varanasi - the heart of India.

After the serene mountains and culture of Skkim its back to round 2 of India. This started as soon as I hit the sprawling mass of Siliguri.


Being a train veteran, I easily navigated the usual Indian railway station chaos and caught the 3pm capital express to Patna from Siliguri. Kathrin from Germany was also in the next sleeper so was nice to have a western conversation rather than the standard Indian one that goes along the lines of 1) 'where are u from?' There is usually a look of excitement when i say Australia and is followed by 'ah Ricky Ponting' 2) 'what is your name and age?', 3) 'what is your occupation?' 4) 'are you married?' . I also picked up a pack of cards from one of the many train wallas selling everything from music keyboards to towels. You never need to go shopping in India - just catch a train. Anyway with my newly acquired cards I taught the Indian family traveling in the same compartment with us 'Uno' which was greeted with plenty of Indian enthusiasm and laughter.



We traveled through Indies poorest and most lawless state "Bihar" so didn't really do any sightseeing and when we arrived at 'Patna' at 4:30 am! Luck was on our side and we were able to catch the 5am Varansi train which was a relief as we didn't have a onward ticket from Patna and had no real desire to spend any time there. We eventually arrived at Varanasi in the afternoon after lots of 'interesting' stops at sweltering dusty stations along the way.

As the guide book warned, were were savaged by waiting touts eager to get us to come with them to their number one guest house at the varansi station. I got to use my limited Hindi (Naah chow bhaar) which means 'no thanks' to great effect. The Singha guest house, at the quieter end of town, with 'Garden bigger than any other guest house' was where we eventually ended up and spent the arvo 'crashed' in the 40deg heat!

My first morning at the Ghanges was magic. First i felt like a bit of exercise, after being cooped up on the train for so long and chartered a row boat. I'm such a waterbaby. I just love being in it or on it. Anyway my days of rowing paid off as i was able to handle the floating tree with ease and the other boatwallas were full of praise.. Think i may have a job here:-)...post boat ride i did some much needed yoga on a stone platform with the locals. I shocked my self and couldnt resist having a quick dip in this famous holy river. Not to be a regular thing as it is extremely polluted according to the guide book. But hey my hair hasn't turned green and all bodily functions are normal. I've since found out that the water supply for the town comes from the main area in the Ghats. Another good reason to buy bottled water!



Varanasi is an amazing place. It is believed to be the oldest (over 2000 years) city still inhabited. It's is also a very spiritual place and attracts loads of people who come to wash away their sins in the Ghanges. Thus it has to be the worlds number one place to people watch! The perfect place for this is down by the Ghanges in the evening. It's hard to describe the 'buzz' of the place but there always is heaps to do. Last night I watched some brilliant Tabla and Flute playing by the river and meet heaps of great people, Indians and Foreigners.

Sikkim

Next stop Sikkim, which is a couple of hours by jeep from Darjeeling. Sikkim is a tiny state in India bordered by Bhutan and Tibet. India has poured heaps of money into this state on roads and electricity so is one of the most developed places. It also has no taxes and is a big producer of booze. Not surprisingly it also has the highest rates of alcoholism! The people are of Tibetan and Nepelese decent so also has a 'not India' feel about it!

Foreigners have to get a special permit valid for two weeks to enter which is more a formality and a pain in the butt than anything else. So with permit in hand i arrived in Gantok, the capital. It's a little like darjeeling, on the side of a mountain, but not so big. There are some great monestries around the town and it also has a nice vibe. They even close one of the main shopping roads in the evening which makes u feel like your walking down a mall, something unheard of in main India.

After a couple of days of exploring I was off to Pelling, a little town in the mountains a couple of hours west of Gantok. The trip there was an adventure as we were in a share jeep (12 of us crammed in) negoitating this windy mountain road at night during a big storm. Indian roads are generally one lane only and safety rails are unheard of. Lumps of 2ft high concrete are placed randomly but don't think it would help that much. Needless to say it was quite a relief to arrive safely at our destination. The power was off (which it does quite often up here) so the candles were out which made the guest house really cosy and hooked up some friends i meet in darjeeling just happened to be staying there! Garuda is a funky guest house and next morning we were treated to views of the snow covered Himalyas from the roof top terrace. The boneless chill chicken is also to 'die' for...

The next day i went off on a 5 day monastic hike. Not as epic as the Singraliia ridge trek but still nice. Day 1 I hiked to lake Kuechperi (pronounced 'catch a perry') which is very scared to Buddhists and it they believe that birds remove the leaves that fall on to it. I stayed for 3 nights in this little monastic village perched up on ridge with stunning views (when it wasn't raining) of the surrounding mountains.Most of the kids living there attend the monastery. Pella and his son run a couple of guest houses and server up some great local food including local yak meat! Very tasty. It was a magic place and i meet some great travelers also including a couple of fellow aussies and a Spanish couple.

During my stay, I went for a solo mission to find some Buddhist caves and got a little 'geographically challenged' . I ended up going off track which was crazy as i ended up crawling my way through thick rainforest. Eventually, I found the caves but ran out of light and had to find my way down a mountain track in the dark! Luckily it cleared and there was a little moonlight. I didn't get back to 7 and everyone was really concerned. Ooops. Lesson learnt!

The next day was brilliant trekking on the next stage to a tiny little village at the base of the mountains called Yuksom. The first half of the trek passed through pristine forest in a valley following a river. The track passed a little cabin where a Lecha (one of the ethnic groups in the area) family live. The father called out for me to come down for tea and i ended up eating popcorn and drinking tea with Dad, mum, their son, baby and grandma. See pic.


After arriving in Yuksom in the pouring rain i checked in to a lodge and was checking out the town when i heard some great music. Following my ears, i came to a house where the family where having a purja as it was the 49th day of morning for their grandfather. I was invited in to sit with the monks and lamas and given Chang (see pic) which is a fermented millet drink served in this great bambo mug and food. One of those spontaneous travel moments. Later that evening, i also meet this peace activist Israeli guy who told some interesting and funny stories about serving in the army some interesting insight into the conflict.




Yuksom has a 'curfew' where shops and restaurants have to close at 8pm. To enforce it the local policeman runs around at 8pm blowing a whistle! A little bizarre. The restaurant simply put the shutters down and we continued on inside for another hour.









From Yuksom it was on to Tashiding and I walked with a entertaining Spanish couple, Mitre and Jatio and Mika from Japan. It was a nice walk along a road along with great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Tashiding itself was pretty average but the 400 year monastery, half-an hour's climb up a steep track from the town, made it worth while. We were lucky enough to be able to sit on some monks chanting and drumming. Brilliant.

Then from Tashiding, we caught a early morning Jeep back to Pelling. The start of the trip was 15ks downhill along a scenic road to the bottom of a valley. I would have given anything to have had my bike with me!!

From Pelling, I caught another morning jeep down to Siliguri, where i was catching a train from and back to the madness (and heat) of India. It was a real shock after weeks of little traffic to be sitting in the middle of a car, truck, bus, rickshaw, bicycle, cow and pedestrian jam!

Singarilla Ridge Trek

After a couple of days of running up and down the mountain roads of Darjeeling I felt ready to tackle the 5 day Singrallia Ridge trek along the Nepal/India border. The distance is over 70ks and highest altitude is 3800m. Just a little walk!

It's quite common to take a guide but not really necessary if you have some outdoor experience. I was able to find a fanatastic map at a local restaurant of the trek which proved to be the equivalent of the secret treasure map plus i also managed to hook up with some fellow outdoor freaks!

Day 1 Darjeeling to Manybahjang.
A super early start and to catch the first jeep out of Darjeeling to Manybahjang. There turned out to be 7 of us doing the same trek that day! Simone and Andreas from Germany, Tobias and Monica from Spain, Christine from France, Shay from Israel and of course me. One of the things i love about travelling is the guys u meet from other places.

So after a short but bumpy jeep ride we arrived in Manybajang and tucked into plates of momos (tibetan dumplings either steamed or fried) before setting off. The weather was sunny as we started going up and up and up following a road. First rest stop was Megma Ghompa which was a goregous serene place on top of a hill.

After the rest stop big black clouds started appearing and it wasn't long before it started to rain and later hail...Eeeck! Then after a couple of hours of trudging along we came to our first Indian check post - the army on the indian side of the road and the Tea house on the nepalese side. A couple of us were in front so we ordered some food while we waited for the others - except they kept on going which caused some minor confusion...

Anyway we eventually all ended up meeting in this great guest house in Tumling run by a larger than life and generous Momma. NB I managed to hitch a ride in a back of jeep on lying on sacks of wheat for part of the last stage as the weather was really miserable and i was over walking! Anyway mumma treated us to a 5 course meal which was heaven after a day of trudging in the mountains.

Day 2 Tummling to Kala Pokhari
We woke up to a gorgeous day - such a welcome after the fog and rain from the previous. The pic is of the guest house. Nice hey? Would have been very easy to spend a couple of days at Tumling eating big mumas gorgeous food.

Morning was great but by lunch time it was foggy and raining again. So half of us holed in at Kala Pokhari and hung out with the family running our guest house.

Day 3 Kala Pokhari to Phallut.
Half our group had to pull out as they had to go back early. I headed off solo to catch up with Simone, Andreas and Tobias. The place at the top of the mountain in the background of the pick is Sandkaphu where the others spent the night.. Anyway i was on a 'rol'l and reached the top in 30 mins...pretty buggered when i get there so have a nice cuppa of chai..Then i continue on to Phallut and enventually catch up with the others having cheese, olive oil and bread for lunch...yum!

It's really nice walking and is a gorgeous day in the mountains. Flowering roddendrohns, herds of yaks and vultures keep us company.

We keept climbing up to phallut and as usual after lunch the weather takes a dive so by the time we reach phallut it pretty miserable and cold and everyone is feeling a bit over it!

There is only one guest house at Phallut and its a huge dorm room that is cold and damp. Mist rolls in through the broken windows and door that won't close. Tom and Leo from Begium who are travelling around India via Vespas, were also staying at Phallut and we shared a rum or two with them around the kitchen fire.

After dinner we were treated to a unexpected cultural night of singing, tabla playing and dancing with the indian army! These guys were so nice, they made us cups of tea, shared their meal with us and gave us more rum. They showed us photos of their wives/girlfriends and described how tough life was so isolated but due to their wonderful major Tombo they felt like they belonged to a second family. It was hard to believe at times they were army guys. See pic. An unexpected highlight.

Day 4 Phallut to Gorkhey

We hoping for a another sunny morning and views of Kanchechunga (India's highest mountain) but woke up to more mist and rain. So we trudged off and headed 1000m down hill to Gorhkey! A awesome day. After 300m the we came out of the clouds and had a fine day walking on a small track through a stunning forrest.

Arrived in Gorhkey about lunch time and wow what a place. It's a tiny village along the banks of the Ramma river and is stunning. We stayed at the family run shanti lodge for a few days and loved it. The first night Andreas pulled out a bottle of red wine that he'd been carrying with him all the way! Legend. It tasted so good!

Days 6-8 Gorhkey to Dry lake

Hiked up the river to a 'dry lake' kind of like a peat swamp with tents and food. We spent a couple of days camping and cooking food over a fire. Magic! Finally got our great views of the snow covered peaks of Kanchechunga

Day 8 Gorhkey to Dragan
Hiked back to civilisation with a swim stop on the way. Water was freezing! We ended up 'camping' in school that night as ran out of light before we could find somewhere to camp. The people looking after the school were super nice and brought us cups of chai in the morn and gave us breakky. We made a little donation.


Day 9 Dragan to Rimmick.
Really easy walk back into civilisation. Treated ourselves with a big meal and lots of fresh fruit that we had been missing.. Followed by a 4 hour jeep ride listening to the driver's Van Halen tapes. Even the old guy sitting next to us was bopping away! Funny.

A brilliant trek and we all felt was really lucky to do it with such top people .