Rishikesh

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  Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
Monday, July 7, 2008

I spent the weekend in Rishikesh, which was amazing. One of the guys in our group has a friend with grandparents in Delhi, and their guru runs an ashram in Rishikesh, which is about two and a half hours from Mussoorie. We spent the weekend at the ashram, where once again I was amazed at the hospitality. The ashram is 110 years old and sits right on the bank of the Ganges (Ganga, as they call it here) River. They fed us, led us in pujas (prayers) and ordered taxis to take us all around town- all of this for less than $10!

Check out pictures at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2345206&l=bb8ab&id=2535761

We spent Saturday night there after exploring the nearby town and doing a nighttime puja right on the river, which was gorgeous. They had chants over the loudspeakers and hundreds of people gathered. You can buy little containers with flowers and sweets and a lit candle to send down the river, and then for a select few who arrange it ahead of time they get to perform a puja on the steps leading into the river with fire. Overall there were some truly spectacular, memorable moments this weekend- I have now stood in the Ganga and done puja on its banks, seen people bathe in it, walked across it on a bridge, taken a boat across it. I have stayed in an ashram with the river flowing right off my back porch, with views of cloud-covered mountains in the background.
 
Rishikesh is a nice town, full of foreigners, nice temples, cows, and stalls selling everything from bangles to incense holders. It has a reputation as a hippy mecca, what with the river nearby and the fact that the Beatles came here when they visited India. There are lots of ashrams, yoga schools, and ayurvedic medicine stands. They also run rafting trips down the river, but we weren't able to do that because it was too rainy and late in the season.
 
This next weekend we will be doing a trek to Yaminotri, another beautiful spot along the Ganga where people gather. It is REALLY high up and we will be exploring temples and hot baths there, I'm excited! Unlike Rishikesh, the Yaminotri trip is already included and prepaid, organized by the directors of our EAP program. We will be hiking up to the main temple/baths where people visit, since there is almost no other way to get up there! We leave early Friday morning and will spend two nights there.
 
Hindi classes are going well. We have a little bit of homework each night, not too much. We have now learned all the letters and are practicing reading. I have really nice, patient teachers who help us out a lot and are offering us free afternoon tutoring every day. We only have the very basics down, so I'm nowhere near holding a conversation, but I know enough to ask prices on the street and bargain or order food.

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