Rishikesh - Say "aoooommmm"

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After one of the worst bus trips of my life so far, we took off from the bus at a place that looked like a bus station. It was so hot, we seriously regretted leaving the cool temperatures behind us, but the next task was to find a place to stay. It was quite calm afternoon, no clouds, sun burning on us, and we didn't know where we were. Typical. After a short walk we reached the "main road" of the city I guess. Decided to take a rickshaw, and after some heavy bargaining (we've started to be really good), asked the driver if he knew any nice hotels/hostels. This time it was worth listening to the driver (other times the scenario has been different), because the place he took us was just fantastic! It's called Mount Valley Mama's Cottage at the high bank. The owner is an old woman and she is the friendliest ever! Everything is so calm, there's loads of backpackers all around the world, and people are just chilling, resting etc. There's at least two different places very nearby where you can practice yoga. There's also a possibility to get different massages: ayerveda, swedish etc. with a relatively cheap price. And there's also a really nice restaurant in the area serving also some western food with an Indian touch. After weeks of Indian food it was actually pretty great to have something else as well! So, pretty much like a paradise after the noisy, stressing things we've experienced.

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Photos

Henna-stuff
If you wanna get Henna-decorations, make sure not to go for the cheap alternative! They're done with chemicals which might cause some serious allergies. In Rishikesh I recommend asking people for a good henna-artist. We went to a jewellery shop and asked there. The owner made one phone-call, and told his friend to come over:). Nice!