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Published: October 18th 2017
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Start of the rafting The sun wakes me this morning at 6.40am as Shenton decided to open the curtains during the night to let some air into the room, as we have screen sliders, can’t really complain though as the view is spectacular. I consider getting up and doing some yoga but the extra hours sleep is more inviting.
Breakfast is another feast of deliciousness and after stuffing ourselves once again we head out for a 24km white water rafting experience. We join up with another 2 couples staying at the hotel and after a short bus ride we arrive at the place to start the rafting. We are given a very though safety briefing (much more than I was expecting) and we are off. There are quite a few rapids on the way all with funny names like three blind mice, return to sender, tee off, the golf course and the roller coaster.
We wonder who had the job of naming them! Shenton reminds me on our way here from the airport that he saw a sign stating ‘golf course’ and that he said then,“ No way they have a golf course out here?” A bit surreal at the time (in the
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I just fell from the Delhi Helicopter mountains surrounding Rishikesh) though once racing down a grade 3 rapid with water flying at us all from sides we knew it was a few holes of a very different kind of golf course. Still it got rid of all of Shenton’s bogies a nasal colonic washed them out well.
Between the rapids there are long stretches of gently moving water and we jump in and let the Ganges take us along while, we are told it will cleanse us of our sins and purify our souls. Shenton says he will need to be doing this everyday for at least a year or more to be fully cleansed and purified.
As we pass over one of the bigger rapids Shenton almost gets thrown out as a huge wave hits the boat from the side, and he is at the very front, not sure how he managed to stay in but he did. I hope the Ganges is safe to drink as we were both force fed mouthfuls of water by the ganges while smashing through some of the rapids. The guide tells us the waves we were going through were about 9 ft high. We end the rafting
just before Rishikesh and have a different view of the town from the banks of the river, we are all a little tired, still we are all fully “cleansed and purified” after the 2 1/2 hour trip.
We are back at the hotel in time for, you guessed it, more food! We were meant to go hiking this afternoon but instead we are going back to Rishikesh for the Aarti a spiritual prayer ceremony that is practiced all over India at sunset. A cab takes us back to Rishikesh and we are now getting used to the honking and overtaking so it all seems less frantic. We are dropped off by some dodgy looking steps that lead down to a foot bridge enabling all and sundry to cross over the river to the town. The bridge is very bouncy underfoot and is jam packed with people, bicycles and mopeds/motor bikes all honking their horns for people to get out of the way. As we reach the middle of the bridge there is even a cow just chilling out on the floor. Some poor man trips up and falls on the cow when he is startled by a motor bike
coming up from behind, the cow didn’t even flinch.
On the other side of the bridge the streets are lined with market stalls, beggars and more cows. Ashrams seem to materialise all around us and it is full of every type of worshiper you could imagine. We walk past a group of men, who carry small wooden boxes around their necks and balls of cotton wool stuck behind their ears. They have signs written on their boxes stating ‘Ear cleaning’ . I say (very quietly) to Shenton you should have that done and instantly one of the men is on him asking him “do you want your ears cleaned” I think he must have very clean ears to hear me say what I said to Shenton. Anyway, Shenton keeps saying to him “Pardon, what? Pardon”, every time he is asked if he would like his ears cleaned out, eventually, after a minute or so of the man asking and Shenton saying “Pardon, what?” The man twigs, he starts laughing and shaking his head, now wanting to shake Shenton by the hand. Shenton has finally found an appreciative audience for his jokes.
I stop to have a “heena” tattoo
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Shenton's at the front we all have to raft as hard as him. It looked nice when he finished it but as it flaked off it left a big yellow blob behind so lets see what that looks like tomorrow….,for 100 rupees.
We find the Ashram and take a look around before joining the Aarti on the banks of the river. There are many people here from all over India and the world and a ceremonial fire is lit as prayers are spoken and sung. The sun sets and the chanting increases, at one point everyone stands up and we all rush forward to see the guru only to have to sit back down again a few minutes later, this time there is no room so we all end up on top of each other but this just adds to the atmosphere. Hari Krishna, Hari Rama is chanted over and over and the energy is buzzing all around us. I feel privileged to be having this experience, a wonderful end to a great day in Rishikesh.
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SOUNDS LIKE TYPICAL RISHIKESH
I am so glad you are having a perfect Rishikesh experience. No mention of monkeys on the bridge. May be they were on a day off today. The bridge is bouncy and is called Ram Jhula (named after Lord Rama). "Jhula" literally means A Swing (like Hammock) . So now you know why??? :). There is a similar bridge a few Kms away that's called Laxman Jhula. This one named after Lord Rama's younger brother Lord Laxman. You are surely having a spiritual experience. Enjoy your stay as you will be heading back to the mayhem of Delhi soon and then one scale up on mayhem - Agra.