End of an India

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So after enduring six months in India last year we came back for more - some think we're crazy, others know just how much it can get under your skin (we're already talking about reasons to come back again in the future!!!) So where have we been and what have we been up to?...

After a brief stop in Australia where we hooked up with Harriet, Jon, Barb, Eddie and Will and had a brilliant few days, Bob left me in Delhi in April and headed for the Nepalese Himalaya. There he met up with Scottish Andy to trek the Annapurna circuit - they had an awesome 3 weeks, successfully made it over Throng La the highest pass on the trek at over 5000 metres and completed the circuit.

Meanwhile I was living Big Brother style at Sivananda Kutir Ashram in Netala, Uttarakhand. I say Big Brother style ‘cos if you put 25 people varying in age from early 20s to mid 50s, from all over the world in dorms and shared rooms for one month, then subject them to a rigorous schedule that runs 6 days a week from 5.20am ‘til 9.30pm, with only two light sattvic meals a day - there will be tears, drama and action!!! When we arrived we had to sign a document detailing us as inmates who agreed not to leave the premises for the duration, however some people left the course, teachers changed round sparking rumors that new teachers were on their way and much gossiping was to be had (very tamasic!), this drama coupled with the weekly talent shows and peculiar yogic practices we tried out gave the whole course a rather surreal BB feel! However the ashram is next to the Ganga so it was possible to escape the compound every now and then to take a cooling and reviving dip (and cleanse ourselves of all our sins!) and we could enjoy the beautiful Himalayan setting on twice weekly silent meditative walks in the nearby hills. Whilst the Yoga TTC was a challenging month I got a lot out of it, most of us made it to the end and came out with a teaching certificate and a big sigh of relief!

Reunited with Bob we headed for Goa to do Reiki III. The course was fascinating and our Reiki practice has grown and deepened immensely as a result. Natalie's new centre in Patnem sounds amazing and would be well worth a visit if you’re heading that way Monsoon Goa was quite spectacular. The beach huts of Palolem and Patnem had been taken down at the end of the season so the beaches looked stunning, especially when framed by moody clouds and lightening flashes, or hammered with high winds and torrential rains. Whilst out of season for western travelers many Indian tourists visit at this time so big groups of guys larking about in the sea fully dressed trying to drag their be-saried sisters or wives into the water was hilarious to watch! We found ourselves a cottage in quiet Columb Bay for the duration and got into regular visits to the local market followed by cooking up a storm in our kitchen. Then we sat undercover watching the rains whilst entertaining the local dogs, cats, cows and geckos that visited our verandah.

From Goa we headed to the oven of pre-monsoon Tamil Nadu where the rains come later in the year. We had a fantastic week at The Russ Foundation campus it was lovely to see all the girls again. This time we were lucky enough to be there in fruit season - divine mangoes, papaya, jackfruit and more were fed to us during our stay. I got to teach some yoga at the school on campus and to the girls, I chose lots of animal poses and got everyone stretching, roaring like lions, laughing and relaxing with the fantastic help of Christeena translating and Bob rearranging errant limbs!

We did a quick bit of sightseeing calling in at the grand Tirumalai Nayak Palace and magical Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, the peaceful Sri Aurobindo Ashram and inspiring Auroville community in Pondicherry, the thought provoking Theosophical Society and Vivekananda House in Chennai and the beautiful Elephanta caves in Mumbai. After this we went our separate ways, Bob headed to Manali in Norhern India whilst I went to Virar on the outskirts of Mumbai to do a 2 week Thai Yoga Massage course with the fabulous Prabhat, one of Asokananda's senior students and a great teacher

My two weeks in monsoon Mumbai were slightly hair raising - Indian electricals are wired up in alarming looking ways at the best of times but when they are flapping about in the wind looking like they might come loose and attack you it can be quite nerve racking getting from A to B. I think my fear increased after reading a newspaper article about a man who died when he stepped into a puddle and got electrocuted!!! Exciting stuff though, the course was great, the food was delicious and I was made very welcome.

From Mumbai I took a train north to connect with the romantic toy train, an old fashioned train on a narrow gauge track from Kalka which wound round and round up the mountain to the hill station with great views all the way to Simla, where Bob was waiting! Simla is an impressive looking town with grand buildings balanced on steep slopes, a huge church and a very European feeling pedestrian piazza of cobbled streets with horses trotting up and down carrying giggling Indian tourists. The official summer capital of the Raj in Colonial times where the entire government of India would retreat to escape the heat of summer, now a hugely popular destination for rich Indian tourists, it was quite a sight to see but a couple of nights was more than enough. Then it was time to get back into the traveler scene so we moved on to Dharamsala.

Dharamsala where the Tibetan Government is in exile is an interesting place. Dharamsala itself is a smallish, busy, typical Indian town. McLeod Ganj up the road is where the Dalai Lama’s temple is and is heavily populated by monks, nuns, Tibetan refugees and western tourists. Bagsu, further into the hills is inhabited by local Indians and western tourists wanting a little more peace and quiet than McLeod has to offer. We found ourselves a place in Bagsu and have been here ever since. There is so much to do and we have occupied ourselves with Reiki and massage practice, yoga, reading, writing, walking when it's not raining torrentially. I took a few drumming lessons - tabla rocks but it's bloody difficult! We've also spent quite a lot of time down at the LIT (Learning Ideas for Tibet), a new organisation set up in McLeod to assist ex-political prisoners who've escaped Tibet. They show films about the horrific situation in Tibet under Chinese rule, host eye-opening talks by ex-prisoners, hold conversation classes where Tibetans can practice their English with volunteers (a Tibetan nun I was talking to told me that Bob was a very handsome husband!!!), offer cooking classes and this week we have been working there too. Many of the people have chronic health problems from their time in prison and torture they were subjected to by the Chinese. Our friend who is an acupuncturist offered to do some treatments and we have helped out by doing short Reiki sessions. The first two sessions proved really popular and it's just a shame that we are leaving so soon, hopefully we can find some other practitioners to continue the good work.

Soon we will be wending our way back to Blighty via Ireland and a family wedding. It will be good to be home and dry, although I hear summer has been a bit wet - it can't be as damp as monsoon India though! It will be great to see family, friends and to get to know all the new little people who have arrived since we left! Plus I'm hankering after the English country side. I'm already dreaming of the Colne estuary - the greens, greys and browns of the landscape; the squawking birds, dinging dinghies and popping mud; the taste and smell of salt... I may have seen some awesome stuff the last couple of years but I'm still an estuarial Essex girl at heart - bring it on, home sweet home!!!

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