After 2 weeks of sedentarity, it is time for a new adventure! Tomorrow, I leave Rishikesh and by the end of the next day, I should be in Lumbini, Nepal, on my way to Kathmandu. I will be joining a group of trekkers as an assistant-guide for a canadian company. I really look forward to seeing this country again, after 12 years... I am sure a lot of things changed. It will be great to see the Himalayas again. Around Manaslu is the trek. Leaving India.... It sounds very strange, as everything feels so familiar now, like I always lived here. [View Full Entry]

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Time flies when you are having fun, right? So not surprisingly, I can't believe that in a week I will be leaving India for Nepal... Where did all this time go? After I finished exploring Ram Jhula and Laxman Jhula, the two most popular areas of Rishikesh (for Westerners), I spent a couple days doing very little. It was really great, relaxing, peaceful, rejuvenating would also be a good word to describe it. Focussing on yoga, and on sitting on my balcony, smiling at the hills. Then I got back into my old habit of wanting to do more... And signed [View Full Entry]

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Still in Rishikesh, still enjoying it! It is almost like being back home... Very small yoga shala with only 5 students for now, and quiet hotel, almost like being in my cabin in the Yukon! Louise is very nice, very gentle, I really liker her. The shala is on the roof of a big hotel, and in the morning the wind is really blowing down the Ganges valley, so it creates a special atmosphere. Much colder than Goa was, but not as cold as Whitehorse!!! OK, not to much to add for now (other than the food is great!) but I [View Full Entry]

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Rishikesh, international capital of yoga... I finally made it to my last station in India before I begin the trip to Nepal. I can hardly believe it, as it feels like I should still have months to go, but no, time flies, as I said before and I am convinced the next 2 weeks in Rishikesh will go just as fast as the last 2 months. After a very busy day traveling from Pushkar to Ajmer to Haridwar and finally to Rishikesh, I was very exhausted and the first part of this city is very busy, noisy, crowded and polluted and [View Full Entry]

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My attempt to do nothing in Pushkar failed. Pushkar is a great place to meet people, Indians and travellers, so I ended up doing a few things... The first day I was in Pushkar I met Mono alias Johnny, a very nice young priest that offered to show me Pushkar and told me a lot of things about this holy place. I was supposed to meet him the next day but I got lost and never made it to the meeting place on time. But Pushkar is very small, so small that FINALLY, I can find my way around without any [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Jaisalmer, a beautiful city, was not simple. I made many friends there, Indians mostly, and as I was walking up and down the streets, I was called by many shop keepers.... "INdian girl, chai?" Ah, sure why not... This is when I finally figured out why the cups are so small.... When you ask for chai here, the cups are usually good for 2-3 sips... But then, when you end up staying long enough in one place that you have to stop for 5, 6, 7 cups in an hour, then you are thankful that these cups are not like [View Full Entry]

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Jaisalmer, beautiful fully romantic city. Amazing fort, amazing views, and amazingly tiring camel safari market! I arrived here about 6 days ago now, after a night choking in new Jodhpur (the air in New Jodhpur is extremely polluted) and a few hours on the train. Again the train ride was an adventure, not kowing if I was on the right train until about 3 hours later... I boarded in the dark, everybody was sleeping my berth was taken, so I really had no idea if I was in the right train... Mostly military people, we are close to the Pakistan border [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday I thought I finally had Jodhpur figured out... But I swear, they must be changing the streets during the night. I got lost again this morning, but this time I was carrying my backpack with me so it was a long tiring trip to my new hotel, close to the train station. I can actually SEE the train station from my new hotel, so if I get lost tomorrow, I will never find Canada again! So yesterday and today were some of the craziest day I had so far in India. I made very expensive friends. I have to admit, [View Full Entry]

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I am in Rajasthan! Jodhpur! And this feels like the real INdia, quite different from Goa, where people are used to tourists... Right away, in the train, i could feel a bit of a different atmosphere. People are very curious, I see a lot of question marks in their faces. What is this woman doing alone here? And it could actually feel scary, but when you realize they are just puzzled, you also realize that it's quite a normal reaction in a country where women are not yet as "free" as we are in the west. And I think the best [View Full Entry]

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So it was time to leave Goa... And it was a busy day trying to pack and clean the house. And then saying goodbye to the Indian family who rented us their house. And goodbye to our neighbours, and hopefully see you again soon. We then took a cab to the train station. I was thinking how funny it is that the 30 minute cab ride was more expensive than the 10 hour train ride... So we arrived at the train station and I was still on the wait list. No seat. But India being India, I could still get on [View Full Entry]

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