jesanicholls

Home in body, but not in mind. The last few days in India were interesting. My case of Delhi belly, which I thought was finished, actually carried through the rest of the day and evening of my last post. I'm home now and still feel the bacterial wrath of whatever attached my system from the inside out. I may go and get some blood work done to make sure it’s not a parasite. Anyways, when I awoke on the 7th, the day before our scheduled plane home, I felt well enough to put one foot in front of the other and have one last look at India before the 2:30am departure for the airport on the 8th. In hindsight it was a poor decision, but in the morn I got some bland toast and eggs as ... read more

The last few days in Reshikesh were great. I could almost say I did nothing the last while, but that wouldn't be entirely true. I visited the Beetles Ashram. This is not actually the proper name of the Ashram, but due to exposure the place got when the Beetles spent time there with the Maharajah, its the only name people refer to it by. I actually went twice. Once by myself and once with a friend 2 days later. The beauty of this place comes from is quiet removal. To get to the Ashram you walk some ways away from Laksman Jula, through a neighboring district Ramjula, and eventually up a dried up river bed. The ashram is actually closed to the public. It has a locked front gate with a "NO ENTRY" sign above the ... read more

Yes. I'm still here. It may seam to some that i have stopped traveling. Stopped seeing new places. Nothing can be further from the truth. I am indeed still in the same lodge, in the same city, but there is something to say about spending a extended period of time in one place. As said in a book I just finished reading "There is more to see in Paris than the Eiffel Tower." Sometimes the obligations of life prevent us from taking more than a 2 week "time out", and thus force the quantitative "bam bam bam" traveling, moving constantly from place to place to place. I know 1.5 weeks is by no means a long time, but in this small place, it is enough time to peal away a bit of the outer skin of ... read more

Slow down time... Its inevitable here in Reshikesh. Just a little update. I'm still here and will be for the nest 6 days or so. It really is "Shanti" here. I have met travelers from every corner of the plant and some really good local people. I spent the morning in a temple listening to Prem Baba. He is a well respected spiritual leader in the Hindu faith. He has been in Reshikesh for the last 3 months and is leaving tomorrow for his home in Brazil. I took the few hours this morning to visit along with the server hundred others that attended. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the next (almost) week. But it really doesn't matter. I don't plan... i just get up in the morning and start walking, something ... read more

Rishikesh Wow. Rishikesh is soooo chill. The past few days i have done next to nothing and it couldn't be better. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot here, but if you just want some time to yourself (and maybe the monkeys) you can get it. My first night here was in a real good priced place that served its purpose of a place to rest my head. I switched hotels yesterday, upgrading to a place that was double the price (still only $4.50) that has a great view of the Ganga river and the lakshman jula region of Rishikesh. There are so many ashrams, temples, yoga teachers, babas, sadus, and monkeys here that you could keep yourself busy for weeks, and many do. The lakshman jula area is a real backpackers district. Everyone here ... read more

Hey all... So we spent about a week in Manali, basking in the day light warmth, and shivering in the evening cold of the roof of our guest house staring into the mountains and the starry sky. On the morning of the 21th Brent and I awoke around 7am, and after a short talk about what next, decided that we would take different paths. Brent, enjoying the cold air, was to head to Dharamsala, a strong Tibetan town about 150km from Manali, and I decided to visit Rishikesh, the first city on the plains that the Ganga runs through after it escapes the Himalayan ranges. We spent the better part of that day arranging our departure. In town we booked our tickets. I was to leave the morning of the 22st on bus to Shimla, from ... read more

Checkin' Out. Our time in Varanasi has come to a end. I have really taken to the place. I suggest any traveler to India stop here, if only for 2-3 days. We spent some time yesterday traveling up the ghats north to the final main Ghat (Asi Ghat). From there we trekked about 4 km to the Monkey temple. After this we hired a rickshaw to take us to Sarnath. This Buddhist place of pilgrimage is said to be the first location Buddha delivered a sermon after enlightenment. The hotel/Guest-House we are staying is in fantastic. Every night has been spent on the communal picnic table on the open-air third floor. We have met Germans (6) a Finnish guy, 3 girls from Bulgaria, 4 or so French men, 5 peps from New Zealand, and 4-5 from ... read more

Well... After our origional termoil in Delhi we have become very aware of the scams and dealings of the peope in the large cities. Hassles aside this place is quite amazing. We are now in Agra, arived this afternoon from Jaipur where we spend 2 nights. Camels, Horses, Cows, goats, sheep, and monkeys are among the many animals that share the streets with the CRAZY drivers. The driving is insane. Our driver hit a cyclist yesterday....he was OK. For any of you that enjoy the occasional Chai tea from starshmucks.... it aint got nothing on the indian stuff. Just finished a cup for 10cents made by a old frail indian man that sat cross legged in a 5ft by 5ft hut. He crushed up all the spices by rock right infront of us. This place is ... read more