making my way down south...

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hello all! it has been almost two weeks since i last wrote a blog. time sure flies by here- because it doesn't feel that long ago. but at the same time it feels like ages ago since new year's eve. i know- it makes no sense. but india has a way of disorienting you 😉

so i am slowly making my way down south with my new travel buddy keith. we hung out a bit in rishikesh and found we had tons in common (a pisces moon, surreal meditation experiences, a very prominent spiritual path which we had just begun) and it just felt right to travel with one another. he was drawn to a place called tiruvanamalai where the rastafarian eckhart tolle i heard speak on christmas day is headed to teach. it is in the south about 6 hours from banaglore. the idea of 80-something degree weather really enticed me- as well as having a friend to make the long train trip south with- so i decided to bid au dieu to rishikesh. i had a nice time there and i am sure i will be back- no doubt when it is warmer- but i knew it was time to leave.

the day we left was full of interesting occurences. we booked our ticket on a 'deluxe bus' the day before and had to take an autorickshaw to the bus stand. a deluxe bus here can be any number of things from a decent bus to a peice of junk. we could take the government bus for less than half the price but i was told that i wouldn't want to do that because it is full of indians. i was very offended by that comment- as i have this affinity for them here and do not feel that i need to isolate myself with a bunch of foreigners. why come to india then??? but we ended up booking the deluxe tickets anyhow because i know how crowded the government buses can get and i didn't know how keith would feel about it comfortability-wise.

as we made our way from one side of laxman jhula across the tension bridge over the ganges to the other side we ran into the silver dog crossing in the opposite direction. my heart broke as it always does- and the moment his eyes caught mine he changed direction and proceeded to follow us across the bridge. he was walking on three legs- so he obviously had hurt himself somehow. he followed us all the way across the bridge, up about 40 steps and through the main courtyard area where the taxi stand was. this was making me even sadder- as i wanted to take him with me or help him or something! i was told dogs eat chapati- pita-like wheat bread- so i went to a nearby dhaba (outdoor restaurant) and ordered 5 chapati. they told me it was too much for one dog- but i ordered it anyway. as they made the chapati he ran off and i was like 'no come back!' but he actually only ran off to drink some water from a sewage drain 😞 then he came back. i proceeded to feed him the chapati- breaking off peices and dropping it onto the ground- and he proceeded to inhale all five in a matter of minutes! he was so hungry! of course the cows nearby came and tried to get some but i kept butting them away. one began to try and nip at my butt! i kept them at bay though and silver dog was able to eat them all. then we had to leave to make our bus so i said goodbye to him- but he followed us all the way up this long hill to the rickshaw stand. i kept telling him to go- not to follow us- but he didn't listen. he was limping the whole way and i knew that the hill was not an easy trek for him. but i think i am one of the only people that has shown him any love and he wanted to follow me where ever i went 😞 as we passed people i would see looks of horror and disgust on people's faces as they saw his mangled, hairless, blood crusted body. even as i write this i am getting upset. anyhow- we got into the rickshaw and he sat there and watched us drive away- and i sent out a wish for him to feel my love.

so we made our way to our deluxe bus stand only to find that there is no bus today! the store was closed but the store next door knew the owner's phone number and called him and he came to refund us our money. so we ended up having to take the government bus after all! we got there just in time as it was about to take off- and there were only two seats left. very synchronistic! so we made our way to delhi on a bus full of indians- and i loved it! it goes through the little towns and villages and you get to see real indian culture and life. keith ended up really enjoying the opportunity to observe life in india this way- although the trip was rather cramped and we had luggage on our laps and in the walkway that people had to step over constantly. half way through the trip keith started feeling really sick and he needed a bathroom. the ticket man said we'd be stopping in a half hour and keith said he could last- but i thought otherwise and had the bus stop. it was a good thing because it turned out that he probably wouldn't have lasted. we were stopped for 5 minutes- something these buses don't do apparently. if you get off you are off and you wait for the next one. keith had friends who that had happened to- they got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and sat there for a couple hours waiting for the next bus! but for us they waited- and i just kept saying namaste and smiling at everyone- and it worked 😊 after that keith was better and the rest of the trip was pretty smooth.

we arrived in delhi 7 hours later famished and ready to eat. as soon as we got off the bus we were bombarded with rickshaw drivers offering to take us to our destination for ONLY 160 rupees ($4.50)! this was expensive in indian terms though- and keith said there must be a pre-paid place where they cannot rip you off. we finally found it but on the way the prices were slowly going down- 160 to 150 to 100. one guy told us the prepaid is 185 rupees plus 5 rupees for each bag! when we got to the pre-paid there were all these drivers relaxing against a wall chatting- in stark contrast to the agitated and anxious drivers that were trying to get our business for 160 rupees- and we asked how much for a rickshaw and they said only 45 rupees!!! it seems the rickshaw driver will do anything to rip you off in india! even outright lie! sheesh! all the pre-paid drivers laughed when they heard the prices we were quoted- looking at one another and repeating '160 rupees' hahahaha.

so it took 30-40 minutes in some crazy traffic to get to pahar ganj- and we had him drop us off at my favorite restaurant there from the last time i was in delhi. we weren't sure where we were going to stay- we were just going to roam around and find a good, cheap place. but during dinner the owner recognized me from last time and said he opened a new restaurant in a hotel down the way that was really nice. so we checked it out- and it was! and it was only 200 rupees each! we had a tv, a phone, and a hot shower. plus my favorite restaurant up on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking the vegetable market. how more perfect can it get? so we took it 😊 and for the next several days we pretty much lounged, ate, meditated, and slept. not too exciting but exactly what we both needed.

we had decided to not plan things on this trip and just let god guide us. so instead of booking the train ticket south in advance we just waited till we felt ready to leave. it turns out that at delhi there is a tourist quota office in which you can get seats reserved specifically for tourist- so that days prior to your departure you can get a seat versus having to book weeks in advance like most indians do. the place we were heading to first- hyderabad- is a big tourist place although it a big city- so we were able to book our ticket one day ahead! when things just fall into place you know you are doing the right thing- so traveling on intuition was a no-brainer 😊

the reason we were going to hyderabad is because of my friend kellie that i met in san francisco while i was getting my indian visa. she overheard me at the embassy saying i was going to india and she felt the desire to give me her card and tell me to keep in touch and visit her and her husband as well. so i emailed her before i left for india and we have been emailing ever since. she even tried to send me a yoga mat (western ones are $50 in india!) to mcleod ganj but it 'disappeared' and the delivery company says it was delivered and that i must be lying about not receiving it. kellie just let it go because that is what you have to do with things like that in india. haha. anyhow- when i told kellie i was heading south with a friend she invited both of us to come stay with her in hyderabad- which was really awesome of her to do 😊

so the train ride to hyderabad was 26 hours long. yes i said 26 hours. crazy. we packed all kinds of yummy snacks- fruit, dried fruit, nuts, fresh baked brown bread, and loads of water- to prepare us for this trip. the train left at 5:40pm so we got there at 5pm. we had to walk quite a ways up some stairs to get to our train and i was wishing for an escalator which we ended up finding! these common comforts in america are apparently not so common in india because the guy in front of me tried to get on the escalator and ended up tripping and falling. he had never been on one before and was looking very perplexed. the other escalator going down had a father who was carrying his crying 13 year old as he went down it because it was scarying her! that was pretty surreal. things are so different here! we made it to our train and found our berth quite easily and shortly after our train took off and for the first 4 hours we listened to music, meditated and relaxed. then it was bed time! we were traveling in sleeper class- the common class that is half the price of the next class up and the only difference is they provide you blankets and there is air conditioning- and were the only foreigners on our train. we both had blankets of our own and the top berth- so we had decent sleep. although at 3am there were two guys who had their stop coming up and had to get off and they began talking as though the rest of the train wasn't sleeping. i was so annoyed- i called out ' could you please keep your voices down- it is 3 in the morning!' and they promptly shut up. i have seen this quite a bit in india- people don't seem to be very considerate of others when they do things like talk when it is the middle of the night or when they walk by you on a crowded street they just run right into you and don't say sorry. weird. i was brought up by a mother who would tiptoe when i was sleeping and would get dressed in the dark so as not to disturb me. to go from that kind of consideration to blatant inconsideration is not an easy thing to do. needless to say i have not had the easiest time sleeping through the night in india. from loud neighbors to calls to prayer at 4am- nights are never serene and peaceful!

after the night portion of our trip we awoke and had 11 hours until our destination. that was spent listening to music, meditating, resting, eating and observing the rapidly changing countryside. we went from cold nights and cool days in the north to humid and hot temperatures in the south. it was cool to see this change from one simple train ride! the day went by decently quickly- and as we approached hyderabad we got to talking to some indians in our berth about where we were going. they asked what train station we were getting off on and i had no idea! i thought there was only one but apparently there were 3! i showed them kellie's address and they thought i should get off at their station- which was the second one. but when we stopped at the first one and people were unloading i had this urge to get up and just peek my head out the train. i stayed there for several minutes and then the whistle blew and the train was going to start up again. then i saw kellie walking the length of train looking for us! i screamed at her and ran inside to grab keith and our bags and we jumped off the train as it was starting to leave! we just made it! good thing i listened to my intuition- or it would have been a big mess! this is a lesson for me to realize that if i listen to my intuition nothing will go wrong. a powerful lesson!

so now we are in hyderabad relaxing and enjoying our time with kellie! she is from seattle and her husband is from london- but they have been living in india for the past year and a half with their three dogs. they live in a really nice area called jubliee hills that doesn't seem like india at all. as a matter of fact- hyderabad doesn't seem like india. it is the information technology hub of india and is super clean and organized- like a western city! it is in stark contrast to kurukshetra or parts of delhi that are chaotic and dirty. it is nice to be able to stay in a big, western home with a western washing machine, dishwasher and a well stocked kitchen with comfort food from home (from both london and america!). kellie is a generous and gracious host and we really feel at home here. she even brought back some yoga mats from her holiday in seattle for keith and i- so i am getting back into my regular vinyasa practice which has sadly been lacking since i left for india! i am also getting to be able to practice 'teaching' yoga with kellie and keith as my guinea pigs. it's fun 😊

well i think that is a long enough blog for now! i hope all is well 😊 i will have more to tell you about hyderabad in the next entry.

until then...

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Photos

fruit and vege market
when you order bananas here they cut them off the stalk hanging from the ceiling!

ganges river
this was the view from my ashram in rishikesh :)

laxman jhula bridge
the view the other way from my ashram :)

silver dog
here he is gobbling up chapati

the cow
nipping at my butt ;)

Comments

[anonymous]

Great Blog......
Hey, Being from India, your insights about my country is an interesting read. Looking forward to the next journal. cheers ... - Srini

[quintessential]

the perfect Meditation ( Yoga )
Hello there, since you been referring to Yoga.. I would like to mention about the most authentic Meditation ( Meditation, obviously, is the highest form of Yoga ) and take pride in doing so. Your travel experiences definitely tell me that you must have heard of vipassana meditation in india. Which is very available even in America, which is absolutely free. http://www.dhamma.org/ the web-site itself speaks about all its centers world wide and the shedules of intake etc. I can promise that everything the web site says is absolutely true and I have experienced it almost 100%. and later experiences are much more richer than my Meditational exp. which i would say is the results of my extensive meditational practice. YES, I thank God for the opportunity he gave me. - Ramesh, India !