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Published: November 20th 2009
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Marching Guards
Proof the Ministry of Silly Walks is real! Greetings from Rishikesh,
Well, I think I can safely tell you all that I feel I have finally got the swing of the traveling lark! and its certainly something that is going to be hard not to repeat in the coming years.
Following on from the failed border attempt of the previous night myself, Olly (English), Lin (Vietnamese), Alan (Irish) and Nick (Aussie) (who I all met in the golden temple dorms) set off for an assault on the border. With the help of a pre booked taxi ride we made the border in plenty of time to a certain feeling of expectation and pride in the air. The military presence is evident as soon as you get near to the border with armed patrols and pill boxes sandwiched in between chai wallahs and pop corn sellers.
We were soon ushered into very probing security checks and I am quite sure that the man who searched me took great pleasure in the slightly embarrassing act. Following that we were ushered into the obligatory 'foreigners' vip section which are actually found at most Indian tourist attractions. Once inside we were greeted by a football like stadium atmosphere with the
Waterfall Plunge Pool
Olly getting ready for a dip in the pool. Indians on one side in stands and the Pakistanis on the other (its worth noting the Indians probably outnumbered the Pakistanis 5-1). The whole ceremony starts with a 'who can hold a note the longest competition between two of the soldiers from each side; this was promptly greeted by rapture from the Indians surrounding us.
The ceremony then takes on a very bizarre monty python style charade with both sides performing marches that wouldn't look out of place (and would probably get a large grant for research from) in the ministry of silly walks. The whole shebang lasts around and hour and finishes with the lowering of the flags and a slamming of the border gates.
In the evening proceeding the border visit I left the golden temple to start my long over night train ride to the foot of the Himalayas. I had persuaded both Olly and Alan to join me for the trip. Now like I have stated in previous entries when the English and the Irish get together there is usually drink involved... this train ride was no such exception. I will spare you the grim details but all in all one and a
Swimming in the Ganges
That's me second from the right. half bottles of whiskey were drank which made an interesting journey.
The town of Rishikesh in the province of Uttarkhand is well known as the place where the beatles came to meet the maharishi yogi, take lots of drugs and write many of the songs that ended up on the white album. As a fan of drug fueled beatles music i decided this was a must. The town is also set on the river
Ganges and is nestled at the start of the Himalayan foot hills.
This was the first chance i have really had to cut back and relax a bit from the sometimes tiring life of a backpacker.
Yesterday the three of us and one other (a Belgian called Ed) ascended one of the local hills to find the apparently impressive nearby waterfalls... we were not let down. The walk up from the valley took in wonderful jungle like forests, butterflies and the soothing sound of running water. The sight of a large plunge pool in front of the waterfall was too irresistible an opportunity to pass up and we were soon swimming around in the fresh clear water.
After catching the swimming bug yesterday we decided we would have a go at a soul cleansing swim in the Ganges itself. This is an opportunity not to be missed; swimming in the cool glacial melt water was one thing; but the beautiful glacial sediment beaches that line the river make the whole experience really relaxing.
As you may be able to tell I am rather enjoying Rishikesh and the trip just seems to be getting better and better.
I will hopefully be heading further into the mountains soon to possibly do some trekking.
Hope you are all well and enjoying the Bristish winter :-p
Jack xx
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