Rishikesh, India

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Plans change...while inquiring how to get to Nainital from Rishikesh I've learned that now probably is not the best time to go to Nainital. The gentlemen at the internet cafe told me that he is originally from Nainital and most likely it is snowing there now, if not, it is very cold. You would think that a Wisconsinite would have no problem with the snow, but given the wardrobe I have in my pack I am not even close to being able to brave temperatures near freezing. The cold weather and the fact that both Amy and I are still trying to shake a cold we caught from our 6X6X8 barf filled cube on our 24 train ride have led us to the decision to stay put in Rishikesh (kind of reminds me of our awful 24 hour bus ride to Panama City which caused us both to get sick - although the train here was way worse). The weather here in Rishikesh is borderline perfect, it probably reaches 70F during the day with a warm sun shining down. It does get rather chilly at night with temperatures reaching near 45F (temperatures are a guess, we have no thermometer). I could go for another 5 degrees both day and night, but all things considered it makes for some comfortable walking during the day and sleeping at night.

Before I get into our time in Rishikesh since our last blog I think some general information/experiences about India that some of you may or may not know is in order - first up, cows. Cows are sacred in India. Thus, cows are present in all of the streets of India, and Rishikesh is no exception (Amritsar was an exception, which had no cows near the Golden Temple streets). From the cows being in the streets you need to watch your step rather carefully to be certain you don't step in any cow pies, which is particularly difficult at night. One benefit of the cows is that they kind of act like a garbage disposal for the streets. This leads me to the monkeys - which also act as a garbage disposal for the streets. It is rather comical how we had to search high and low for monkeys across Central America and in India they are everywhere. I would bet that if I walk 50 steps without seeing a monkey it would be the first time since being in India. The monkeys are pretty tame and are always looking for food, so much so that one day Amy had a bag (not of food) in her hand and a monkey approached her when she wasn't looking and tried grabbing the bag - in doing so he ripped the bag. Later that day she was coming back from researching a yoga class and essentially got attacked from another monkey who was after her bag again. She could not get the monkey to stop so she ended up running back to the hotel - I wish I had the whole thing on video! These are a few of the things that make India what it is...a place full of experiences.

As many of you know and probably have experienced, India has wonderful cuisine. The Northern and Southern cuisine are quite different, I cannot pass judgement yet on South Indian food because I have not had much, but I absolutely love North Indian food. Prior to coming to India I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite cuisine, I enjoy all sorts of food from classic American to Mexican, Mediterranean, and Italian - I like it all. However, eating here is like a treat every day - so much so that I now think Indian food is my favorite cuisine. The past week or so I have been researching where to take cooking classes in North India and frankly the information on the internet is not that good. Rishikesh must have a few thousand posters for Yoga and other events going on, but none for cooking. So, I took it upon myself to try to find a cooking class by word of mouth - an arduous task given that not everyone will tell you the full truth. I asked a few people in town and at our hotel front desk and no one seemed to know of any cooking classes. Finally, I asked at the internet cafe we use and was told that an Indian woman, Chandra, who lived just up the road gives one on one classes and they would help arrange for me to do the classes either at the internet cafe (which has a kitchen in the back) or at her house - perfect! With some advice from the locals I picked out two dishes that I wanted, I was given a grocery list to buy the food and I would meet Chandra at the internet cafe tomorrow at 11:00 for some cooking lessons. Shopping was easy as a few local farmers hangout near the hotel and I bought the majority of the ingredients for $0.80 (see picture - cauliflower, potatoes, onions, green chiles, cilantro, and tomatoes all for 80 cents) - in the States I'm sure it would have been closer to $10! I'm going to make Channa Masala (a chickpea dish) and Aloo Ghobi (potato and cauliflower dish) - of course an Indian meal would not be complete without Chapati or some type of bread to eat the dishes with, so I will learn Chapati as well. If all goes well with my first lesson, I'll probably take another so that I have four classic Indian dishes to bring back to the States. While waiting for the power to come back on the guy at the internet cafe asked if I wanted to learn how to make Chai Masala Tea, so he taught me how and we enjoyed a cup together, so my lessons have already begun! Who knows, maybe further down the line I will pick up some more classes. I'm hoping to learn some cooking in Southeast Asia as well.

While heading in to the internet cafe to inquire about cooking classes I saw something that was very simple, but for me was so foreign - a local buying milk. In India you cannot really purchase milk in the stores, you must get it directly from the farmer (I'm sure there are exceptions). The farmer rides his motorcycle in to town with two large stainless containers on either side of the bike. He sits in the streets and people come to him with their own containers and he scoops milk from his container to theirs. It reminded me of a scene in Nicaragua that was similar, but different in two major ways. In Nicaragua, the farmer used a kerosene container (mixing up milk and kerosene would be a big problem), also the farmer in Nicaragua went door to door and filled up saucepans of milk for the locals. At any rate, it was fun to witness the simplicity that is India and amongst all the chaos it was a moment of clarity at how simple things are despite their chaotic appearance.

Each night we have went to the Aarti ceremony at sunset to listen to the music, relax, and enjoy the people and surroundings. I wouldn't doubt if that continues for our entire time in Rishikesh. Yesterday we purchased a CD of the songs they sing at the ceremony, which is often played while walking through the streets. We are both becoming pretty familiar with the music and owning the CD will be a wonderful way to mentally bring us back to Rishikesh for years to come.

Amy has spent some time being a yogi here in Rishikesh as I expected her to do, and really I think the main impetus for us coming here in the first place was for her to do yoga. She has found a place to practice each morning that she likes. Yesterday she had a one on one session since there was no one else in the class and she was pretty sore from it. If she would have came directly from her yoga practice in Fort Worth I think it would have been nothing, but being on the road for a few months takes some effort and yoga has not been a major part of her repertoir since we left. She is loving the yoga here, that is for sure.

One interesting thing has happened to Amy while in India, her acne (which was not bad in the first place) has all but cleared up. It goes without saying that she is ecstatic about it. We have two theories as to why this may be (I'm sure there are things we are not thinking about as well). First, there is ayurverdic face soap, which is a combination of herbs, that she has been using since our time in Varanasi. Ayurverdic therapy is all over Rishikesh and is similar to homeopathic medicine in the States - although that is probably a simplistic description, but I have no other way to properly compare. Second, our diet is obviously different. It may be possible that something in our Western diet (which we feel was actually rather healthy) that contributed to her acne. Possibly we will learn more as we travel to other countries and our diet changes again. For now, she loves having it gone without exactly knowing why.

I too have had an interesting thing happen to me while in India - I can eat bananas! Those that know me well know that when I eat bananas I have a reaction that essentially limits me to eat just a bite or two. However, I aboslutely love bananas, often times I get my banana fix through banana bread which does not bother me (the cooking must change the structure somehow). In India, I have had no problems with bananas, so I have been enjoying my fill!

Off to my first cooking class!

Namaste.

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Photos

Amy and I at Ganges
Ganges river in the background as well as the footbridge.

Amy at Ganges
Enjoying the surroundings.

Monkey
They are everywhere, although most are actually a different type.

Me at the river
Loving Rishikesh!

Ready for cooking class
All of this was only 40 rupees - 80 cents!

Ganges River
Looking towards the Himalaya foothill valley

Me at Ganages
Hanging out.

Street juice
Pressed sugar cane, lemon juice, mint, and ginger....yummy!