Blogs from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 20

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

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

There is a saying which alleges that when people first come to Glastonbury, they spend the first few months dealing with their 'stuff', and if the place does not like them, it makes sure they leave sooner or later. I have the same feeling about Rishikesh, and perhaps India in general. It’s one of the places that gives you what you need, whether you like it or not. The energies of Rishikesh are quite strange and volatile. It’s as though half of the time you're in bliss, and the other half in darkness. Like many ‘initiatory’ power places, it seems to magnify everything you feel and experience. It also has an uncanny way of pushing all your buttons. Lessons you could take a lifetime learning can be accomplished here in days or even hours. You experience ... read more

I have been settled in Rishikesh for a week now - and it really is the most beautiful place - I am happy that I am spending my last 2 weeks in India here, and especially happy that I can experience this place at the end of my India trip when I am feeling so relaxed. I am not officially in Rishikesh - I am in a suburb called Laxman Jhula which is about 2 km further up then Ganges river. The entire place is often called Rishikesh, but actually seems to be in three sections which line both sides of the river - Rishikesh, then Ram Jhula, then Laxman Jhula - the latter two being landmarked by "pedestrian" bridges which cross the great Ganga (Ganges river). I have moved into Nishant Guest House, high up ... read more