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Published: September 4th 2008
The beautiful Golden Temple!
A holy temple for the Sikh religion.I am enjoying my time in India, I am enjoying my time in India, I am enjoying my time in India....this is my mantra!
Seriously though, I think that the sadness/homesickness/really want to leave-ness was caused by the Larium (malaria medication). It's side effects include exacerbating feelings of anxiety & depression & on the package perscription it says, Call you Dr. if you are experiencing extreme sadness....seriously! It was strange--uncontrollable crying off and on for 2 days. Totally weird & I am really excited that it is over. I am not going to take that stuff anymore!
So I ended up staying on the Ashram for 4 days, 3 nights & did enjoy my time there. My initial knee-jerk reaction was 'LEAVE NOW!' but I'm glad I stayed, experienced the ashram, did some yoga & explored Rishikesh. I met a lot of neat people: a group of Spanish women who practiced Kundalini yoga (I got to practice my spanish!), a couple American students studying abroad in Delhi, a British woman staying there for 2 weeks, and a French traveler guy who I had lunch with & thought was cool until he started talking about how excited he was to visit the
On the back of a cycle rickshaw!
We both got off the bike whenever there was a hill & walked up it =) Erotic Temples (which confirms my suspicions that the French are obsessed with Indian erotica).
Some funny India observations: 1) I saw a guy get sh*t on by a wild monkey at the train station, 2) a guy taking a shower at the train station water fountain, 3) the Sikh museum had a ton of gory/bloody paintings of Sikh soldiers/leaders dying in all sorts of horrible ways, 4) the Indian head wobble to mean yes is totally messing with my mind! 5) Hindu gods are supercool & colorful 6) Air India is not-so-fancy (crap!)
I have modified my trip a bit & decided that whatever I want to do & whereever I want to go is ok. It's all good. I decided that I really wanted to check out McLeod Ganj (just north of Dharamsala) where the Tibetan government & the Dalai Lama is living in exile. It was so cool & I'm so glad that I went. The Himalayas looked like they were being kissed by the clouds. What a wonderful little town! The Tibetan museum was very moving.
I then headed back to Delhi via an all night "delux" bus. I think that they mean 'delux' as
compared to a pile of dirt. I've come to think differently about adjectives here. I was happy to be in Delhi for one more night & get to hang out with Subodh & Urmil once more--such nice people!
I then went to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) & decided I wanted to stay somewhere nice. And my hotel super duper rocked! I was able to walk everywhere. I took a ferry to Elephanta Island to see these incredible rock carvings from a long time ago (5th/6th century?). I didn't have a guide or want to buy the book so I essentially walked around just thinking 'Man these are cool.' I've gotten very deep on this trip--let me tell ya.
I want to make a broad statement: Indian people are very friendly & welcoming. I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with my friends' Sam & Mark's cousin Menaka in Mumbai & it was soooo awesome! She showed me around & was so friendly. She wouldn't let me pay for anything or take her out to dinner (neither did Subodh, I'm wondering how does one thank an Indian person?). She also took me around for the Ganesh holiday to
Beautiful Buddha in the Temple
the bright colors--so gorgeous! see/pay respects to all these awesome looing Ganesh statues made out of clay. The celebration lasts for 10 days & then then take the statues & put them in the ocean (where they turn back into clay). They were SO beautiful! It was such a treat to get to participate in this celebrating. Menaka's dad reminded me that I was very fortunate to be in Mumbai on such a special day to get all of Ganesh's blessings, since he is the god of success. Woohoo! Good timing!
Since it is the Bollywood capitol, I saw the movie Bachna ae Haseeno--totally awesome! I understood the main idea (it was in Hindi) & loved all the singing & dancing! Luckily I was able to ask Menaka afterwards what actually happened in the movie (including what the title meant).
Anyway, I left for Bangkok after 5 days in Mumbai & only 2 1/2 weeks in India. Stay tuned for a cross cultural comparison of Thai & Indian massages, temples, & traveling adventures!
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Dan G.
non-member comment
Erotica
The "erotic carvings" at Kajuraho are AMAZING! Don't hate the French dude for being obsessed - they were one of the best things we saw in India.