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Published: November 2nd 2008
Hardiwar
People come to this holy town to bath in the river to cleanse their sinsWelcome to Delhi!!!
My first day I passed by a rat on the street in broad daylight who was too frozen in fear to move. He did manage to blink at me, or was a wink? He probably saw the look on my face and thought I could use some encouragement, "Hey kid, look at me, things could be worse." After two failed attempts to get more than a block away from my guesthouse without turning around and running back inside I decided to try and think of something positive. I met this nice french man on the plane named Gill. Well, he spelled his name for me J-I-L-L, I didn't have the heart to correct him then, or when he told me, "you see Aubrey, India is like an elephant in a Chinese shop." He was a lovely man and told me the story of how he met his wife. She is from the Philippines and they met at a business conference in China. "I asked her to marry me after 5 days and we have been married for 14 years and have 3 beautiful children. I went with my gut, always trust your gut." I got off the plane
Brahmin Boys
At a fire puja ceremony with premature "Delhi Belly," I wasn't trusting anything.
I will have visited Delhi three times by the end of my travels in India. By the second trip I figured out how to describe Delhi. It's like being born. And no, I don't mean that spiritual rebirth full of peace and love. I mean literally being taken from a safe familiar cozy place to being scared out of your mind, bright lights and cold metal tables. It sounds pretty bad, but after I found out I was going to be an aunt (congrats Amy and Ren) I saw the silver lining. There will be no boring small talk or awkward silence between me and Remy Jr.. We'll immediately kick back and bond over our birthing stories of suffering and triumph.
From Delhi I headed north to Rishikesh where ironically I stayed at Mama's Guesthouse. I had been turned away at several other guesthouses and was starting to get nervous. Mama's was also full, but after seeing my face (I'm guessing it was the same one the rat saw) she decided to accommodate me. This little old Indian woman put her arm around me, "Mama will take care of you,"
and led me to room 101.
AKA the Beauty Parlor. At least there was a bed in there (used for waxing) and a huge mirror with a swivel chair. I can finally get that ponytail right! Mama's guesthouse is where I met 1 million Israelis. In fact, there are so many Israelis in India that I think every town should have a Little Israel or Israel Town section. Through all the dark hair, beards, deep thick accents and clouds of Hashish smoke I found Susie from Seattle. We ended up traveling together for three weeks. We spent 10 days at a yoga ashram-morning bell @ 5:30am, 4 hours of intense yoga, set meals and no outside distractions. That is until the 35 Canadians showed up for the yoga teacher training. Yikes!!! From there we took one, and I hope only, of the most grueling train rides ever to Varanasi. After 5 days in Varanasi Susie and I separated as I headed to Nepal and she stayed on in India for 4 more months traveling with no-doubt Shiva by her side. Shanti Susie. Off to Nepal...hoping for some good views of the Himalayas!
Travel Info
Delhi
stayed in ANOOP
not the best but they picked me up from the airport
Buy train tickets two days ahead and go to air conditioned 2nd floor of train station...DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE OUT FRONT!!! Go inside, do not go across the street to the "gov agencies"
Gem bar is a great retreat
Everest Cafe is suppose to be open 24 hours
All in the main bazaar.
Hardiwar
Kinda freaked me out, big ben is a place to stay
Rishikesh
High Banks Area.
Anand Prakesh Yoga Ashram
Or the Ashram area
Mama's GH
basic but the best chai ever!
Varansi
Didn't like our gh but go to the LOTUS restaurant, amazing, clean, mug of chai, or french press real coffee.
Shanti gh I heard was good, pick up from bus station, free boat ride.
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Sachi
non-member comment
Friends and faces
When I receive a new blog I am torn between wanting to scan the photos for pictures of you (the look on your face tells more than words ever can) and reading the blog, reveling in your tidbits of wit and wisdom. Too short is what I say...not you silly rabbit...your blogs. I don't want them ever to end but of course that would mean you would never come home and, well, I would truly miss you. If there is any light and luv to be found, even amidst cockroach infested trains, you will find it. I love that about you. modern girl