i am now in rishikesh in the state of uttarakhand, india. it's about 3,000K from kerala. it was a 4 hour flight and an 8 hr train ride. before i left the ashram, i went to a program with amma. it was cool to see how many indians showed up and also nice to get out of the ashram for the day. i believe that i finally made peace with the ashram before i left. my last couple of days i felt relaxed and comfortable. which was a nice change. i know it could have been because i knew i was leaving but it didn't feel that way. i felt like i overcame a big hump. that said the ferry out was the best i'd felt in a while. it felt exciting to be on the road again.
after the flight to delhi, i had a few hours before i had to catch my train, so i decided to get to the train station by the metro. now, this wasn't hard but it just feels good to get to a new city and not have to take a taxi, just figure it out on your own (even though i asked about 20 people). i got to old delhi train station with time to spare. the place was packed, people sleeping all over the floors wrapped in blankets. it was a mad house. india has an extensive train system that is super cheap to ride. if i would have just taken the train to rishikesh it would have cost me about 1000 rupees. as it was it took about 180 from delhi after the 6,500 flight. 1000 rupees is about 20 bucks. so, i get on my train and it's a sleeper car with a reserved seat. i'm thinking, sweet, this is going to be a plush ride. now, it was a lot colder in delhi than it had been down south. but not bad. i figured the train would be a lot warmer. it wasn't, the train is pretty spartan and not that comfortable. whatever, i've been in worse situations. it gets on it's way. i've got this little scarf covering my legs that i bought in cambodia. it gets colder, the window won't shut all the way, the train is not heated, and i understood all the people in the station with blankets. some dude sits down across from me and starts smoking on the train. he is replaced later by a kid who at one point i had woken up to find had borrowed my shoes to go to the bathroom, or somewhere. my glasses were in my shoes. this dude is like 6'2", my shoes would never fit this kid. he comes back with my shoes, the back smashed from his walking on them and my glasses. i'm freezing. i end up putting on both the sweatshirts i have, a beanie, pants over my shorts, and socks. i pull out my bivy sack to sleep in. it might have saved my life. i get a little bit of sleep. we get to hardiwar at 6 in the morning, it's real cold out. i get a rickshaw to rishikesh, rickshaws don't have windows, it's an open air vehicle. i get to rishikesh, i overpay by about 700 rupees for a hotel room. i lay in the hotel room from about 7 in the morning til 1 in the afternoon, curled up in fetal position with both hotel blankets shoved in my bivy sack trying to sleep.
i leave the hotel room, covered like it's deep winter in the yukon and it's like 75 degrees out. apparently my hotel room does not heat up or anything. anyway, i walk around. i was in the main part of town, the tourist parts are ram jhula and laxman jhula. my school is in laxman jhula, the beatles ashram is in ram jhula. the next day, i pack up my shit and start the hike to laxman jhula (it's a few kms). i'm excited to get there but still checking out the town and all the sites. rishikesh is located almost even with nepal in terms of longitude and at the base of himalayas and also the ganges. ganga in indian, and is the holiest of rivers. many indians take a pilgrimage to the ganga to take a swim in her waters. kinda nasty unless you're up here because the ganga is also the most polluted river in the world. whities can swim up here though, cuz it's not too bad. whatever, it's absolutely stunning, super picturesque. i'm walking up to laxman jhula and i know i'm home. i know i made the right decision, i can just feel it. i feel great. walking up the mountain road (i have to hike up to the laxman jhula bridge and then cross to get where i'm going), i see some decaying steps up to some structure of sorts. i decide to explore, i have a lot of time. i roll up there, chilling up there is some ancient indian. old, huge beard, twinkling eyes of a person that has seen so much change they aren't affected by the outside world any longer. he unrolls a carpet for me. i sit down. he asks if i want a beedie, i say okay. we sit there smoking, overlooking ram jhula and the ganga, talking; him telling me about india, me asking question trying not to sound ignorant. he's a swami, he's 74, some brothers and sisters, this is a shiva temple. how long have you lived here, i ask. long time he replies. i get no more than that. he makes tea. someone comes to visit. we smoke more beedies. and sure as shit, just as i'm like this old dude is ancient as a fossil and wise as the wind, he pulls out a cell phone and blows my mind. we truly live in a digital age. it was trippy. i get his number, say, i'll call next time i come up, see if you need anything and walk to my yoga ashram.
i've been to yoga class 4 times in four days. i'm super stoked to be here. it's touristy but i don't care anymore. i'm excited to be with group of people that will bond together and practice yoga and learn about yoga for the next 30 days. our schedule is up at 7:30, kriya yoga (detoxification), asana class from 9-10:30, breakfast, 11-1 lecture, lunch, 2-5 lecture, 5-6:30 asana class, 6:30-7:30 meditation, 8 dinner. starts tomorrow!
oh yeah, and so we visited the beatles ashram this morning. it was falling apart. this last picture is of all the graffiti that is in what was the main temple of the ashram. it's all falling apart now, holes in walls, broken glass, trees and nature overtaking buildings. no signs, no guides, nothing really. we were like 2 out of the 6 people there. weird. all you can say is india and shrug like that makes sense. but it does...
after the flight to delhi, i had a few hours before i had to catch my train, so i decided to get to the train station by the metro. now, this wasn't hard but it just feels good to get to a new city and not have to take a taxi, just figure it out on your own (even though i asked about 20 people). i got to old delhi train station with time to spare. the place was packed, people sleeping all over the floors wrapped in blankets. it was a mad house. india has an extensive train system that is super cheap to ride. if i would have just taken the train to rishikesh it would have cost me about 1000 rupees. as it was it took about 180 from delhi after the 6,500 flight. 1000 rupees is about 20 bucks. so, i get on my train and it's a sleeper car with a reserved seat. i'm thinking, sweet, this is going to be a plush ride. now, it was a lot colder in delhi than it had been down south. but not bad. i figured the train would be a lot warmer. it wasn't, the train is pretty spartan and not that comfortable. whatever, i've been in worse situations. it gets on it's way. i've got this little scarf covering my legs that i bought in cambodia. it gets colder, the window won't shut all the way, the train is not heated, and i understood all the people in the station with blankets. some dude sits down across from me and starts smoking on the train. he is replaced later by a kid who at one point i had woken up to find had borrowed my shoes to go to the bathroom, or somewhere. my glasses were in my shoes. this dude is like 6'2", my shoes would never fit this kid. he comes back with my shoes, the back smashed from his walking on them and my glasses. i'm freezing. i end up putting on both the sweatshirts i have, a beanie, pants over my shorts, and socks. i pull out my bivy sack to sleep in. it might have saved my life. i get a little bit of sleep. we get to hardiwar at 6 in the morning, it's real cold out. i get a rickshaw to rishikesh, rickshaws don't have windows, it's an open air vehicle. i get to rishikesh, i overpay by about 700 rupees for a hotel room. i lay in the hotel room from about 7 in the morning til 1 in the afternoon, curled up in fetal position with both hotel blankets shoved in my bivy sack trying to sleep.
i leave the hotel room, covered like it's deep winter in the yukon and it's like 75 degrees out. apparently my hotel room does not heat up or anything. anyway, i walk around. i was in the main part of town, the tourist parts are ram jhula and laxman jhula. my school is in laxman jhula, the beatles ashram is in ram jhula. the next day, i pack up my shit and start the hike to laxman jhula (it's a few kms). i'm excited to get there but still checking out the town and all the sites. rishikesh is located almost even with nepal in terms of longitude and at the base of himalayas and also the ganges. ganga in indian, and is the holiest of rivers. many indians take a pilgrimage to the ganga to take a swim in her waters. kinda nasty unless you're up here because the ganga is also the most polluted river in the world. whities can swim up here though, cuz it's not too bad. whatever, it's absolutely stunning, super picturesque. i'm walking up to laxman jhula and i know i'm home. i know i made the right decision, i can just feel it. i feel great. walking up the mountain road (i have to hike up to the laxman jhula bridge and then cross to get where i'm going), i see some decaying steps up to some structure of sorts. i decide to explore, i have a lot of time. i roll up there, chilling up there is some ancient indian. old, huge beard, twinkling eyes of a person that has seen so much change they aren't affected by the outside world any longer. he unrolls a carpet for me. i sit down. he asks if i want a beedie, i say okay. we sit there smoking, overlooking ram jhula and the ganga, talking; him telling me about india, me asking question trying not to sound ignorant. he's a swami, he's 74, some brothers and sisters, this is a shiva temple. how long have you lived here, i ask. long time he replies. i get no more than that. he makes tea. someone comes to visit. we smoke more beedies. and sure as shit, just as i'm like this old dude is ancient as a fossil and wise as the wind, he pulls out a cell phone and blows my mind. we truly live in a digital age. it was trippy. i get his number, say, i'll call next time i come up, see if you need anything and walk to my yoga ashram.
oh yeah, and so we visited the beatles ashram this morning. it was falling apart. this last picture is of all the graffiti that is in what was the main temple of the ashram. it's all falling apart now, holes in walls, broken glass, trees and nature overtaking buildings. no signs, no guides, nothing really. we were like 2 out of the 6 people there. weird. all you can say is india and shrug like that makes sense. but it does...
No comments:
Post a Comment