Rishikesh, global home of yoga, is in the Himalaya. However, it’s very difficult to get to from Shimla using public transport so we opted for a taxi which took about 8 hours with one short lunch stop. The first 4 hours were downhill and a very windy road packed with cars, bikes and trucks. Our driver Lucky, wasn’t deterred by the amount of vehicles on the road and still managed to overtake, even on corners.
Renee and Sally had taken car sickness tablets and were doing well. However even I, on a very strong stomach, was very grateful to reach the valley floor. The further away from Shimla we got, the more careful Lucky was with our safety – still overtaking almost everything but slower and more cautious of the potholes and uneven roads.
By the time we got the Ashram in Rishikesh, we were very grateful to get out of that car and our thoughts were with Lucky who would need to drive the 8 hours back. We tipped him well and hoped he could find a cheap room before heading back.
The Ashram accommodation is basic but although we were promised hot water, Renee and I continued to be deprived and were forced yet again, to have a cold shower. The site has a meditation hall and yoga hall and dining room in the centre and around it, accommodation houses mostly with twin rooms. We had opted for the basic room so didn’t have air-con which didn’t matter as the temperature at night was perfect for sleeping.
Renee and I had decided to go to the 5:30am yoga and meditation session which meant getting up at 5:15 – a real jolt out of slumber and we determined that this would be our first and only early morning yoga session.
Taking the path down to the road below the ashram we were at the side of the Ganges – the most holy of Indian rivers and all through the town were stalls selling orange bottles for people to collect some of the holy water to take home. While the river water wasn’t filthy at this early stage of its life, it was certainly not clean. This did not stop many people bathing in it.
Across the river on a crowded foot bridge we found the main commercial area of the town and it was packed not only with (mostly Indian) tourists but with motorbikes, cows, dogs, bathers, yogi, the sound of chanting and the smell of incense.
The Ashram is elevated some distance from the river and therefore the chaos and road noise so is a relatively quiet place. I don’t think anywhere in India can be truly quiet. The food in the ashram is basic but enough. It is vegetarian and there in no alcohol in the whole town itself.
I found a plentiful supply of Dairy Milk and Snickers in the commercial area and bought several to keep me going as well as some dried dates. The others have caught my habit of buying Indian sweets which we have all enjoyed even though they don’t look very attractive. They are mostly sugar!
One more night in Rishikesh and then fly to Jaipur which I fear will be just as noisy as Delhi. I hope I’m wrong.