Final Chapter! Señor Ruback so graciously missed Jazzfest this year to make an appearance down south. We met in Bangalore, the IT capital of India. When you call Dell or ever get an Indian person on the phone (which we all love!), most likely, you’re talking to someone in Bangalore. With about 5 million people, it was quite a shock to see Levi’s, Nike, Adidas and plenty of bars, especially after being in holy Rishikesh! The first day we walked around and checked out the city on a tuk tuk (auto rickshaw). Honestly, after seeing 500 year old forts and palaces, seeing 100 year old churches was nothing special. We did manage to find a happy hour with beer which tasted so good after a month off! Course, I was the only woman in the whole place but I was so used to the stares that I thought it was almost funny to be swilling a brew.
The next morning we hopped on a quick train where we were met by our driver “Prince” who took us to Madikeri, about a 4 hour journey. I had been to this rainforest area on my last trip and thought it was so amazing I wanted to show Adam. We did get lucky in that we arrived during one of 3 days during the year when the coffee was blooming….talk about fragrant! But it wasn’t nearly as special as the last time because it wasn’t butterfly season. I guess when I was there last the bazillion butterflies I photographed were unique to that time. Darn! We did meet a fantastic young couple in law school…an Irish guy and an Indian girl from Bombay. We hung with them each meal and laughed our brains out since the was nonstop comedy. It was also super cool to meet a wealthy young girl and learn about Indian culture through her eyes. We actually got used to drinking hot beers each night (no fridges in sight). It was nice to be in nature and in a completely remote part of India, something I didn’t really know existed after the first part of my trip!
Course, Adam came for culture and I was stoked on the nature but was cool to start there and slowly work into South Indian culture. Our next stop took us to a wildlife park. I really wanted to go on a safari so Adam to see wild elephants. We ventured on our first public bus ride which was quite the adventure and gave us a good dose of local culture…the roads were insanely bad and we must have stopped at everyone and their mother’s house…Pick someone up, drop someone else off. This went on for hours! We were squished in the front so everyone got prime viewing of the Whiteys. Finally, we reached our destination only to find out were weren’t even close to the hotel and went to a totally wrong town! The place we ended up was a small village in the middle of nowhere…we were surely the only tourists they’d seen in ages. There were about 6 arrack (local moonshine) shops with dudes getting hammered and only one unhygienic restaurant so we ate packaged ice cream and lurked on the sidewalk for a couple of hours until it was time to go to the park. On our way, we got a flat tire which ate up some extra time and we made it to the park entrance to meet the hotel jeep for our first safari. Talk about up Adam’s alley…drive around a park in a jeep searching for animals with no exercise whatsoever! We saw a handful of huge lizards, deer, bison, giant squirrels, birds and the big treat at the end was the rare pack of wild dogs…Lucky! The next morning’s safari began with some excitement when we came upon a baby elephant with a small herd. We watched for some time and they sure didn’t want us anywhere near the baby. They all surrounded it to the point that you could hardly see it and the biggest one charged our jeep a couple of times! The driver and I thought it was cool. The English couple we were with freaked out so we drove off. Exciting!
We left the park and traveled out of Karnataka and into Kerala, a long, thin state on the western border of India. The beautiful drive took us up and then down through the Western Ghats. Lush banana and papaya plantations, tea estates, small villages and jungle dotted the mountains. We were heading to a private beach on the Arabian Sea in Kannur in the northwest part of Kerala. Costa Malabarai got a special write up in the Lonely Planet and boy was it ever. We finally found it after asking about 100 people. I never thought there would be one inch of beach without other people but somehow we managed to find a private beach with palm trees and bathtub warm water. Amazing! We stayed here for 3 nights and met a fantastic couple from New Zealand who became our heroes. Helen and John had so many adventure stories from their travels around the world and had just returned from a 5 month sailing trip around Fiji. They somehow managed to find ice, red bull and brought their own bottles of Absolut and Bombay Gin for happy hour cocktails. And we thought we were cool with our hot beers….NOT! We came to learn that Helen was 67 and John was 70. Unbelievable. When you live young, you stay young and this couple was so inspirational. Although wealthy, they still stayed in mid-range hotels because they liked meeting other travelers and Indians alike. The manager of Costa Malabarai, Junesh, told us SO much about Keralan life and we chatted with him for hours each night. On top, the cook made the most delicious, fresh food. Needless to say, we were quite sad to leave but alas, it was time to move again.
The owner of the guesthouse told us it was easy to get train tickets to Cochin, our next destination, so we didn’t bother to get them ahead of time. Bad call!We showed up 20 minutes before our departure time only to find about 100 people standing in line in the 100+ degree weather sweating and pushing and all around not having any fun. Agh! When we finally made it to the front, I asked for AC Chair Car seats. The guy yelled back “No A/C!” What? Okay, give us whatever you have…So there we were on a 7 hour train ride in the GENERAL compartment. This is the compartment I had seen times but never experienced. This was the compartment I was always so grateful I wasn’t a part of…. until now. Basically, there are 2 bunk beds per section. Normally, in 2nd class, you have one person/bed. In the General section, there were 6 people per bed and on top, we had 4 across + our bags! Normally, you get a cushy seat. Oh no, not in General. You get a lovely wood bench. It was so tight that we couldn’t even sit Indian style and had our knees in our chests….for over 6 hours! People would stare at us not only because we were the Whiteys but also because due to luggage, we only had 4 people and not 6. 2 good seats wasted! People were standing in the aisles for hours on end. It was almost comical it was so insane. But as always, we managed and it made for a good adventure!
Luckily, our hotel made up for the lack of comfort on the train. My friend Holbrook had recommended this hotel which wasn’t in our books. Since it was the low season and we were the only guests, the manager upgraded us to the suite complete with AC, a TV and a minibar. Wow. Moving UP in the world! While this may sound obvious since all American hotels have these amenities, these are serious luxuries and we were super stoked!
Cochin is this fantastic city located on the water. It reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The first morning I decided to go for a run after being all cramped on that train ride. It was my first run of the trip and a major highlight. It was too hot to wear something over my shoulders so I set out in a tank top wearing sunglasses, listening to my ipod and running….all completely unheard of so I got plenty of stares as might as well have been a martian! It was so cool to check out the quaint neighborhoods, the huge fishing nets on the water and just generally see what people do at 7am on a Sunday. I found a few meat markets with people lined up to buy beef…huh? The cow is supposedly holy in India and normally you see them cruising around eating garbage, stopping traffic, etc. Seeing a cow’s head and a bunch of dead meat hanging was totally bizarre. But the south is different and people eat beef and pork, things unheard of up north. I stumbled upon soccer and cricket games which was cool to watch. Since the guys were mostly barefoot, my quest for some shots of people wearing Nikes continued…
Adam and I rented bikes that day and cruised around to scope out the city. We went to “Jewtown” and shopped at some of the antique shops. We found an organic spice store that we loaded up on since we were in the spice capital of India. We even tried to ride 6 miles to a restaurant in another part of the city but got totally lost and ended up 4 miles past our turnoff. Oops! Since it was about 100 degrees and Adam was riding on a piece of toast, he completely bonked. Due to this dorkout, we had no choice but to ride back to the hotel. It was cool to see the local people on a Sunday doing their thing (i.e. mostly drinking) but the bonk out sort of sucked. Luckily, Adam was a total trooper and we managed to get back to the hotel and into the AC!
One of the neatest parts about Cochin is that along the water they have these huge Chinese fishing nets where 4 fishermen are needed to work them during high tide. We learned that after the tsumani fish were displaced and/or killed and that pre-tsumani they would catch 40kgs of fish in one catch. Now, they were catching only 3-4 kgs. OUCH!
Nonetheless, people had fish on the docks for sale and you could buy whatever and have it cooked right there. Adam was in heaven with huge prawns cooked in about 10 mins with lemon and garlic.
While Adam splurged on prawns, I splurged on an ayurvedic massage and treatment. This type of massage is famous in Kerala so when in Rome, right? Nothing like Prema’s massage but this one I involved meeting with a doctor who wanted me to get a blood test (um, no thanks!). After the consultation, I had a massage with 2 girls slathering oil over my naked body. At this point, I was over feeling weird about it anymore since it’s not like there’s even an option of a towel. After that, I sat in a box where my head was out but inside was a steam bath. At the 5 minute mark I suddenly started sweating and from there on, it was like a river runs through it. The sweat just poured out and made all the oil seep in. Wow. After that I did Siro Dhara which is where you have a warm stream of oil dripped over your forehead and third eye. I quickly went to another planet. The last part involved putting some liquid in my nose and then sucking in each nostril to clear out my sinuses. 2 hours later, I felt like a new person!
From Cochin we traveled to another Holbrook recommendation. Not only was this guesthouse not in the book, the town wasn’t either! We had no clue what we were getting ourselves into but so far, her suggestions had been right on the money so we were going for it (Always nice to get off the Lonely Planet track). One of the most popular things to do in Kerala is a backwater tour. Basically, there are all these channels that sometimes have fresh water and sometimes have salt water depending on the time of year. People rent houseboats to travel the channels. This guesthouse was right on the backwater which I thought was way better…From shore we could watch the wooden houseboats traveling as well as local villagers who used canoes and long poles to scoot along transporting all sorts of goods. The sunset, full moon rise and sunrise made for some amazing photos. One day we walked along the channels (talk about great running trails!) and we also took a 4 hour canoe trip with this dude who wore a rainbow umbrella hat to keep the sun off his neck and who didn’t speak a lick of English. I highly recommend Riverside Retreat in Amballapura….totally relaxing and spending 2 nights/1.5 days was perfect.
Our next adventure took us 5 hours away to Munnar, a hill station set amongst acres and acres of tea plantations. At 7000 feet, the cooler temperatures were more than welcomed! It even rained in the afternoons which we were so happy about after practically dying from heat stroke the week before. We stayed at Zina cottages for a mere $15/day and the place turned out to be way better than we thought. This lovely old couple owned it and knew everything about the area. The first day we hired a driver to take us to the various spice and tea plantations in the area. We thought Cochin was spice heaven but actually, Munnar was….bright green tea plants dotted virtually all of the hillsides. When there wasn’t tea, there was cardamon, coffee, black pepper, bananas, oranges, betel nut, papaya, mangoes, sugar cane. Just about everything a person would ever need was along this stretch of mountains. Our ending spot was a wildlife park that was more in the desert. Our plan was to hike for a couple of hours and come back. Quite suddenly the environment had changed dramatically and now it was 2:30pm and SUPER hot. We hired a guide and set off. When we turned off the trail and started bushwhacking we quickly realized that our guide was searching for animals. We were tracking bison and elephants on foot with a small bamboo stick as our protection? I kept thinking how cool it would be to see an elephant. This lasted about an hour when we came upon stinking fresh poop and the smell of bison. They were super close and it was not fun being there anymore! Our guide got all sneaky and waived us to come closer. Luckily, the herd ran off but I got a good shot just to prove how nuts we were. When he told us that bison are scared of people but elephants aren’t and will attack, I prayed that we wouldn’t see an elephant. Luckily, we didn’t!
We did however get super lucky and on the drive back, literally almost ran over a black monkey. Our driver had told us about these monkeys but said they were very rare. We watched it scale up a huge rock face and within a minute, disappear. Cool!
The only good restaurant in town was a local’s joint and packed at all times. No ambience whatsoever (fluorescent lighting, white walls, no music) but some kick ass South Indian food. Once again, we got all the stares especially when clumsily eating with our hands. But whatever, we were more than used to being outsiders by now.
The second day we hiked from our hotel through the tea plantations. Man, talk about marathon training ground….there were trails in every direction for miles and miles. I especially loved watching the women pick tea….they would chat as their nimble fingers plucked tea. They picked for 8 hours and got 80 rupees ($2) for every 15kgs of tea (i.e. nothing). They wore plastic outfits to protect themselves against the plants and also in the monsoon. I can’t even imagine the monsoon since only had a brief taster but it must be horrible being out there all day. That afternoon we shopped for the motherload of tea and spices. We randomly found a locals only tea shop and bought 12 lbs of tea for $10. Oh yeah!
After dinner that night, Adam had quite the adventure trying to buy beer. After about 20 minutes of trying to figure out where this liquor store that everyone said was “around the corner” we finally found a bunch of dudes going up and down a flight of stairs. Who would’ve known…a shack with a small sign out front that said “liquor is injurious to health.” Adam went down to buy beer since women don’t drink (it’s only a guy’s thing). After being pretty much violated by drunk guys hooting and hollering, pushing and sweating all over him, he finally came out barely alive but holding hot brews. I say barely alive because at one point in the chaos, a super wasted dude came running down with a machete and went in the wrong way to get more 10 cent moonshine. People freaked out all over because he totally cut, but what could they do, he had a machete?! Imagine if there was only one place to get alcohol in your town and combine it with super cheap moonshine. Things could get nutty fast.
We left Munnar to head for Madurai, home of the biggest temple in South India. We crossed state borders into Tamil Nadu which was so different from Kerala….super hot and dry and quite obviously poorer than Kerala. Back to mud huts and people walking down the street with no shoes on the pavement…whoa.
The temple was okay but not my favorite. Our major adventure there was dealing with our train tickets (again!). I had gotten our tickets weeks before but we were #1 and #2 on the waitlist. Everyone said we’d get on, no problem. But as of 3pm, we still weren’t confirmed and with flights back to the US, a confirmation was essential or we were screwed. So we went to the station and after talking to 3 people who all told us to go somewhere else, we finally found the station supervisor who told us we needed to be there that morning to get a seat. I begged the guy to get us on and his assistant took us to another room to talk to another person. We finally got 2 seats in “Sleeper Class.” They said it was like 2nd class only with no AC. At this point, we were so used to it being so hot that AC was the least of our worries. Just get us on the dang train! After filling out 3 different forms, the guy handed us 1200 much needed rupees and we had tickets. Phew! We got seats and made money? Nice!
That is, until we got to the compartment. Turns out, Sleeper Class is one step above General only you get to lie down. It has 3 bunks per wall and no AC. Of course, we were the only Whiteys and everyone got a kick out of us. Whatever. We were just happy to be going to Bangalore and actually got cold in the middle of the night. AC wasn’t necessary anyway!
The last day was spent back in Bangalore. We hit up some last minute shopping and had a really nice lunch. I left Adam to fly back to Delhi and he stayed in Bangalore. Wouldn’t be complete unless there was one last adventure so here goes…
My flight was of course, conveniently delayed. I had a 3.5 hr layover and by the time I landed and got my bags, it was 9:15pm. My flight was at 10:50 and the domestic and international terminals are basically 2 separate airports. Adam had given me an extra 100 rupees which I spent 10 on a water earlier. I originally intended on taking the free bus but now due to time, had to get a taxi. I ran out to a scene filled with utter chaos. I told the pre-paid taxi guy I needed to go to the international terminal. He said it would be 120 rupees. I BEGGED him to let me get a cab with my last 90 rupees. I seriously had no more dough! He had to have a conference with his buddy, blah blah. I almost had a heart attack but finally, he let me go. I ran to a guy and told him to get me there quick. He said he could for an extra charge. I’m like “dude, I don’t have 1 rupee left and I’m gonna miss my flight!” He liked the idea of going fast so after about 10 accidents, we made it to the airport. More chaos and now it was 9:30! Holy crap. By the time I got to the check in counter, I had jimmy leg and my heart was racing. The security lady told me that the cut off time was in 5 minutes. I JUST made it!
On the plane ride, I saw Greenland. That was super cool! We were flying really low and you could see it totally. Then we arrived in New York just in time for a killer sunrise over the skyline. Wow…
Last story and then it’s over. Upon arrival in Newark, I pretty much ran to the first deli sandwich place I could find. I got a HUGE veggie sandwich on whole grain bread with Dijon mustard. Who cared that it was 6am, I was in heaven! After leaving the sandwich place, I randomly found $15 on the ground. When you have no cash (lost my ATM months ago), this sure came in handy. I decided to get myself a magazine…so I went to the store and picked out Vanity Fair. I flipped through it and by accident dropped it on the ground. Whose photo did it land on but Swamiji – the swami from my ashram in Rishikesh! I was dumbfounded. Turns out, this month has a story on the 20 most influential people in yoga and he was one of them. So I used my new found $5 and got the magazine. That sure was one of the stranger things to happen to me…
So that’s it. I’m back in Portland and am so happy to be home. I loved almost every second of my Adventure in India and chalk it up to another amazing journey in the book of life. I also have to say that we are so lucky to live in the USA. We are truly free. Women have rights, we can usually say what we want, eat what we want and for the most part, do what we want. Living in Portland is especially dreamy….people care about their environment and being healthy. They love their gardens and their artistic freedom. The quality of life is high and that means a lot. Indian people on the surface live in the truest “democracy” on the planet….they can spit, shit, pee, drive, litter, smoke, and pretty much do whatever they want. But women are treated like second class citizens, marriages are still arranged, survival is a daily thing and while there are more western toilets than 2 years ago, they still live in dirty conditions and eat the same food day in, day out. They have no idea what it is to have choices. They live amongst horrible corruption. There is something to be said for living the simple life and sometimes I wish I did. Ignorance is bliss, right? But there is also something to be said for having the education and the options to move up in this world, to have a shot at a better life, to have more than our parents, etc. So even though people don’t think of America as highly as they used to (trust me on this one, I was in the field investigating), we are still able to live the American Dream and have the ability to travel the world, see new things and experience new adventures and for this, I am truly grateful.
Until next time Mother India….namaste.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Chapter 3: Rishikesh, aka Yoga Heaven
I dedicated this 12 day section of the trip to furthering my studies of the science of yoga. This was my alone time with no work distractions, no friends or family, no drugs, alcohol or meat of any type including eggs! I immersed myself into the yoga lifestyle and tried new things, ate new food, met knew people and let life take me where it would….
Rishikesh is located about 5 hours north of Delhi in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is one of the holiest places in India (I know, I know there are so dang many holy places!). But it is considered the capital of the world for yoga and some of the greatest swamis and yogis have come out of this special town. There are two parts, Swarg Ashram, where all the major ashrams are and Lakshman Jula, where most of the Israeli and European tourists hang out. I stayed in Swarg Ashram at Parmarth Niketan, home of Swamiji and the same ashram I stayed with the group. It is the largest ashram in Rishikesh and also host to the nightly Aarti Ceremony on the banks of the Mother Ganga.
After leaving the group and arriving the Rishikesh, I completely crashed and burned for 2 solid days. It was as though someone possessed my body and I wasn’t sure which way was up or down. I almost felt like I was on the verge of getting really sick but I told myself I wasn’t going to be sick on this trip and all be damned if a bunch of teenagers would make me! So I took care of myself and slept and ate plain rice and banana lassis (curd/yogurt shakes that settle your stomach) until it passed. I also got an ayurvedic massage where they use all these crazy oils. This helped immensely and after 2 days, I was ready to rock come Monday morning. Phew! Apparently taking care of 20 people 24/7 for 18 days takes up a lot of energy…who knew?
Monday morning I started my new daily yoga program. One of the reasons I came to India was to study the essence of yoga. I wasn’t really interested in learning more “poses” or the physical aspect that our western culture has so graciously butchered or improved (depending on what you think yoga is). I get plenty of that at home. I really wanted to study the spiritual aspect that is so paramount to Indian culture but that is so lacking in Western society. Someone upstairs must have known this because I hit the jackpot at the ashram and the week I came was the week they bumped up the daily program to include all sorts of classes each day. Yes! I was officially in yogi heaven.
My day went something like this:
6-8:30am: Kriya Yoga with Mataji
silent breakfast
9:30am: Vedic Chanting w/ Mataji
10:30 – 12:30: Kundalini Yoga w/ Parmatma
silent lunch at the ashram
5pm: Meditation w/ Parmatma or else the best massage on the face of the planet
dinner
6:30pm: Aarti Ceremony
9pm: Bed
The Kriya yoga class was a completely new experience. People talk about finding their “gurus” which I have yet to do but I think I came darn close with this woman Mataji. As the “mother” of the ashram she had this incredible energy that I found mesmerizing. In her early 50s, she had the most beautiful voice and incredible aura about her that I couldn’t help but feel the love…and I hardly even knew her! The early morning class consisted of prayanama (breathing exercises) to clean out the body and nasal passages, sun salutations with singing in between each short set, sivasana followed by over an hour of these meditation exercises where we focused on our chakras. One meditation we did 59 times over. The first day I thought I was going to die but by the 6th day, I felt this incredible energy from it and I actually got a buzz off myself. No wonder those yogis can sit for so long meditating...they’re high! I also noticed on day 4 that I unblocked my throat chakra which in turn opened up the whole passage of energy. I know, this sounds crazy, but let’s just say it was such a deep awareness and I felt such elation when I felt it happen.
Another thingI tried was a Vedic (ie traditional) Chanting class where Mataji led us in singing mantras from a prayer book she passed out. She would sing a line and the class would repeat. We learned various mantras and it was so fun to be able to sing and not care about what anyone thought. It was a total free for all! Her voice was a true joy just to listen to and in between each mantra, she would explain its meaning…that was the coolest part (besides me thinking I could sing)…hearing her interpretation about life and how we find our inner light.
After chanting, we went straight down to a Kundalini Yoga class taught by the most amazing Brazilian girl, Parmatma. I have known about Kundalini for years but had never really done it. In this flavor you do a lot of vigorous repetitive movements, chants and meditations to awaken the energy at the base of your spine. It is an incredibly powerful feeling and I found myself hooked. Basically, by doing movements quickly enough and for a long enough time, your ego emerges and feelings such as “oh my god, I want to quit” or “holy crap my arms are killing” come up. It is only when you keep going that eventually your ego takes a hike and all of a sudden, you get these bursts of energy and can continue for another few minutes! It was incredible. Those arms that were so heavy a minute ago felt like air the next. So the “sats” (sequences) actually became meditative and some of the exercises we did were for 11 minutes which felt like eternity. The most amazing part of this class was the group dynamic. Surrounded by total strangers, these people became my support group and I was their support in return. We held each other up by the sound of our voices and the energy permeating from our core. On top of everyone being a stranger, the class consisted of so many different types of people including Japanese, Chinese, Swiss, Austrian, English, American, Brazilian and Indian. Actually, there was only 1 Indian guy who tried his hardest to keep up with the foreigners. I thought he might kill himself a few times but at least he was representing! (Most Indians only care about the spiritual aspect of yoga and are too lazy for the physical part.)
No matter where we all were from, we all spoke the same language of yoga. We all wanted to learn more and take our newly found knowledge back home with us to share with our friends and students. The union of mind, body and spirit cut through culture, geography and language to find a home in each of our hearts.
The first day I saw a girl who looked so familiar. After class we figured out that we had stayed at the same hotel in Varanasi, almost a month prior. Talk about a small India! We quickly became friends. She gave me tons of great info about south India and it was nice to have a fellow American to hang with. The most interesting thing we did was visit the Ashram where the Beatles wrote the White Album in 1968. Oddly enough, there was no sign or any indication of where the ashram was only a bunch of creepy fake sadhus (holy men) hanging out smoking hash. Luckily, they knew the word “Beatles” when asked if we were in the right area. For the past 20 years the ashram had been abandoned. I have no idea why or what happened except that the Maharishi got weird with the ladies and something about stealing money. I’d like to know who owns it and why it is abandoned because it was one of the most unusual/amazing places I’ve ever seen. Set amongst the hillside on a huge piece of property overlooking the Ganges, there were multiple buildings onsite. To get inside, we paid some guy 25 rupees. Who was that guy and why was he there? Once inside, there were all these stone “pods” squished next to one another. There must have been 100 of these small, dome-shaped buildings. Each one consisted of a tiny downstairs and an even smaller upstairs apparently used for meditation. There was another building resembling a hotel or apartment complex only it was totally trippy with an Arabic twist. We walked inside stepping over broken windows, doors and monkey poop. There must have been 300 rooms in this building. On the rooftop sat more dome like pods only these were made of tile and were larger than the other ones. You could walk through them but they also had a metal ladder going to the top. I couldn’t resist and climbed up one of the ladders. At the top you could look inside into a small room? Apparently, people in intense sadhana (meditation) must have used these small, virtually dark rooms to isolate themselves. If anyone wanted do something really cool, restoring this amazing piece of property and making it into a working ashram or hotel would be incredible. So sad that such a beautiful site was left to rot.
Holbrook kept getting these massages that she claimed were the “best she’d ever had.” I was skeptical since my experience with Indian massages was that they slathered oil all over you but didn’t really go deep. Either way, we all know I’m a sucker for bodywork so I decided to give it a shot. After the first 1.5 hour session, I felt as though all the massages I’ve ever had in my life combined didn’t compare to what this woman did. Probably in her 50s, she wasn’t tall but was definitely the strongest Indian woman I’d ever seen. Her toothless smile was all warmth. Upon entering her somewhat sketchy and somewhat dirty house, I laid my naked body down on a mattress on the floor atop blankets that I’m sure were used many times before me. Not exactly hygenice but hey, what is in India anyway? I always know within 2 minutes if I’m getting a good massage. I knew within 5 seconds that this woman was something else. She treated me like a pretzel grabbing my arms, legs and whatever else she could and then in a seated position, used her feet as her weapons. Yes, she used her hands AND her feet. Think of how much more powerful your legs are than your arms. Enough said. She not only had a gift as well as strength, she also used her own technique. I was tossed and turned in every which way and couldn’t even ask her one single question my breath was so taken away. She didn’t leave one nook or cranny unmassaged. The kicker was the end when she poured this special oil onto my head and gave this incredible head/face massage with this oil that tingled for a solid 3 hours. After I professed my love to her, I begged her to see me in 2 days…and 2 days after that….and 2 days after that….I went 4 times in 8 days! How could I not take advantage of a 1.5 hour massage for $12? Not only that but I bought a liter of the “special” head/body oil as well as a huge tub of “medicine” that she said if I rubbed on my muscles, the pain would disappear. Hook a sister up! She made all her own oils so I have no clue what’s in them, all I know is that they feel darn good. I was actually hoping to put her in my suitcase but she wasn’t too fond of the idea. Oh well, I guess reason #167 to come back to India ☺
Two other people that I became friends with were a couple going to school at UVA and volunteering at the ashram. One afternoon, we hiked 6 miles upriver to a secluded beach on the Ganges. It was a hot day and the cold river sure felt good. It was our first experience of not fully going in. We were all quite happy to be bathing in the holy water and it was nice to relax in the sun. I also spent one Sunday hiking with Suzanne and Jake up a large mountain to Neelkanth Temple. All the people I asked said it wasn’t possible to hike without a guide or that it was too far. It was sort of annoying since Indian people don’t hike or exercise and I knew we could do it without a guide. Sure enough, it was really straightforward and a great hike…2 hours straight up but all on a concrete path. We made friends with tons of langur monkeys (large, black faced monkeys who are about as chill as they come and you can walk right next to them and they won’t attack, unlike the yucky old reces monkeys that are super sketchy). It was nice to hike and be in nature. We did come across the Indian mountain biking team practicing with a coach. Did I ever feel bad for these poor Indian guys barreling down the hillside on crappy bikes with no toe clips or clipless pedals. They wore knee and elbow pads. I would too if I didn’t have any straps on my pedals! We kept thinking how it would change their life to see a real mountain bike. We’ll just keep that one a secret…The temple was interesting and we decided we like our knees and so we took a jeep back to town. That afternoon we treated ourselves to one of the best meals I’d had at Ramana’s, an orphanage where the kids grew their own vegetables and there were a handful of volunteers who cooked and helped take care of the kids. Not in the guidebooks, Suzanne and Jake took me to this secret oasis. Our meals consisted of an organic salad with live sprouts, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. Yes, salad!!! My first one in over a month! Anything that can’t be peeled, can’t be eaten. Unfortunately, this means salads so unless you know that they wash with filtered water, they’re out. We also had butternut squash soup, veggie lasagna and a waffle w/ maple syrup. Sort of strange for lunch but since it was the only other thing on the menu, we were in! We drank the most delicious rhodedendron juice. Yes, as in the flower. Made with lemon and sugar, it was similar to hibiscus…super refreshing on such a hot day. Note to self: make this at home with all the rhodies in the backyard! For dessert, we topped it off with a coconut bon bon that was a slice of heaven. Note to self #2: Grated coconut and a little sugar, cook in the oven until toasted. SO good!
One thing that stands out is this Krishna festival that took place on a random Wednesday evening. I was in this music shop raping and pillaging my yoga instructor’s music collection (All the music shops in town would download entire cd’s straight onto your ipod or burn a disk of mp3’s for super cheap). The shopowner told me to look outside. There was a long saree (Indian dress) that kept passing by. There were many women outside passing this saree through their hands to the next woman. I must have been in the shop for a solid 20 minutes and the saree kept going and going. When I was finished, I walked outside only to find the colorful material had gone over the bridge and was making its way to the other side of the river. All these women were dressed in orange and red, the colors of Lord Krishna, God of Love. It just kept going and going and going and going….I walked all the way to my ashram and sure enough…that’s where the material was also going. The permanent statue of Lord Shiva on the banks of the Ganges was all dressed up with a shawl and this green background with a waterfall of water streamed alongside him. There were colorful drapes of material streaming down around him. What the heck was going on? The saree kept coming and women kept coming. I found out later there were 500 women participating in this ceremony with one long saree that consisted of 500 pieces sown together. Slowly, they all gathered themselves and the material at the feet of Lord Shiva. Normally, Aarti Ceremony started at 6:30. Swamiji came out around 6 to help gather the saree alongside the women. They were all singing and dancing around. It was so beautiful. Needless to say, the Aarti that night was a little more special than normal. The crowd was filled to the brim with women clad in orange and red. Go ladies!
The next morning, I was on the rooftop doing my morning yoga and I found myself singing along to this chanting in the distance…”Hare, Hare, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Krishna, Rama Rama…” Over and over. Finally, I peeked out over the roof only to find all the women dressed in the saree from the night before singing and dancing. Wow! It wasn’t even 7am and all the women had already cut the giant piece of cloth and made individual outfits. What a great way to end my stay in Rishikesh. All these women bonding, sharing their spirit, their clothing, their friendship and their love of God with this beautiful display of color.
My favorite thing about Rishikesh was its pulsing energy. By pulsing, I’m not talking about neon lights and dance beats. I mean the basic energy that permeates from within….the holiness of the Ganges river, the sadhus, Swamiji, Mataji, the singing, the dancing, the bookshops filled with books on spirituality and yoga, the ayurvedic restaurants, the massages, the yoga and meditation classes, the incredible people, the color and vibrancy of it all….Rishikesh had been calling my name for many years. It wasn’t until now that I was truly able to embrace. I would never have tried kriya or kundalini yoga or chanting a few years back. I found myself at a crossroads wanting to learn more about the spirituality of this ancient science and as usual, my path led me right to the heart of where I needed to be. I am grateful to all the strangers who didn’t care about my background, my nationality, my singing voice, how much money I made, what I looked like, etc. Half the time my hair was a total grease pit with all the oil in it! I experienced things with those people that I will cherish forever. The spiritual path never ceases to amaze me and just when I thought I knew something about yoga, I realize that I know very little. It is humbling to be in the space of a truly liberated soul. The more I read and the more I put myself at the feet of these people, the more I realize that it’s not about material wealth and impressing those around you. It’s about the selfless acts of helping those in need, of not becoming attached to anything, of eliminating the ego that loves to raise its ugly head. I am guilty of so many of these traps but traveling here is such a reminder that having fancy cars and nice houses is so not the point. Indian people have nothing and yet, for the most part, they are happy! The problems come when they try to imitate our society. TV has tainted their culture to want more and forget about their spiritual essence that makes India special. I don’t even know how to not fall into the vicious cycle but I can say that cultivating friendships and putting family first is paramount to having a successful life. The energy you put out is the energy you receive. So let your inner light shine and good things will follow!
Rishikesh is located about 5 hours north of Delhi in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is one of the holiest places in India (I know, I know there are so dang many holy places!). But it is considered the capital of the world for yoga and some of the greatest swamis and yogis have come out of this special town. There are two parts, Swarg Ashram, where all the major ashrams are and Lakshman Jula, where most of the Israeli and European tourists hang out. I stayed in Swarg Ashram at Parmarth Niketan, home of Swamiji and the same ashram I stayed with the group. It is the largest ashram in Rishikesh and also host to the nightly Aarti Ceremony on the banks of the Mother Ganga.
After leaving the group and arriving the Rishikesh, I completely crashed and burned for 2 solid days. It was as though someone possessed my body and I wasn’t sure which way was up or down. I almost felt like I was on the verge of getting really sick but I told myself I wasn’t going to be sick on this trip and all be damned if a bunch of teenagers would make me! So I took care of myself and slept and ate plain rice and banana lassis (curd/yogurt shakes that settle your stomach) until it passed. I also got an ayurvedic massage where they use all these crazy oils. This helped immensely and after 2 days, I was ready to rock come Monday morning. Phew! Apparently taking care of 20 people 24/7 for 18 days takes up a lot of energy…who knew?
Monday morning I started my new daily yoga program. One of the reasons I came to India was to study the essence of yoga. I wasn’t really interested in learning more “poses” or the physical aspect that our western culture has so graciously butchered or improved (depending on what you think yoga is). I get plenty of that at home. I really wanted to study the spiritual aspect that is so paramount to Indian culture but that is so lacking in Western society. Someone upstairs must have known this because I hit the jackpot at the ashram and the week I came was the week they bumped up the daily program to include all sorts of classes each day. Yes! I was officially in yogi heaven.
My day went something like this:
6-8:30am: Kriya Yoga with Mataji
silent breakfast
9:30am: Vedic Chanting w/ Mataji
10:30 – 12:30: Kundalini Yoga w/ Parmatma
silent lunch at the ashram
5pm: Meditation w/ Parmatma or else the best massage on the face of the planet
dinner
6:30pm: Aarti Ceremony
9pm: Bed
The Kriya yoga class was a completely new experience. People talk about finding their “gurus” which I have yet to do but I think I came darn close with this woman Mataji. As the “mother” of the ashram she had this incredible energy that I found mesmerizing. In her early 50s, she had the most beautiful voice and incredible aura about her that I couldn’t help but feel the love…and I hardly even knew her! The early morning class consisted of prayanama (breathing exercises) to clean out the body and nasal passages, sun salutations with singing in between each short set, sivasana followed by over an hour of these meditation exercises where we focused on our chakras. One meditation we did 59 times over. The first day I thought I was going to die but by the 6th day, I felt this incredible energy from it and I actually got a buzz off myself. No wonder those yogis can sit for so long meditating...they’re high! I also noticed on day 4 that I unblocked my throat chakra which in turn opened up the whole passage of energy. I know, this sounds crazy, but let’s just say it was such a deep awareness and I felt such elation when I felt it happen.
Another thingI tried was a Vedic (ie traditional) Chanting class where Mataji led us in singing mantras from a prayer book she passed out. She would sing a line and the class would repeat. We learned various mantras and it was so fun to be able to sing and not care about what anyone thought. It was a total free for all! Her voice was a true joy just to listen to and in between each mantra, she would explain its meaning…that was the coolest part (besides me thinking I could sing)…hearing her interpretation about life and how we find our inner light.
After chanting, we went straight down to a Kundalini Yoga class taught by the most amazing Brazilian girl, Parmatma. I have known about Kundalini for years but had never really done it. In this flavor you do a lot of vigorous repetitive movements, chants and meditations to awaken the energy at the base of your spine. It is an incredibly powerful feeling and I found myself hooked. Basically, by doing movements quickly enough and for a long enough time, your ego emerges and feelings such as “oh my god, I want to quit” or “holy crap my arms are killing” come up. It is only when you keep going that eventually your ego takes a hike and all of a sudden, you get these bursts of energy and can continue for another few minutes! It was incredible. Those arms that were so heavy a minute ago felt like air the next. So the “sats” (sequences) actually became meditative and some of the exercises we did were for 11 minutes which felt like eternity. The most amazing part of this class was the group dynamic. Surrounded by total strangers, these people became my support group and I was their support in return. We held each other up by the sound of our voices and the energy permeating from our core. On top of everyone being a stranger, the class consisted of so many different types of people including Japanese, Chinese, Swiss, Austrian, English, American, Brazilian and Indian. Actually, there was only 1 Indian guy who tried his hardest to keep up with the foreigners. I thought he might kill himself a few times but at least he was representing! (Most Indians only care about the spiritual aspect of yoga and are too lazy for the physical part.)
No matter where we all were from, we all spoke the same language of yoga. We all wanted to learn more and take our newly found knowledge back home with us to share with our friends and students. The union of mind, body and spirit cut through culture, geography and language to find a home in each of our hearts.
The first day I saw a girl who looked so familiar. After class we figured out that we had stayed at the same hotel in Varanasi, almost a month prior. Talk about a small India! We quickly became friends. She gave me tons of great info about south India and it was nice to have a fellow American to hang with. The most interesting thing we did was visit the Ashram where the Beatles wrote the White Album in 1968. Oddly enough, there was no sign or any indication of where the ashram was only a bunch of creepy fake sadhus (holy men) hanging out smoking hash. Luckily, they knew the word “Beatles” when asked if we were in the right area. For the past 20 years the ashram had been abandoned. I have no idea why or what happened except that the Maharishi got weird with the ladies and something about stealing money. I’d like to know who owns it and why it is abandoned because it was one of the most unusual/amazing places I’ve ever seen. Set amongst the hillside on a huge piece of property overlooking the Ganges, there were multiple buildings onsite. To get inside, we paid some guy 25 rupees. Who was that guy and why was he there? Once inside, there were all these stone “pods” squished next to one another. There must have been 100 of these small, dome-shaped buildings. Each one consisted of a tiny downstairs and an even smaller upstairs apparently used for meditation. There was another building resembling a hotel or apartment complex only it was totally trippy with an Arabic twist. We walked inside stepping over broken windows, doors and monkey poop. There must have been 300 rooms in this building. On the rooftop sat more dome like pods only these were made of tile and were larger than the other ones. You could walk through them but they also had a metal ladder going to the top. I couldn’t resist and climbed up one of the ladders. At the top you could look inside into a small room? Apparently, people in intense sadhana (meditation) must have used these small, virtually dark rooms to isolate themselves. If anyone wanted do something really cool, restoring this amazing piece of property and making it into a working ashram or hotel would be incredible. So sad that such a beautiful site was left to rot.
Holbrook kept getting these massages that she claimed were the “best she’d ever had.” I was skeptical since my experience with Indian massages was that they slathered oil all over you but didn’t really go deep. Either way, we all know I’m a sucker for bodywork so I decided to give it a shot. After the first 1.5 hour session, I felt as though all the massages I’ve ever had in my life combined didn’t compare to what this woman did. Probably in her 50s, she wasn’t tall but was definitely the strongest Indian woman I’d ever seen. Her toothless smile was all warmth. Upon entering her somewhat sketchy and somewhat dirty house, I laid my naked body down on a mattress on the floor atop blankets that I’m sure were used many times before me. Not exactly hygenice but hey, what is in India anyway? I always know within 2 minutes if I’m getting a good massage. I knew within 5 seconds that this woman was something else. She treated me like a pretzel grabbing my arms, legs and whatever else she could and then in a seated position, used her feet as her weapons. Yes, she used her hands AND her feet. Think of how much more powerful your legs are than your arms. Enough said. She not only had a gift as well as strength, she also used her own technique. I was tossed and turned in every which way and couldn’t even ask her one single question my breath was so taken away. She didn’t leave one nook or cranny unmassaged. The kicker was the end when she poured this special oil onto my head and gave this incredible head/face massage with this oil that tingled for a solid 3 hours. After I professed my love to her, I begged her to see me in 2 days…and 2 days after that….and 2 days after that….I went 4 times in 8 days! How could I not take advantage of a 1.5 hour massage for $12? Not only that but I bought a liter of the “special” head/body oil as well as a huge tub of “medicine” that she said if I rubbed on my muscles, the pain would disappear. Hook a sister up! She made all her own oils so I have no clue what’s in them, all I know is that they feel darn good. I was actually hoping to put her in my suitcase but she wasn’t too fond of the idea. Oh well, I guess reason #167 to come back to India ☺
Two other people that I became friends with were a couple going to school at UVA and volunteering at the ashram. One afternoon, we hiked 6 miles upriver to a secluded beach on the Ganges. It was a hot day and the cold river sure felt good. It was our first experience of not fully going in. We were all quite happy to be bathing in the holy water and it was nice to relax in the sun. I also spent one Sunday hiking with Suzanne and Jake up a large mountain to Neelkanth Temple. All the people I asked said it wasn’t possible to hike without a guide or that it was too far. It was sort of annoying since Indian people don’t hike or exercise and I knew we could do it without a guide. Sure enough, it was really straightforward and a great hike…2 hours straight up but all on a concrete path. We made friends with tons of langur monkeys (large, black faced monkeys who are about as chill as they come and you can walk right next to them and they won’t attack, unlike the yucky old reces monkeys that are super sketchy). It was nice to hike and be in nature. We did come across the Indian mountain biking team practicing with a coach. Did I ever feel bad for these poor Indian guys barreling down the hillside on crappy bikes with no toe clips or clipless pedals. They wore knee and elbow pads. I would too if I didn’t have any straps on my pedals! We kept thinking how it would change their life to see a real mountain bike. We’ll just keep that one a secret…The temple was interesting and we decided we like our knees and so we took a jeep back to town. That afternoon we treated ourselves to one of the best meals I’d had at Ramana’s, an orphanage where the kids grew their own vegetables and there were a handful of volunteers who cooked and helped take care of the kids. Not in the guidebooks, Suzanne and Jake took me to this secret oasis. Our meals consisted of an organic salad with live sprouts, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. Yes, salad!!! My first one in over a month! Anything that can’t be peeled, can’t be eaten. Unfortunately, this means salads so unless you know that they wash with filtered water, they’re out. We also had butternut squash soup, veggie lasagna and a waffle w/ maple syrup. Sort of strange for lunch but since it was the only other thing on the menu, we were in! We drank the most delicious rhodedendron juice. Yes, as in the flower. Made with lemon and sugar, it was similar to hibiscus…super refreshing on such a hot day. Note to self: make this at home with all the rhodies in the backyard! For dessert, we topped it off with a coconut bon bon that was a slice of heaven. Note to self #2: Grated coconut and a little sugar, cook in the oven until toasted. SO good!
One thing that stands out is this Krishna festival that took place on a random Wednesday evening. I was in this music shop raping and pillaging my yoga instructor’s music collection (All the music shops in town would download entire cd’s straight onto your ipod or burn a disk of mp3’s for super cheap). The shopowner told me to look outside. There was a long saree (Indian dress) that kept passing by. There were many women outside passing this saree through their hands to the next woman. I must have been in the shop for a solid 20 minutes and the saree kept going and going. When I was finished, I walked outside only to find the colorful material had gone over the bridge and was making its way to the other side of the river. All these women were dressed in orange and red, the colors of Lord Krishna, God of Love. It just kept going and going and going and going….I walked all the way to my ashram and sure enough…that’s where the material was also going. The permanent statue of Lord Shiva on the banks of the Ganges was all dressed up with a shawl and this green background with a waterfall of water streamed alongside him. There were colorful drapes of material streaming down around him. What the heck was going on? The saree kept coming and women kept coming. I found out later there were 500 women participating in this ceremony with one long saree that consisted of 500 pieces sown together. Slowly, they all gathered themselves and the material at the feet of Lord Shiva. Normally, Aarti Ceremony started at 6:30. Swamiji came out around 6 to help gather the saree alongside the women. They were all singing and dancing around. It was so beautiful. Needless to say, the Aarti that night was a little more special than normal. The crowd was filled to the brim with women clad in orange and red. Go ladies!
The next morning, I was on the rooftop doing my morning yoga and I found myself singing along to this chanting in the distance…”Hare, Hare, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Krishna, Rama Rama…” Over and over. Finally, I peeked out over the roof only to find all the women dressed in the saree from the night before singing and dancing. Wow! It wasn’t even 7am and all the women had already cut the giant piece of cloth and made individual outfits. What a great way to end my stay in Rishikesh. All these women bonding, sharing their spirit, their clothing, their friendship and their love of God with this beautiful display of color.
My favorite thing about Rishikesh was its pulsing energy. By pulsing, I’m not talking about neon lights and dance beats. I mean the basic energy that permeates from within….the holiness of the Ganges river, the sadhus, Swamiji, Mataji, the singing, the dancing, the bookshops filled with books on spirituality and yoga, the ayurvedic restaurants, the massages, the yoga and meditation classes, the incredible people, the color and vibrancy of it all….Rishikesh had been calling my name for many years. It wasn’t until now that I was truly able to embrace. I would never have tried kriya or kundalini yoga or chanting a few years back. I found myself at a crossroads wanting to learn more about the spirituality of this ancient science and as usual, my path led me right to the heart of where I needed to be. I am grateful to all the strangers who didn’t care about my background, my nationality, my singing voice, how much money I made, what I looked like, etc. Half the time my hair was a total grease pit with all the oil in it! I experienced things with those people that I will cherish forever. The spiritual path never ceases to amaze me and just when I thought I knew something about yoga, I realize that I know very little. It is humbling to be in the space of a truly liberated soul. The more I read and the more I put myself at the feet of these people, the more I realize that it’s not about material wealth and impressing those around you. It’s about the selfless acts of helping those in need, of not becoming attached to anything, of eliminating the ego that loves to raise its ugly head. I am guilty of so many of these traps but traveling here is such a reminder that having fancy cars and nice houses is so not the point. Indian people have nothing and yet, for the most part, they are happy! The problems come when they try to imitate our society. TV has tainted their culture to want more and forget about their spiritual essence that makes India special. I don’t even know how to not fall into the vicious cycle but I can say that cultivating friendships and putting family first is paramount to having a successful life. The energy you put out is the energy you receive. So let your inner light shine and good things will follow!
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