Just three weeks in India feels like.. Three months. What have I been up to? Intrepidly exploring the culinary secrets of New Delhi street food, practicing yoga in the Himalayan foothills, meditating in the chilly morning hours before dawn, making new and international friends, singing 'kumbaya' around a hippie dippy bonfire, reading and writing, unexpectedly having the time of my life...
For real! I was so nervous about going solo around India, being a lone female in a sea of men, having to figure out where to go and how to get there, but things are never as dire as they first seem; time alone turned into a happy, cathartic adventure and now I just feel like a brand new Galen.
So, a few days in an ashram and a few doing yoga. At the ashram, a naturopathic healer was in town lecturing on the magic of nature and ways to live a long, healthy life-- the secrets of mud, sunlight, salt and water were revealed at long last! This healer-- 70 years old, snappy old turtle of an Indian lady, vice prez of the Int'l Naturopathy Association, the Indian prime minister's doctor AND the singer Jewel's personal doctor on the Pieces of You Tour!!! What a woman, and what a message too. I made a resolution to live very differently when I get home-- more raw foods, less meat, more mindfulness, less medication, less coffee, etc. I met a 104 year old swami who was the picture of good health-- all his teeth in tact, fit as a fiddle-- who started living naturally in 1927. There's something to it I think! Somebody remind me of this when I come home to the land of the cheeseburger.
I also ran into some people in and around Rishikesh that were a total joy to spend time with -- a French Canadian girl, a Brit on her way to a new life in San Diego, an Alaskan firefighter, an Indonesian Californian, a bearded Burning Man musician.. Together we laughed and played, sang songs and shared stories, hung out on the Ganges and enjoyed getting to know one another. We went to THE original ashram where the Beatles stayed in 1968 (now abandoned, overgrown and run by monkeys) and sipped on the (reputedly) best chai in India. It was nice hanging with girls for a change (traveling with boys all the time can be a real drag) and especially nice finding my kind of people so far away from home. They're not hard to find! You just have to look!
So, I came back from Rishikesh refreshed, rejuvenated, reenergized, reorganized and ready to meet J and start our next big adventure. He met me in New Delhi right off his mountain retreat to the top of Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, so he was of a similar mindset. It felt good to spend a little time apart, and good to reunite again happy and new. Plus, I took him around New Delhi like a total pro and booked our train tickets and knew all the ins and outs of India according to our guide book and the internet. What else do you really need? Two of us, our backpacks light and essential, new shoes, postcards and packages mailed, parents phoned, bottle of water, list of places to go... Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodphur, Udaipur, Goa, Mumbai, Hampi, Kerala: we're ready to paint them all red! There will be blood...
7:16 PM
Varanasi, India
PS: up in Rishikesh, where it's cleaner and colder, I swam ceremoniously in the Ganges River! I dunked three times and washed my sins away! What a world :)
For real! I was so nervous about going solo around India, being a lone female in a sea of men, having to figure out where to go and how to get there, but things are never as dire as they first seem; time alone turned into a happy, cathartic adventure and now I just feel like a brand new Galen.
So, a few days in an ashram and a few doing yoga. At the ashram, a naturopathic healer was in town lecturing on the magic of nature and ways to live a long, healthy life-- the secrets of mud, sunlight, salt and water were revealed at long last! This healer-- 70 years old, snappy old turtle of an Indian lady, vice prez of the Int'l Naturopathy Association, the Indian prime minister's doctor AND the singer Jewel's personal doctor on the Pieces of You Tour!!! What a woman, and what a message too. I made a resolution to live very differently when I get home-- more raw foods, less meat, more mindfulness, less medication, less coffee, etc. I met a 104 year old swami who was the picture of good health-- all his teeth in tact, fit as a fiddle-- who started living naturally in 1927. There's something to it I think! Somebody remind me of this when I come home to the land of the cheeseburger.
I also ran into some people in and around Rishikesh that were a total joy to spend time with -- a French Canadian girl, a Brit on her way to a new life in San Diego, an Alaskan firefighter, an Indonesian Californian, a bearded Burning Man musician.. Together we laughed and played, sang songs and shared stories, hung out on the Ganges and enjoyed getting to know one another. We went to THE original ashram where the Beatles stayed in 1968 (now abandoned, overgrown and run by monkeys) and sipped on the (reputedly) best chai in India. It was nice hanging with girls for a change (traveling with boys all the time can be a real drag) and especially nice finding my kind of people so far away from home. They're not hard to find! You just have to look!
So, I came back from Rishikesh refreshed, rejuvenated, reenergized, reorganized and ready to meet J and start our next big adventure. He met me in New Delhi right off his mountain retreat to the top of Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, so he was of a similar mindset. It felt good to spend a little time apart, and good to reunite again happy and new. Plus, I took him around New Delhi like a total pro and booked our train tickets and knew all the ins and outs of India according to our guide book and the internet. What else do you really need? Two of us, our backpacks light and essential, new shoes, postcards and packages mailed, parents phoned, bottle of water, list of places to go... Varanasi, Khajuraho, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodphur, Udaipur, Goa, Mumbai, Hampi, Kerala: we're ready to paint them all red! There will be blood...
7:16 PM
Varanasi, India
PS: up in Rishikesh, where it's cleaner and colder, I swam ceremoniously in the Ganges River! I dunked three times and washed my sins away! What a world :)
Lord Shiva
swami
Beatles Ashram
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