Meditation and adventures

Bend the knee, bend the knee

On the edge of the holy Ganges, 5 km from Rishikesh, is Phool Chatti ashram. It is in an incredibly beautiful location in the Himaylan foothills. The ashram runs week long programs for tourists looking to try out ashram life. The day begins with meditation at 6:00am and includes 3 hours of yoga, meditative walks, a lecture/discussion, guided mediation, chants, Hindu prayers, breathing exercises and nasal cleansing (pouring warm water through your nose and then blowing your nose with 30 other people in the garden). We were so lucky to have the most amazing group of people in our week. Everyone was incredibly open, fun, insightful and respectful. The huge diversity of culture and backgrounds made the group discussions and tea time really interesting. Part of the Ashram life is to maintain silence from bedtime until after lunch. This lasted through the first few days but as we became closer the silence began to fail. Lolita-ji, the yoga instructor, told us at the end that we were such a happy group and we made her happier, but during tea time we reminded her of a railway station. We spent all our spare time bathing in the Ganges or the warmer river that ran into the Ganges. Every evening after 1.5h of yoga in the afternoon heat we would immediately go cool down in the river and watch the sun set between the mountains. On the walks we went to nearby waterfalls and rivers. One day we took a holy bath in the Ganges and followed the proper Hindu protocol for bathing. Another day we found a secret spot in a river where it was appropriate enough to where Bikinis and all the girls enjoyed the opportunity to wear bathing suits instead of clothing in the water. At the Ashram it was neat to learn about Hindu philosophies. It made some of the bizarre and completely different elements of life in Setrawa make more sense. On a whole the ashram experience was really interesting. I learned a lot about several practices which previously were entirely foreign to me. We were the last week of the year so on the last day we all piled into jeeps and drove up a windy road through the mountains. When we arrived we walk up 250 steps to a beautiful temple on the top of the hill. The 360 degree view was incredible. We did pooja (hindu word for prayer), a fire ceremony and had a special feast. From the ashram experience I gained the ability to touch my toes (even sometimes touch my head to my knee!). I enjoyed being able to reflect a little. Never before have I allotted time in my life to doing nothing but thinking or in the case of meditation trying not to think. 


So much for non-attachment...

Despite our great discussions at the ashram about non-attachment we all had difficulty detaching from the friendships we had made. The nights following the ashram we lingered in Rishkesh, the nearby city. We enjoyed some great group dinners and some of us went rafting down the Ganges. It was quite the transition from chanting holy mantras about the Ganga to floating down the Ganga while screaming and laughing with excitement. The rapids weren't super extreme but it was still thrilling. Of course it wouldn't be India if half way we didn't stop for chai. The chai shop happened to be by a cliff perfect for jumping. We joined the pushing, laughing crowd of Indians for our chance to plunge into the Ganges. One evening a group of us went to explore an old abandoned ashram. It had a crazy design, the rooms were cylindrical with egg shaped domes on top that were meant for meditation. It was the place that the Beatles stayed when they supposedly wrote the White Album so we hung out and listened to some Beatles tunes.

Rishekesh is a fascinating city to walk around. It is a holy city filled to the brim with orange clad holy men, temples and pilgrims. At sunset when I walked through the streets I could hear temple bells coming from every corner of town. The ghats are filled with Indian visitors having spiritual baths and many local women, men and children who are relaxing or viciously beating the dirt out of their laundry. I went down to one ghat to wash my pants and suddenly I found myself in the middle of a splashing fight with a family of girls (the daughters, aunts, sisters and mothers). None of them can swim so they just stand or sit on the first or second step splashing each other.  I felt surrounded by color, water and joy. I was even able to impress them with my little Hindi (tota, tota Hindi). 


Back to Surrey

After a couple days we were ready to hit the road again. Nathalia, a charming Colombian, and Luis, a happy Brazilian, joined us for the bus ride to Chandigarh. When we arrived in Chandigarh it felt like home. It is famous for being a planned city because  in India a city like a grid is an enormous novelty. Normally the streets are a twisted mess and rarely have commonly known names. However, the grid like streets combined with the punjabi population and simple apartment buildings made it feel exactly like central surrey. A downpour began shortly after we arrived to complete the home feeling. We had a 6 hour layover here.  Nathalia was doing an internship here so she invited us all to her flat and made us fantastic Colombian soup and shared some of her precious Columbian sweets. 


3 towns, 2 great hikes and 1 new sport

When we arrived in Manali we instantly knew we weren't going to leave anytime soon. Maybe this was because we didn't want to take another bus anytime soon. Our semi deluxe bus should have been named pokey terrible bus. However, it was more so the magical view of the Himalayas that captured our hearts. Our place, apple view, was surrounded by apple orchards and our room had two massive windows with views of the mountains towering over us. The rooftop was the perfect spot for morning yoga and evening star gazing. 

The town was divided into three parts and was separated by parks and rivers. New Manali was full of Indian hustle bustle. The markets were exploding with clothing, restaurants, wool, food, and everything the local people needed. There was a beautiful wooden temple in the center of the busy street. Visheshet was the farthest away, it was on the top of a cliff and across the river. Visheshet was a mix of tourist and local. It had all the tourist shops selling regional souvenirs but it also had some great restaurants tucked away at local prices. There was also a beautiful temple with hot-springs inside. The hot-spring bath was too hot to touch for more than a couple seconds but there were taps with slightly cooler water running for bathing. It was fun to sit around the edge amongst the Indian women. There is also a nearby waterfall that draws many foreign and Indian tourists. We climbed high up the bank to get close to the roaring fall. It was incredible to feel its power. We got soaked without actually going in the water.  Then it started to rain so we retreated to a chai shop with a tarp tent. We enjoyed our chai as we listened to the rain on the tarp and the slightly crazy chai man tell us about his life. Despite Visheshet being far away we seemed to end up there at least once a day. Firstly because of the hot-springs and waterfalls and then because our favorite travel agency was based there. Top rock was run by a group of French women who import European adventure and climbing gear to India and lead many adventure activities. We were also enticed to come back to Visheshet because our favorite restaurant, the Tibetan Kitchen, was there. It first caught my eye when I saw two ladies sitting in the sunshine out front. One woman, the cook, had a great smile and good English. She cooked us up a variety of momos. Momos are a bit like perogies, they have a filling surrounded in dough and can be either deep fried or steamed. We had the typical momos that you can find anywhere: chicken, veg, cheese and spinach. However, she also cooked a unique, to die for, chocolate momo. It was absolutely delicious. The other woman was older and she remained seated with us. She spent the whole time knitting as many older women here seem to do. Before we left Manali we each bought a pair of her woolen socks to keep our feet warm at night. After a few visits to top rock we successfully organized canyoning. Amelia and I headed out with two fantastic guides and spent the day rappelling and sliding down 15 waterfalls. The biggest were 75, 70 and 50 meters high. It was a beautiful day and an incredible, adrenaline filled experience. 

Lastly, the third town was Old Manali. Its main road was completely dedicated to foreign tourists. It was filled with guesthouses, souvenir shops, cafes, travel agencies, and cosy restaurants. Although once you step behind the main street you find yourself in a maze of paths that wind between traditional houses and small farms. One day amelia and I wandered through these streets and it lead us to a mountain. We climbed part way up through pine forests and alpine meadows. At an amazing view point we enjoyed yak cheese sandwiches. They were delicious and it was great to have a cheese more flavorful than paneer (cow cheese). We spent our evenings here in Old Manali. Luis, Amelia and I ran into several other people from our Ashram as well as some people we all had met in other cities in the south, west and east. It seems everyone left in India was ready to flee the heat for the cool mountain air. Amelia and I wear our long johns at night. We are relieved we didn't carry them through India for nothing!