Hello Europe. I was blissed out to arrive in Zurich after India;
so clean and tidy, garbage cans, cool air, not packed public transit that is incredibly
well organized and easy to use, fresh bread and cheese!! I could go on and on about
the amenities that I was happy to have back in my life. Zurich is quite a
lovely city to transition to as well. Even if I was freezing as the temperature
drop was drastic from Delhi to Zurich in May, I was happy to put on all my
layers.
I stayed my one night at a Eliane’s friends place. Eliane and I
met in India. Although she was not in Switzerland when I was there she got in
touch with her friend Ramon and he was up for hosting me at his old farm house
in Zurich. I really enjoyed Ramon and his fellow flatmates, they were all very
nice. I was even more stoked when Ramon made fresh veggie lasagna and salad for
dinner. Mm mm! Thank you Eliane & Ramon!
I had a lovely breakfast with Ramon’s flatmates before heading off
to meet Adrienne at the train station. After travelling solo for a couple weeks
I was elated to start my adventure with my good friend & old SF roomie for
the next week. We decided since the weather wasn’t quite on our side we’d
meander and eat our way through Zurich – a lot of chocolate and cheese were in
our diet that day. After our nice day exploring Zurich we headed to catch our
overnight train to Zagreb, Croatia. Leaving one Z town for another…
My first time ever eating an egg from a stand. I thought it was unusual but the more I talked to others they'd had it before. Either way I really liked it!
Community Art Project
Adrienne and I loving the gorgeous chandeliers at the 2nd hand market
Tea time to warm ourselves up!
Life size chess game in the park.
Beautiful spring flowers.
First of many picnics of our trip. This was our dinner time picnic on our train to CROATIAAAA woo hoo!
For my 2 nights and one day stay in Delhi (The "h" is silent and is pronounced just like deli) I was hosted by
a longtime Couch Surfer, Tridivesh (he has hosted nearly 100 travelers). Tridivesh’s
flat is in South Delhi and since I only had one day to explore Tridivesh
dropped me off on his way to work at the closest metro stop. Btw Delhi’s metro
system is really fantastic and made it easy to get around.
My first stop is to checkout Old Delhi. I step out of the Chandni Chowk metro
stop to explore the narrow, winding alleyways that are quite the adventure.
Being by myself I can feel my head spin as I could easily get lost or more
likely to walk around in circles. I notice some other travelers, and quickly
chat them up & spend the morning wandering with them.
Chandi Chowk is a shopping district in
Old Delhi that has been in existence for hundreds of years. The fascinating
part ofr was how the bazaar is divided into different areas of specialization -
from
sarees, camera, jewelry, silver, spice, bicycles to bathroom fixtures; Must
make for interesting competition if all your neighboring shops are selling the
same thing.
How electricity is still on boggles my mind...
Nap time to avoid the afternoon heat.
They say that dogs always look like their owners, I think it applies to goats as well.
Our tummies start grumbling so we head towards to the
Muslim Quarter to grab a bite at Karim.
Karim was delicous, especially since I hadn’t eaten much meat in the last
month. After lunch we meander through the tiny streets of the packed Muslim
quarter; it’s so packed you’re dodging motorbikes, bicycle riskshaws, other
people, animals etc. It’s quite an adventure. We escape from there and head to
Jama Masjid. Jama Masjid was built in 1650 – 1656 AD and is the largest Muslim
Mosque in all of India.
Western meets Indian style toilet...or what I like to call it, the toilet with wings.
I love all the colors of India.
These are real Indian Rupee notes that are used to make these gifts for Weddings. I want one!
All 4 of us in one bicycle rickshaw. Wow.
I separate ways with my new friends to make the most of
my day. I head to see the infamous Lotus Temple, the Bahai house of worship. This
description is my favorite - “This House of Worship is a place for prayer and
meditation for the peoples of all religions and races. From within its portals
the voice of mankind will ever be raised in praise and glorification of the
creator of the universe.” Beautiful!
Wow I really can’t believe my time in India was already
at an end. What an incredible journey…India definitely takes you on a
rollercoaster – so many moments of frustration, happiness, heat exhaustion,
uncontrollable laughter, gratitude, pure bliss, curiousity, deep conversations.
I loved it all and learned so much. India I will be back for more!
My last night in India with another group of wonderful new friends - a local Delhi, Levin from Germany & Eva from Spain
My beautiful moonstone mala necklace. Peach Moonstone supports the heart as it stimulates the mind, soothing worry or anxiety, and bringing out the best in people. Its loving energy promotes the Divine in all situations, and is an emotional support for intuitive or sensitive children.
Oh Rishikesh.
Poor thing. Let’s just say I just had a break-up with Munnar, definitely wasn’t
ready for, and Rishikesh had to be the rebound. I left nice cool lucisously green
Munnar for dry hot cow poop covered walkways holy city of Rishikesh. Rishikesh
is a special place, I just believe it’s a bit hyped and I wasn’t ready to be
back in the heat. It’s also a bit tricky when there are more cows to dodge on
the pedestrian walkway than actual people. I did enjoy my few days in Rishikesh
and made sure to slow down to enjoy the ashram lifestyle.
Anyway, Ami,
Mona & I parted ways as I headed up North. I flew into Dehra Dun thinking
that’d be the best option and then I could take a 30 minute bus to Rishikesh
(as told in lonely planet). Well unfortunately the airport is in BFE and the
local bus didn’t come after 2 hours; luckily I did make friends quickly and 2
soldiers ended up sharing their lunch with me.
After my full belly, I gave in and shelled out the fixed price 600 rupee
fare for the 20 minute taxi ride. In the scheme of things that’s not much money,
it’s more of the principle that was irritating.
I made it
safely and found a room at Parmath Niketan ashram. I spent my
days here going to yoga, participating in the nightly ganga aarti, attempting
to stay cool, reading and relaxing with my new friend Myriam from France. Also, there are tons of great souvenir shops in Rishikesh. One tip, shop on the other side of the river (opposite of Parmath). The shops over there had much better deals!
Unfortunately,
this ashram was not what I was hoping for. It felt more like a business than a
place for spiritual pilgrimage. The front desk staff were not very welcoming
and I could tell that they were not happy people. The ashram also didn’t have
many opportunities for teaching or allowing you to get involved. It would have
been nice to have an orientation with history of the ashram. The meditation and
yoga classes were pretty dry. If I were to do it all over again, I would have sought
out better yoga courses and spent the time to find a teacher that I connected
with. I think Amma’s ashram set the bar high!
One of my
favorite moments was when we asked around and volunteered one evening in the
kitchen. We were rolling out and making chapatti like it was nobodys business.
Or so I like to think…in reality we were amateurs and the aunties were trying
to help us – use less flour, roll them out a bit more etc. The people I met at
the Ashram were very lovely and I was glad to be there. Myriam and I had many
wonderful deep conversations together that I won’t ever forget. We also
attended the Ganga Aarti each night at sunset – it was always a different
experience each night. Here's a video I took:
Cows on the beach even. They are everywhere!
You can raft the Ganges...more like paddling though because it's not that swift and there's not any white water.
OMG finally a salad!
Putting my feet in the Holy Ganges river.
Puja
The pollution is very sad. The governement doesn't provide trash collection so garbage is everywhere and then they burn it. We are so lucky to live in a soceity where are government provides basic needs such as garbage pickup.
Where the Beatles wrote the White Album.
Overloaded bicycle!
Our building for our stay at Parmath.
Myriam and I at Ganga Aarti
She was so adorable, happy little girl!
Meal time!! That cauliflor was pretty tasty.
Where we dined at Parmath.
Adventures in
Transit
Here’s one
for you. I decide to take one last government bus from Rishikesh to Delhi – a nice
7 hour ride, but I can make it. Or apparently I can’t…or the bus can’t. Bus
breaks down about an hour into the trip, we all grab our bags and stand on the
side of the road. Nobody speaks English and can explain what the plan is. So
after about 30 minutes of waiting I flag down a rickshaw and head backwards to
the closest train station in Hardiwar. Not to mention my bag is beyond
exploding & I desperately need to send 15lbs back to the US at this point.
As I said lots of good shopping in Riskikesh J
Now I get to
embark on my least favorite experience once again – buying a train ticket at
the station. You fill out this little paper, everyone shoves and cuts equals immediate
headache.I highly recommend if you are going to India to setup a Cleartrip
account so you can book train tickets online. In this circumstance I needed a
ticket asap so the station it is. I am waitlisted number 8 for an express train
that leaves in 5 hours. I keep my fingers crossed, grab lunch, send a box of
15lbs of goodies back to the US and then “wait” in line again to find out if my
seat was confirmed. YAY luckily I am confirmed in a lovely A/C chair car seat
that includes meals and snacks. Delhi I am on my way!
To take the
tone in another direction, the train station is such a wonderful place to
people watch. I love it. Then you’ll also have sweet moments at the train
station like this one. I was walking around trying to find the car that my seat
was in…quite important to be at the right end of the train in India as these
babies are long, usually at least 30 cars is my guess. As I am meandering, this sweet lil old woman
comes over shakes my head, reaches up and squeezes my face with a huge smile
spread across her face. I can’t help but smile myself!
While I was waiting for the train I took some candid photographs of people walking by:
Hard to watch this poor guy on his little skateboard since his legs don't work.
