Hey all, I hope that Yom Kippur was meaningful and that Sukkot is going well.
After a pleasant but if I'm honest fairly uneventful or stirring Yom Kippur in Pokhara, I slowly made my way to Rishikesh in Northern India, by flying first from Pokhara to Kathmandu, and then from Kathmandu to Delhi. Finally upon arrival at the airport in Delhi, I travelled straight to another area in the city to take a night bus of approximately 7 hours length to Rishikesh. It was quite a shock on Friday to hear of the plane crash at Kathmandu airport, given that less than 24 hours earlier I had been at the same airport, on a similarly dinky 20-passenger plane - my thoughts go out to the families of the victims.
Rishikesh is a great town, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. While Rajasthan has a lot of interesting historical and cultural sites to see, I'm definitely preferring the more laid-back Nepali and Northern Indian vibe, especially as it comes with fantastic mountain scenery. I was there from Friday morning until yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, when I began the long journey to Dharamshala (more specifically Bhagsu) from where I am now writing, and I managed to get a decent amount done. On both Shabbat and Chag, I ate at the Beit Chabad, conveniently located next to the guesthouse where I was staying. There was a nice atmosphere, with the size of the crowd being slightly smaller than the crowd at the Beit Chabad in Kathmandu on the Shabbat that I was there, although larger than the group in Pokhara for Rosh Hashana. The crowd was exclusively Israeli - In fact both Rishikesh and Bhagsu manage to achieve the difficult task of making it seem that there is a dearth of Israeli backpackers in Nepal.
In terms of more specifically local attractions; I participated in a couple of beginners' yoga classes (cue sore limbs) (Rishikesh is the yoga capital of India and indeed the world), and browsed in the local bookshops which offer both regular books as well as a host of titles on topics such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoga and generic spirituality. Somewhat unadventurously, I only purchased mainstream titles. Apropo this point; this trip has been a fantastic opportunity to get some reading done, and has made me realise how much I would read if I didn't watch so much T.V. Will this make any difference when I get back home?.... Doubtful... In any event, On Sunday, I rented a moped, and rode out to a waterfall just outside town. Although I managed to get a helmet from the place I rented the moped from, thereby gaining the distinction of being the only moped/motorbike rider in the country to wear one, this was still probably by a considerable distance the most dangerous thing I have done on the trip. The moped lacked any form of rearview mirrors - a notable omission when you are being overtaken by cows, motorbikes, cars and large trucks in a crowded center of town street which you entered by accident after having intended to only ride on the country roads! Regardless, riding the moped on the beautiful, winding country roads that led to the waterfall was great fun, and there is a lot to be said for a country that allows you to rent a moped without any verification of a drivers license or even the most minimal prior experience. The waterfall itself is about a half hour walk from the where you park the bike and enter. I hiked up with a couple of Israelis who I met there. It was a hot day and standing under the waterfall when we got up there was very refreshing, and kind of reminded me of Ein Gedi.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I went for a half-day of rafting on the Ganges. The Ganges is a holy river in the Hindu religion, so to my mind rafting on the ganges seems to be somewhat equivalent to abseiling down the Kotel (Western Wall) - I'm surprised they allow it, but hey, I've never (credibly) claimed to be an expert on the finer points of Hindu theology. Sacrilege notwithstanding, the rafting was awesome, and although it was only for a couple of hours, we got to cross a few good Grade 3/4 rapids, which was more than enough for my fragile, Ashkenazi, disposition. Jumping off the boat and swimming in the Ganges was also preeeety preeety good.
Although there is a 15 hour bus directly from Rishikesh to Dharamshala, I chose to take a train from Rishikesh to Pathankot, which is about 3 hours away from Dharmashala, and then a bus from Pathankot to Dharamshala. The logic behind this was that at least the for the 10 hours of the train ride there would be air conditioning and a bed as opposed to the bus, which has no air conditioning and reclining seats but not beds. While I did manage to sleep on the train, I ended up having to wait for a couple of hours for at the bus station in Pathankot, until the first bus to Dharamshala left at 5am, so I'm not sure how much I really gained by the whole exercise. I arrived in Dharamshala, and travelled to Bhagsu, a small village nearby which is popular with backpackers. According to my rough plan, I'll be here for roughly a week - there are courses here in all sorts of things like yoga, Indian cooking, and music, and it will be nice to be in a one relaxed place for a slightly longer period of time, as I approach the end of the trip and the recommencement of university.
Anyway, I'll be sure to blog again at some stage, so feel free to stay posted, and enjoy your respective lives. Peace x
After a pleasant but if I'm honest fairly uneventful or stirring Yom Kippur in Pokhara, I slowly made my way to Rishikesh in Northern India, by flying first from Pokhara to Kathmandu, and then from Kathmandu to Delhi. Finally upon arrival at the airport in Delhi, I travelled straight to another area in the city to take a night bus of approximately 7 hours length to Rishikesh. It was quite a shock on Friday to hear of the plane crash at Kathmandu airport, given that less than 24 hours earlier I had been at the same airport, on a similarly dinky 20-passenger plane - my thoughts go out to the families of the victims.
Rishikesh is a great town, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. While Rajasthan has a lot of interesting historical and cultural sites to see, I'm definitely preferring the more laid-back Nepali and Northern Indian vibe, especially as it comes with fantastic mountain scenery. I was there from Friday morning until yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, when I began the long journey to Dharamshala (more specifically Bhagsu) from where I am now writing, and I managed to get a decent amount done. On both Shabbat and Chag, I ate at the Beit Chabad, conveniently located next to the guesthouse where I was staying. There was a nice atmosphere, with the size of the crowd being slightly smaller than the crowd at the Beit Chabad in Kathmandu on the Shabbat that I was there, although larger than the group in Pokhara for Rosh Hashana. The crowd was exclusively Israeli - In fact both Rishikesh and Bhagsu manage to achieve the difficult task of making it seem that there is a dearth of Israeli backpackers in Nepal.
In terms of more specifically local attractions; I participated in a couple of beginners' yoga classes (cue sore limbs) (Rishikesh is the yoga capital of India and indeed the world), and browsed in the local bookshops which offer both regular books as well as a host of titles on topics such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoga and generic spirituality. Somewhat unadventurously, I only purchased mainstream titles. Apropo this point; this trip has been a fantastic opportunity to get some reading done, and has made me realise how much I would read if I didn't watch so much T.V. Will this make any difference when I get back home?.... Doubtful... In any event, On Sunday, I rented a moped, and rode out to a waterfall just outside town. Although I managed to get a helmet from the place I rented the moped from, thereby gaining the distinction of being the only moped/motorbike rider in the country to wear one, this was still probably by a considerable distance the most dangerous thing I have done on the trip. The moped lacked any form of rearview mirrors - a notable omission when you are being overtaken by cows, motorbikes, cars and large trucks in a crowded center of town street which you entered by accident after having intended to only ride on the country roads! Regardless, riding the moped on the beautiful, winding country roads that led to the waterfall was great fun, and there is a lot to be said for a country that allows you to rent a moped without any verification of a drivers license or even the most minimal prior experience. The waterfall itself is about a half hour walk from the where you park the bike and enter. I hiked up with a couple of Israelis who I met there. It was a hot day and standing under the waterfall when we got up there was very refreshing, and kind of reminded me of Ein Gedi.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I went for a half-day of rafting on the Ganges. The Ganges is a holy river in the Hindu religion, so to my mind rafting on the ganges seems to be somewhat equivalent to abseiling down the Kotel (Western Wall) - I'm surprised they allow it, but hey, I've never (credibly) claimed to be an expert on the finer points of Hindu theology. Sacrilege notwithstanding, the rafting was awesome, and although it was only for a couple of hours, we got to cross a few good Grade 3/4 rapids, which was more than enough for my fragile, Ashkenazi, disposition. Jumping off the boat and swimming in the Ganges was also preeeety preeety good.
Although there is a 15 hour bus directly from Rishikesh to Dharamshala, I chose to take a train from Rishikesh to Pathankot, which is about 3 hours away from Dharmashala, and then a bus from Pathankot to Dharamshala. The logic behind this was that at least the for the 10 hours of the train ride there would be air conditioning and a bed as opposed to the bus, which has no air conditioning and reclining seats but not beds. While I did manage to sleep on the train, I ended up having to wait for a couple of hours for at the bus station in Pathankot, until the first bus to Dharamshala left at 5am, so I'm not sure how much I really gained by the whole exercise. I arrived in Dharamshala, and travelled to Bhagsu, a small village nearby which is popular with backpackers. According to my rough plan, I'll be here for roughly a week - there are courses here in all sorts of things like yoga, Indian cooking, and music, and it will be nice to be in a one relaxed place for a slightly longer period of time, as I approach the end of the trip and the recommencement of university.
Anyway, I'll be sure to blog again at some stage, so feel free to stay posted, and enjoy your respective lives. Peace x
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