Rishikesh Days

My yoga teacher asks me what do I do between my morning meditation and evening yoga class. I can only laugh and tell him I have the happy sutra Guruji gave me for each day.

However I spend my days, they are really enjoyable, and relaxed. Tried a couple of ayurvedic massages and a facial - most vigourous. Oh and I had my hand 'hennaed' ..


Also made some day trips - to Haridwar to visit Mansadevi and Chadidevi temples high up on opposite sides of the Ganges. You take a cable car to visit both.


Liked Chandidevi and the atmosphere, although it seemed to me there were a lot more monkeys than at Mansa Devi!

..with great views of the Himalayas in the distance.

Earlier this week I went with Kumiko who is a Japanese woman staying in the next room, to Khunjapuri which is about 24 kms from Rishikesh. This is a temple to the goddess Durga. We trekked a few kms uphill to get there and the higher we went the more the magnificent Himalayas revealed themselves.

As we neared the top, the path curved around the mountain and below us was the Ganges and all of Rishikesh. Couldn't get a good photo because of the light - My niece, Bianca's lessons on the camera were in vain I'm afraid.

Kumiko and I also spent a lovely afternoon last week looking down on the Ganges as it flowed past Laxman Jhula temple in Rishikesh, which is close to the area of Tapovan where we are staying. Busloads of pilgrims visit this temple each day.


And yesterday I started tabla lessons at a tiny little school just up the road from Laxman Jhula temple. My teacher, Kamal, tells me I have the technique and the sound will follow, so looks like more daily lessons to keep me here a while longer; I guess until New Year.