India - Rishikesh and beyond

Coming back from Phool Chatti into the chaos of tourist-packed Laxman Jhula was like waking up from a dream – or drifting into one.  What exactly was real anymore didn’t seem so clear.  We were living in a state of deep peace, but the rest of the world around us didn’t seem to be living in that state.  But what can you do?  We just enjoyed the ride.  Here are some photos from our last few days:

Shiva statue on the Ganga in Rishikesh Town: Shiva is wrapping Ganga in his "matted locks" to calm her torrential flow onto the Earth, while his consort Paravarti holds his trident for him.  OG. 

Typical Thali lunch - rice, dal, curry, chapati, chutney, pickles, salad - 40 rupees (75c!)

We made the pilgrimage to Pappu Lassi for the BEST Lassis on the face of the Earth - thanks Duncan for the tip!!

Aphyna with our friend Fakira, a 14-yr sadhu (renunciate) turned server at a cafe - a true inspiration

The time had come for something different.  India had given us so much, and we loved our time there, but we were thirsting for a new adventure.  We had a dream of a new horizon, not too far away but deeply intriguing to both of us: Nepal.  Friends who spent time there couldn’t recommend it highly enough.  We didn’t know how it would compare to India, but we knew we wanted to turn the page and see what was waiting there for us.

Once our minds were made up, we had no problem booking the tickets – we even were sent a few angels to encourage us, like the neighbors in the room next to us who just returned from Nepal giving us advice on crossing the border, and a sweet French couple that shared a table with us at a momo (Tibetan steamed dumplings – amazing) restaurant offering Aphyna a pair of excellent trekking shoes.  The Universe obviously wanted us to go for it – and so, we surrendered.  One last Ganga bath and we were ready to push off, back into the flow of life.

Getting ready for our goodbye Ganga bath!  Love these stairs

Jai Ganga Maa!

Nothing like it.

 But getting to Nepal was not as easy as the Universe would have us believe.  Our journey started with a 12-hour overnight train east from Rishikesh to Lucknow; then, an 8-hour bus ride northeast to Gorakhpur, followed by another 3-hour bus ride north to Sunauli, on the Nepal border.  The bus rides were pretty unforgettable: they were disorienting, turbulent, and cramped, but charming, affording much better views of the Indian environs, and blessed by the frequent stops for chai and samosas.  At every stop (and sometimes in the middle of a busy intersection), vendors of everything from sliced coconut to cookies to sprouted chickpeas salads to maps and postcards to a stain remover (delivering a Hindi sales pitch [that we did not understand a word of] that Billy Mays would envy) jump onto the bus and troll the aisles trying to make a sale.  Sometimes the bus would be packed with 4 or 5 of them at a time.  We couldn’t help but laugh.

We weren’t laughing by the time we got to Sunauli.  It was 11 at night, the last bus ride had been exhausting and uncomfortable, including a Nepali guy who wouldn’t stop creepily eyeing us and the window in front of us shattering inexplicably, showering us with glass and slicing the hand of the woman next to it.  We were exhausted and shaken (physically and emotionally) – we had left our hotel in Rishikesh 32 hours before.  We shouldered our packs and dragged our weary selves to the nearest hotel, which luckily had a hot shower, comfortable bed and warm blankets.  We had made it to Nepal, but all we could do was sleep – the next adventure would have to wait until the next morning.