Processing and Relaxation
March 4, 2013
It’s getting close to the end of my time in India, three more days before making the long trek back to the States. I’m happy with my decision to travel to the beautiful city of Rishikesh, near the base of the Himalayas and perched along a much cleaner aspect of the Ganges River (referred to as the “Ganga”).
Getting here was another long trek, infused with the somewhat typical Indian way of getting from point A to B. We left our Kolkata hotel at 5:30 am for the airport and a flight to New Delhi. One of our trip leaders, Kelly Campbell, was at her best when the airline we were flying on wanted to charge our group an extra $252 USD for excess luggage. Her patience and determined way of negotiating brought the fee down to about $80 USD although we only had 10 minutes before boarding…she held firm.
I am one in a group of nine Seva Challengers who decided to come to Rishikesh and originally we had a flight from Delhi…but that got changed, so we took a private bus instead. What we were told was to be a five hour ride, took eight hours. To pass the time, I took countless photos as rural India bounced and jiggled by…pilgrims, cows, water buffalo, dogs and hogs along with the plethora of transportation methods you see all over India. Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, tuk-tuks, buses, trucks, horse/ox drawn carts and bicycle rickshaws. Add in another layer of smells and dust and one bathroom break (where my room mate accidentally dropped her iPhone into a squat toilet), it seemed to be quite the journey to get to this beautiful place.
Arriving exhausted, having to pee and somewhat cranky, we made our way to a hotel only to be greatly disappointed by the rooms. They were quite old, needing renovation, dirty (I won’t go into details) and smelling of mold. We did however have a delicious meal and by the next morning, six of us decided to find another hotel. As things sometimes tend to unfold, one of the group reached out to her husband, who pulled some strings from the States and found us an extraordinary place to stay…simply called “Ananda” which means BLISS. And that it is. We are perched on a hilltop overlooking the city of Rishikesh and are given white pajamas to wear around the grounds which are a palace/hotel on 100+ acres.
They have the desire to please here and offer a retreat like setting with daily yoga, spa services, fine dining, Vedanta lectures and much more. So, now I am straddling two very different experiences…the rigors of India travel and the experience of the Bare Witness Tour to this piece of paradise in the Himalayas. I love the busy energy of Rishikesh, it’s connection to Mata Ganga (the mother), the sadhus and spiritual seekers that seem to leak out of every crack of the city, the abundance of “yoga inspired” shops and the juxtaposition of old culture and the birthing of being in a modern experience.
To say that I am processing all of these elements is an understatement. I have committed to letting my journey percolate, to give myself space to reach into the core of my experience and to continue to surrender.
Here I am…to let go, to be in the experience and let my heart crack wide open.
