Rishikesh - relaxing and taking it easy

Well, it's been five days since I arrived to Rishikesh, and I am feeling a lot better (health wise). I understand the layout of the place, which restaurants serve good food, and where to buy my necessities. I moved from my non-happening ashram to a more lively one located in the edges of the main street. This ashram has more activities, as Yoga and meditation, and some lectures (not free - 50 rp). There are tons of people here, mostly tourists, and it's easy to make friends. Just start a conversation and you'll be having dinner or tea soon, or you'll bump into them at the local tea shop. The main road is very small so you start to recognize faces.


The move -
the initial paln was to move around 9 am but I was woken by the loud crisp sounds of mountain thunder. It echoes with such clarity that it resonates in your head a few seconds before it leaves. Along with the heavy rain and strong winds, my plan was postponed a few hours, until 12 pm, when the rain finally stopped, and the sun showed its face. I took one last look at my room, and made sure I didn't forget anything. It was a simple room, but living there was nice and quiet. I made my way through the crowds of people to the far end of the main street. A blue colored ashram, with green windows. Statues of the different gods are boxed in cages for people to pay their respects. I enter through gate and check in at the reception. The man speaks very good english, and you can tell that he is used to dealing with foreignors. I ask for a single room no wc, and a man shows me the way, as we enter into a huge courtyard, where the main teaching hall is located in the middle, and the dormitory like rooms in the rear. He show me two rooms from which I can choose. 100 rupees, ca.18kr. It's the smallest room yet in India, but not the worst. It's fairly clean and cool inside, and plenty of shelf space for small things like books etc. After checking in, I realize that I do not have clothes for the yoga lesson that wil be thought soon, so I rush out to the market to buy a pair of pants and a t-shirt. I find a shop that sells it for 150rupees, 30kr. Very simple clothes, that will rip, given the strains of time. I return back, and rest a while.

Yoga-
An evening class, 1700-1830. I went with no expectations as I have never tried it before. I was surprised at how relaxing the class was. I suppose it is for begineers, but it was just right for my first impression. Some poses were strenuous, but enough time is given in between to rest for the next pose. The meditations in between seemed very peaceful as well, to the point where I almost fell asleep. All the instructions were in English (given the fact that most of the people there were foreigners), and very easy to follow. All in all, a very positive experience. I look forward to the next one.

After living a day at this ashram, it reminds me of university dormitory life. The people are friendly and invitations to rooms happen frequently, where you share a cup of tea, and just talk about your experiences of India, home or spiritualism. I bumped into two Japanese girls while filling my water bottle with the ashrams filtered water and we started to talk. The conversation continued from the courtyard and ended up in one of the rooms with a warm cup of tea. We sat on the bed and talked about many things, how life is different in different parts of the world, and generally about people, the good, bad and how we can change for the better. We also ended up talking about spiritual aspects of things, intuition and reiki. The conversation lasted into the late hours of the night, and before we knew it, a few hours had already passed and it was time for bed.

Life in Rishikesh -
It's a very simple life. You wake up, stretch, do your morning routines (wash face, brush teeth and empty your uhumm...) and head out for a bite to eat. The days go by quite quickly, as it usually gets dark at around 1800. You somehow loose track of time, and forget the date. There's soo much to do, and yet nothing to do. You do what you want. If you're interested in participating more in Yoga, it's possible, if you want to just read a book by the Ganges, that's nice too. Time just flies, and everything here closes at around 2100. Not to mention the ashrams, their gates close at 2200. I have been here for a week, but it feels as if I've been here longer, and yet not done much. My yoga classes were very nice, and I have enjoyed them. I bought some books on how to do yoga, so I will practice myself.
Since I have been staying at one city/town for a while now, i have met many people, and made some nice friends. I am very surprised at the amount of Japanese people here. Many of them are Japanese girls in Rishikesh, and I have been lucky to be able to brush up on my Japanese. They are very nice and friendly, and easy to be-friend.

So, my opinion of Rishikesh. Well...I think it's overlly rated. There are tons of tourists here, mostly women, coming here to practice yoga (obviously right :P) And I understand their enthusiasm, to practice under a true yogi (at least that's what we hope right) in the country of it's origin would be exciting for many. I on the other hand feel that many of the ashrams have gone the tourist route, since it has turned into such a money making business. People (foreigners) are willing to pay any price to get to practice yoga, and the ashrams/yogi's have caught onto this, and are riding the wave of dollars. This gives the place a "fake" feel of spiritualism. But as long as it helps some, I guess it's fine.