In addition to the Beatles Ashram, Rishikesh itself was an interesting place.
Indian lemonade stand- I always think it's hysterically funny when I see statues of gods locked in a cage as if they're some dangerous wild animal.
Apparently, one of the favorite things to do for Indian tourists is to take photos of all the western tourists. Blonde women could make a killing in India if they charged $.
Bindi seller with a westerner getting "OMed."
Sadhus have to be the original hippies of the world. This "holyman" actually came into a restaurant asking for a cigarette. After he got one, he was actually disappointed because he wanted a joint instead. Too funny- he smoked it anyways.
India is the land pilgrimages. Just about everyplace is holy and sacred with pilgrims journeying from one site to another. Naturally, I don't want to be left out on all the pilgrim action. I just had to visit one of the "sacred" Indian sites for western tourists, hah!
Rishikesh is home to the sacred Beatles Ashram! It really wasn't all that easy to find as the sign-post makes it seem, no Indian pilgrims knew of it.
In 1967, the Beatles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and went to his ashram to study transcendental meditation for a few months. The majority of the White Album was written in the ashram (with the assistance of pharmaceutical enhancements I'm sure). Unfortunately, rumors spread about Maharishi sexual misbehavior towards those in the ashram, and it was eventually abandoned. It's still standing to this day, and for a few rupees to the guard, it can be explored.
Here is a slideshow of the visit. And yes, I know it's not from the White Album. One of the guys visiting was playing this song on his mp3 player.
No entry for the Indian tourists.
There were many of these colony dome-like things scattered throughout the site. I guess the bottom was for sleeping and the upper part was for meditating? Inside of the colony dome- Graffiti left by a Beatles fan. Balcony-
This was another one of the larger structures. I nicknamed it the "hive." On the roof were some more meditation domes. Cat having a look around. View out from the hive.
The center of the compound had a huge mushroom-like round-about. Hmm... makes you wonder what the lads were using while writing the White Album...
Although the site was incredibly well-preserved, signs of encroaching chaos were everywhere.
It's interesting to read the account and see photos of someone who was actually with the Beatles while they studied at the ashram. Text here, some photos here. The author was interviewed about his time spent in the ashram with the Beatles.
Ah yes, after visiting I now feel like an Indian pilgrim, hah!
About 11km outside of Haridwar is Rajaji National Park. Lucky for me, I ended up on the last tour of the year before everything closes for monsoon season.
This park is special (not just because there aren't any people or traffic- a definite rarity in India!) since you can spot such exotic animals like:
A rare sighting of the sacred Rajaji Park cow- Definitely a hard one to spot, almost blends in with the trees. I can now cross the exotic "cow" off my Indian safari list.
Deer fraternizing with peacocks- Rajaji tree-
The park also has tigers, but unfortunately, we didn't spot any among the grass. But we did come across a trio of elephants, a highlight of the afternoon even if they were a distance away.
The park also had "domesticated" elephants at the entrance to give rides to all the tourists. Little did I know getting close to an elephant while it's eating is kinda like grabbing a bowl from a dog... 'Course I had to learn this the hard way, the photos are pretty self-explanatory. I now know that "domesticated" only applies when an animal ISN'T eating.
Chowing down- Eyeballing me- The white of an elephant's eyes-
The city of Haridwar ("Gateway to God") is one of the holiest sites to Hindus in India. After emerging from the mountains, Hardiwar is where the Ganges river meets the plains of India. The water is swift moving and yet Hindu pilgrims in religious ecstasy still bathe in it (albeit holding onto railing) to purify their souls.
The main bathing ghat is Har-ki-Pauri (meaning "footsteps of the Lord"). Here are some scenes from the nighttime.
On the way to the bathing ghat, Haridwar had all sorts of stands selling things to tourists. You could find stalls with everything from religious items for the pooja (Hindu religious ritual), to toys and trinkets, to souvenirs commemorating the experience. Imagine shopping at the Indian version of a religious Disneyland.
It was a fascinating sacred place, but for some reason, I just didn’t feel right taking photos in Haridwar (photographer block?). It might have been because Haridwar was jammed with Hindu tourists, with myself being the only foreigner- definitely an uber tourist-among-the-tourists feeling. Or I could have just been annoyed about my crappy accommodations with a non-AC room on the 4th floor (like sleeping in a sauna) and getting awoken at 3am by ants biting me in my bed (how the hell do you get ants on the 4th floor???). Or it could have been all the rain at the start of the monsoon season and wading around in calf-deep sewer/garbage strewn water. Good times, good times, and I wonder why I get sick in India…
In the older section of Delhi, stands the magnificent Red Fort. Built in 1639 A.D. by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, it took nearly 10 years to complete.
There was quite a line to even get in.
Once inside, there were several other standing structures that were ornamentally decorated and fascinating to see.
The Pearl Mosque
I am definitely not the one with the architecture gene in my family, but the arches were pretty spectacular/
Sorry for the lack of updates. Between getting sick, finding a place to live, and getting sick again, there hasn't been too much time. Finally feeling well enough to sit in air conditioned office and go online, I know, I know- I have it rough.
My first attempt at renting a room in New Delhi wasn't too successful. I was supposed to have a clean place to stay with aircon, satellite tv, and internet, and hot water (useless in New Delhi during summer, but it's the thought that counts). Of course there was some mix-up since "Jabba" (a name given to him by an Indian and not me, but oh so appropriate) the owner had my email address wrong and "accidently" re-booked my room for the next week or so. Ok, a typical misunderstanding, I could just chill out in a hotel room for a week, which I did. And then he gave my room away again and had the nerve to tell me that I hadn't reconfirmed because he is a businessman! And then he attempted to charge me more then he initially said he would! If I wanted such a load of BS I'd go hang out with the cows on the streets. Now granted, it was a semi-decent place to stay (other than the mice and lack of windows- hence the Jabba-esque dungeon quality), but definitely not worth all that hassle and definitely not worth the price. And he didn't have a Princess Leia in a bikini equivalent (which obviously would have factored into any decisions).
Negotiating with Jabba the Hutt (artistic re-enactment below). I even used the Han Solo "now wait a minute, Jabba, we had a deal" line, hah. Fortunately a friend pointed me to the Craigslist equivalent of New Delhi and within 1 day, I found a room in a brand new apartment 10 minutes away from work (with windows and a kitchen) that even has a balcony overlooking a park. Never trust "Jabbas" on any continent.
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