Last blog always gets posted a little late... settling back in and adjusting to jet lag takes a while!
So, my last week in Rishikesh - I'll try to keep it brief, here goes!
On Monday evening I finally met Truike, the founder of Children of the Ganges. She is originally from the Netherlands but works in New York at the United Nations school where she runs a music program. We've been in touch on Facebook since 2012 when I first discovered this little gem of a school (where Swati is the head teacher), but have never crossed paths in person as Truike's trips to Rishikesh are always in the summer (that's when school holidays are) and I will never set foot in India after the month of March again (was there till May in 2012), due to debilitating heat. This year, Truike was able to get away during her March break, so 5 years later we finally met - and it was a beautiful encounter.
Tuesday I went on a little adventure. Some of you may have heard about the huge currency conundrum that rocked India last November, but here's a quick overview for those who haven't: In an attempt to combat corruption, money-laundering, and counterfeiting, Prime Minister Modi decided to announce a surprise withdrawal of and ban on all 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes, the two highest denominations (equivalent of about $10 and $20 Canadian). The details of what followed are mind-boggling, but trying to keep this last entry short, so... I arrived in India with 10 000 rupees in old notes (about $200) and of course there were plenty of confusing and contradicting instructions on what I could do with my stash. One piece of info that was circulating quite widely was that foreigners and NRIs (non-residential Indians) who were not in the country at the time of the announcement had until March 31st to exchange their old notes, but only at RBI (Federal Reserve Bank of India) and its affiliated branches. Many people were saying this info was inaccurate, but that I may as well at least attempt. So, back to my Tuesday adventure... The closest RBI office to Rishikesh is in the city of Dehradun, about an hour bus ride north. Hopped into an auto-rickshaw to the Rishikesh bus station, found the bus to Dehradun, stood for most of the ride on the packed bus, then once in Dehradun, took a tuk-tuk to the RBI office, walked up to the 3rd floor, was offered a chai while I waited a few minutes, and when I told the lady what I was there for, she said, "Why does Rishikesh keep sending foreigners here? Every time, we inform them that the foreigner deadline for old currency exchange was December 31st and any other rumours circulating are misinformation." So that was that, I can now create a piece of art with my stack old rupee notes. I hung around town for a bit, walked along the main street to the downtown clocktower, stopped into a little cafe for an iced tea, then flagged down an auto-rickshaw to head back to the bus station. Back onto a crowded bus, but at least got a seated this time, for the 80min ride back to Rishikesh. Walked over to Swati's mom's to say good-bye, and Sarojni (Swati's best friend who lives near her mom) invited me over for chai and pakoras. Then one more auto-rickshaw back to Ramjula, walked across the bridge and headed home to continue the packing process I had started on Saturday (a week in advance!).
Wednesday morning, after yoga with Ashish, I packed my iPad and went to do some work at my fancy AC coffee shop called Urban Sip. There are big glass windows overlooking the Ganga - great spot to get away from the chaos of the streets. Some shopping in the afternoon and Children of Ganges in the evening.
Thursday morning I made my last trip over to Laxmanjula (the neighbouring town) for more shopping and a cup of chai & chat with Mahesh and Savita, the couple who own the rock shop where I buy all my stones and malas. They were disappointed I wouldn't be in town for their daughter's wedding in April, but are looking forward to my housewarming party next winter! That afternoon I went down to the river for my annual Ganga dip. Always save it for the end so that the glacier water might warm warm up a degree or two, but it's still painfully (though invigoratingly!) cold. When I got back to my apartment, Pushpa, my neighbour, was in the hallway and offered to be bring me a plate of the lunch she had recently prepared for her family, which I gratefully accepted. In the evening, I walked down to the market to buy a bigger carry-on than the one I already had (which was just a small backpack). It's the solution I came up with to help solve my packing dilemma, which was starting to give me nightmares.
Friday morning was my last class with Ashish (who has agreed to giving private lessons to the group I will be bringing next year!), after which Swati invited Truike and I to her place for a scrumptious farewell lunch. The afternoon was just more final shopping and packing - yes, I kept buying things even though I knew there was no more room in my luggage. Silly girl.
Saturday was my last day, and it was a beautiful one. I started with a street chai at my favorite wallah's stand - same guy I've been going to since 2012. Then it was over to Rishiskesh Yog Peeth (where I did my yoga teacher training in 2013) with Truike, Swati and the Children of the Ganges who were performing a song a dance for the teacher trainees, as well as a presentation by Truike on the Bottle School they have begun working on. (Her current lease for the room where the classes are held is up in 2018, so she now wants to build her own "plastic bottle" classroom - with the help of volunteers, teachers and students, so I will keep you posted on developments if ever anyone is interested in helping out!) I got to see my wonderful YTT teacher from 4 years ago, Roshan, while we were there, who also has a big project underway - opening up an ashram in the mountains not too far from Rishikesh, where he will transfer his school next fall when it is ready. And he was also happy to tell me that they will be offering complementary 21-day retreats for alumni - sweet!! We then packed the kids into 3 jeeps, and were off to Mahatma Yoga Ashram near Laxmanjula, where Truike stays when she's in town. The location is stunning, right by the river with a spectacular view of the mountains. After a drink of water and a stop at the bathroom, the kids headed up to the top floor where there is a big, beautiful yoga hall. They were then taught a 1h acro-yoga class that most seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Even Truike worked up the courage to do some flying! Class was followed by a delicious lunch, after which I rushed off a bit before the group as I had some final packing to do before my taxi to the train station at 4pm. Stopped in for a quick farewell at Swati's, went home for my final packing, and miraculously, I still had an hour to spare, so I went to the bakery for one last cappuccino from the talented Nepalese barista (would need the caffein perk for the night of travels ahead!). Then stopped next door at Amit's (Swati's husband's) stationary shop to sign the final apartment papers (yes, at the very last minute) - a 5 page document drawn up by a lawyer, which had had to be brought to Dehradun for translation and then returned to Rishikesh, and all of that, including the lawyer fees cost me a whopping $30. If you have any legal work to be done, bring it to India!! Amit met me at my apartment with his scooter at 4, to help me bring my luggage to the taxi stop, a 5min walk away. He piled half my stuff onto his scooter and drove off, while I walked with the rest. The taxi driver laughed when he felt the weight of my bags as he loaded them into the car. He was a great driver with good taste in Hindi music, and got me safely to the Haridwar train station, with almost an hour to spare before the Shtabdi Express would pull up on Platform 1. From the cab, I hired a porter (for the first time in 5 years) to help me get my bags to the platform, and he would then return when the train arrived (if he wanted to get paid!) to help me get everything onboard and all the big pieces up onto the overhead rack. I always love the train ride, and this was no exception. Once in Delhi, at 11pm, I again hired a porter to help unload my bags and get them to the taxi. 40min cab ride to the airport, with a very chatty and friendly driver, and then the final moment I had been stressing about: how much would they charge me in overweight fees?? Well, long story short, after 40 minutes of re-organizing and weight re-distribution, I got away with $180 instead of $300. Very long customs and security lines, good thing I got to the airport almost 4hours in advance (nothing like departure from home!!), but flight ended up being delayed over an hour, so went to Starbucks for a latte and some iPad web catching up. Smooth flight from Delhi to Doha, where I had a very quick transfer due to the delay (what a difference from 21hr layover I've had the past 3 trips!), and another nice (but long and pretty sleepless) flight from Doha to Montreal, sitting beside a lovely francophone couple who were returning from a trip to Vietnam. Got through customs pretty quickly (and when they asked what my most expensive purchase was while abroad, I said "Books!!") but then the luggage belt had technical issues, so it took almost an hour to get my bags. A bit annoying when you've been traveling for so many hours straight and just want to get home, but I had some leftover Indian zen I made use of. My dad was there to greet me, and of course, the first person I wanted to see was my nephew Theo, so we stopped at Liv and Mark's for dinner on the way back. As much as I adore India, it always feels so, so lovely to be home.
That's a wrap for India 2017, with exciting things ahead for next year - I will have my own apartment (and maybe even a scooter to go with it), and don't forget to let me know if you're interested in the group trip I'll be organizing from February 18 - March 18, 2018!!
As Prem Baba says at the end of every satsang (and as I think I ended last year's blog):
Blessed be each one of you, until we meet again. Namaste.
So, my last week in Rishikesh - I'll try to keep it brief, here goes!
On Monday evening I finally met Truike, the founder of Children of the Ganges. She is originally from the Netherlands but works in New York at the United Nations school where she runs a music program. We've been in touch on Facebook since 2012 when I first discovered this little gem of a school (where Swati is the head teacher), but have never crossed paths in person as Truike's trips to Rishikesh are always in the summer (that's when school holidays are) and I will never set foot in India after the month of March again (was there till May in 2012), due to debilitating heat. This year, Truike was able to get away during her March break, so 5 years later we finally met - and it was a beautiful encounter.
Tuesday I went on a little adventure. Some of you may have heard about the huge currency conundrum that rocked India last November, but here's a quick overview for those who haven't: In an attempt to combat corruption, money-laundering, and counterfeiting, Prime Minister Modi decided to announce a surprise withdrawal of and ban on all 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes, the two highest denominations (equivalent of about $10 and $20 Canadian). The details of what followed are mind-boggling, but trying to keep this last entry short, so... I arrived in India with 10 000 rupees in old notes (about $200) and of course there were plenty of confusing and contradicting instructions on what I could do with my stash. One piece of info that was circulating quite widely was that foreigners and NRIs (non-residential Indians) who were not in the country at the time of the announcement had until March 31st to exchange their old notes, but only at RBI (Federal Reserve Bank of India) and its affiliated branches. Many people were saying this info was inaccurate, but that I may as well at least attempt. So, back to my Tuesday adventure... The closest RBI office to Rishikesh is in the city of Dehradun, about an hour bus ride north. Hopped into an auto-rickshaw to the Rishikesh bus station, found the bus to Dehradun, stood for most of the ride on the packed bus, then once in Dehradun, took a tuk-tuk to the RBI office, walked up to the 3rd floor, was offered a chai while I waited a few minutes, and when I told the lady what I was there for, she said, "Why does Rishikesh keep sending foreigners here? Every time, we inform them that the foreigner deadline for old currency exchange was December 31st and any other rumours circulating are misinformation." So that was that, I can now create a piece of art with my stack old rupee notes. I hung around town for a bit, walked along the main street to the downtown clocktower, stopped into a little cafe for an iced tea, then flagged down an auto-rickshaw to head back to the bus station. Back onto a crowded bus, but at least got a seated this time, for the 80min ride back to Rishikesh. Walked over to Swati's mom's to say good-bye, and Sarojni (Swati's best friend who lives near her mom) invited me over for chai and pakoras. Then one more auto-rickshaw back to Ramjula, walked across the bridge and headed home to continue the packing process I had started on Saturday (a week in advance!).
Wednesday morning, after yoga with Ashish, I packed my iPad and went to do some work at my fancy AC coffee shop called Urban Sip. There are big glass windows overlooking the Ganga - great spot to get away from the chaos of the streets. Some shopping in the afternoon and Children of Ganges in the evening.
Thursday morning I made my last trip over to Laxmanjula (the neighbouring town) for more shopping and a cup of chai & chat with Mahesh and Savita, the couple who own the rock shop where I buy all my stones and malas. They were disappointed I wouldn't be in town for their daughter's wedding in April, but are looking forward to my housewarming party next winter! That afternoon I went down to the river for my annual Ganga dip. Always save it for the end so that the glacier water might warm warm up a degree or two, but it's still painfully (though invigoratingly!) cold. When I got back to my apartment, Pushpa, my neighbour, was in the hallway and offered to be bring me a plate of the lunch she had recently prepared for her family, which I gratefully accepted. In the evening, I walked down to the market to buy a bigger carry-on than the one I already had (which was just a small backpack). It's the solution I came up with to help solve my packing dilemma, which was starting to give me nightmares.
Friday morning was my last class with Ashish (who has agreed to giving private lessons to the group I will be bringing next year!), after which Swati invited Truike and I to her place for a scrumptious farewell lunch. The afternoon was just more final shopping and packing - yes, I kept buying things even though I knew there was no more room in my luggage. Silly girl.
Saturday was my last day, and it was a beautiful one. I started with a street chai at my favorite wallah's stand - same guy I've been going to since 2012. Then it was over to Rishiskesh Yog Peeth (where I did my yoga teacher training in 2013) with Truike, Swati and the Children of the Ganges who were performing a song a dance for the teacher trainees, as well as a presentation by Truike on the Bottle School they have begun working on. (Her current lease for the room where the classes are held is up in 2018, so she now wants to build her own "plastic bottle" classroom - with the help of volunteers, teachers and students, so I will keep you posted on developments if ever anyone is interested in helping out!) I got to see my wonderful YTT teacher from 4 years ago, Roshan, while we were there, who also has a big project underway - opening up an ashram in the mountains not too far from Rishikesh, where he will transfer his school next fall when it is ready. And he was also happy to tell me that they will be offering complementary 21-day retreats for alumni - sweet!! We then packed the kids into 3 jeeps, and were off to Mahatma Yoga Ashram near Laxmanjula, where Truike stays when she's in town. The location is stunning, right by the river with a spectacular view of the mountains. After a drink of water and a stop at the bathroom, the kids headed up to the top floor where there is a big, beautiful yoga hall. They were then taught a 1h acro-yoga class that most seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Even Truike worked up the courage to do some flying! Class was followed by a delicious lunch, after which I rushed off a bit before the group as I had some final packing to do before my taxi to the train station at 4pm. Stopped in for a quick farewell at Swati's, went home for my final packing, and miraculously, I still had an hour to spare, so I went to the bakery for one last cappuccino from the talented Nepalese barista (would need the caffein perk for the night of travels ahead!). Then stopped next door at Amit's (Swati's husband's) stationary shop to sign the final apartment papers (yes, at the very last minute) - a 5 page document drawn up by a lawyer, which had had to be brought to Dehradun for translation and then returned to Rishikesh, and all of that, including the lawyer fees cost me a whopping $30. If you have any legal work to be done, bring it to India!! Amit met me at my apartment with his scooter at 4, to help me bring my luggage to the taxi stop, a 5min walk away. He piled half my stuff onto his scooter and drove off, while I walked with the rest. The taxi driver laughed when he felt the weight of my bags as he loaded them into the car. He was a great driver with good taste in Hindi music, and got me safely to the Haridwar train station, with almost an hour to spare before the Shtabdi Express would pull up on Platform 1. From the cab, I hired a porter (for the first time in 5 years) to help me get my bags to the platform, and he would then return when the train arrived (if he wanted to get paid!) to help me get everything onboard and all the big pieces up onto the overhead rack. I always love the train ride, and this was no exception. Once in Delhi, at 11pm, I again hired a porter to help unload my bags and get them to the taxi. 40min cab ride to the airport, with a very chatty and friendly driver, and then the final moment I had been stressing about: how much would they charge me in overweight fees?? Well, long story short, after 40 minutes of re-organizing and weight re-distribution, I got away with $180 instead of $300. Very long customs and security lines, good thing I got to the airport almost 4hours in advance (nothing like departure from home!!), but flight ended up being delayed over an hour, so went to Starbucks for a latte and some iPad web catching up. Smooth flight from Delhi to Doha, where I had a very quick transfer due to the delay (what a difference from 21hr layover I've had the past 3 trips!), and another nice (but long and pretty sleepless) flight from Doha to Montreal, sitting beside a lovely francophone couple who were returning from a trip to Vietnam. Got through customs pretty quickly (and when they asked what my most expensive purchase was while abroad, I said "Books!!") but then the luggage belt had technical issues, so it took almost an hour to get my bags. A bit annoying when you've been traveling for so many hours straight and just want to get home, but I had some leftover Indian zen I made use of. My dad was there to greet me, and of course, the first person I wanted to see was my nephew Theo, so we stopped at Liv and Mark's for dinner on the way back. As much as I adore India, it always feels so, so lovely to be home.
That's a wrap for India 2017, with exciting things ahead for next year - I will have my own apartment (and maybe even a scooter to go with it), and don't forget to let me know if you're interested in the group trip I'll be organizing from February 18 - March 18, 2018!!
As Prem Baba says at the end of every satsang (and as I think I ended last year's blog):
Blessed be each one of you, until we meet again. Namaste.
