Rishikesh Day 1

Arrived cold, tired, and hungry. The perfect trifecta to generate grumpiness. The town was completely empty. Every shop had their metal shutters locked and all the carts were empty. The area may have been scenic, but all I could think was, "why am I here in this cold small place with nothing to do except for yoga - and for four days".

We banged on the door of our target hotel, the Sant Sri Sewa Ashram. There was someone up, but they had to wake up the kid sleeping in the "lobby" to show us the room. The room was as simple as it gets and on a cold morning the concrete box seemed extra cold and uncomfortable. It came with 4 wool blankets and a couple scary looking pillows (happy I brought a silk sleep sac with a built in pillow cover). It also had an attached bathroom. Asiana wants to do this trip cheap, but has not budged when it comes to sharing a bathroom yet. I get my over priced beers and she gets to pee comfortably.

If anyone is up early in Rishikesh they are doing yoga somewhere. They are definitely not getting me breakfast ready, that's for sure. The first place we found open was a little old man making chai and vegetable pakorma (deep fried cauliflower). I had 3 orders of each.

A full belly and the day getting warmer got me all cheered up. We walked up and down the streets and I was able to receive the beauty of the place. What one was at first completely empty town turned into a lively one.

We spent most of the day wandering around, drinking tea, and eating. We did our laundry in a large bucket on our porch that looked out over the slow moving Ganga. We took the beginners yoga class offered in our ashram to stretch out our soar bodies after the cruel bus ride. It was my kind of yoga made up of joint rotations and calisthenics and less of the hold-this-pose-forever yoga.

Laying in bed I realized it may be the quietest place thus far. Rishikesh is very peaceful.

Location:Rishikesh India