In Rishikesh India Swiming in the Sacred Ganges River

Hello, everyone, from Rishikesh, India. It was a lot of work to get here from Pohkara, Nepal, but it was worth the effort. We had to take 8 buses, 2 trains, 2 taxis, 2 minivans, an autorickshaw and a temple (looks a lot like a golf cart) to get to Rishikesh. It took 3 full days, but now were are at a very peaceful town right on the banks of the sacred Ganges River and right next to the Himilayan Mountains.

On the way back to India we made a quick stop at a town called Lumbini. This was the town where the Buddha was born back in 632 B.C. It was cool to see the actual spot that the Buddha was born. However, there was nothing really there, not even a restaurant. The place we stayed was a real dump and the entire town was infested with bugs. We had roaches, grasshoppers, gnats, mosquitos, and a lot of bugs I had never seen before swarming around our room. Even under our mosquito nets we were not safe. The next morning I was glad we were leaving.

We crossed back into India the next day and I made one last attempt to talk my parents into staying in Nepal. The month we stayed in Nepal was great and I did not want to leave. They didn't give in and we crossed back into India. You could tell immedaitely that we were back in India because of the smell, the garbage on the ground, the people begging for money, the cows everywhere, the traffic, and the noise. I could not figure out why my parents wanted to come back to all of this. We spent two days non-stop traveling. One day we woke up at 6:00 a.m. and took buses and trains all day long and did not make it to our hotel until midnight. I was very tired when we arrived in a town called Lucknow.

Lucknow is a dirty, polluted, crowded city of nearly 2,000,000 people. There was one cool thing in Lucknow called the Bara Imabara. It was very similiar to the Taj Mahal in Agra, but not as polished and nice. However, what was really cool was that there was a labyrinth(maze) that I got to explore by myself. The people said I needed a guide because it was easy to get lost and dangerous. I ended up talking them into letting me go by myself. Not only did I not get lost, I had to help some adults find their way out of the maze. It was a great time and I did not want to leave. We ended up getting a train out of Lucknow that left at 8:00 at night and we were on the train all night. Night trains are the best and I got to sleep on the top bunk.

We woke up in a town called Hardiwar which is one of the most important cities in the Hindu religion (most popular religion in India and my dad said they believe there are over 10,000 Gods). We did not stay long, but instead took a bus to Rishikesh. We are now in Rishikesh, which they call the yoga capital of the world. Apparently, an old musical group called the Beatles use to hang out here a lot. There are a lot of very strange hippy looking people here.

I really like Rishikesh because there is a beach and we get to go swimming everyday in the Ganges River. It is very cold, but it feels great. This is where the Ganges flows right out of the Himilayan Mountains and it is 1,000 times cleaner than Varanasi where we saw dead bodies floating in the water. According to the Hindus, one dip in the sacred Ganges River will wash away all of your sins. I don't know if that is true or not, but I still like swimming and jumping off the rocks into the river. We are going back in today and everyday that we stay here. My parents took a yoga class yesterday and I sat in the back of the room and tried not to laugh. It was very funny watching my dad try to do all those yoga positions. Tommorow we are going to an orphanage where there are a bunch of kids between the ages of 3 and 11. I am having a great time, and actually like India now. Rishikesh is a lot different than Dehli, Agra, and Varanasi. We are also going to rent bicylces while we are here and get to go white water rafting on the Ganges River. After leaving Rishikesh we are heading to Armritsar and then Dharamsala, India.

Send me an email at kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com. Talk to you later.