Rishikesh

Rishikesh

Today we spent the whole day in Rishikesh, a smaller, quieter holy city on the Ganga River north of Haridwar. I was surprised to see more foreign tourists in this more remote city. Judging from the bare feet and dreadlocks, I think most of them were here for either the spiritual enlightenment in the ashrams or the marijuana, which we were offered by the Sadhus wandering the streets.


Not this guy. He just asked me to take his photo and was just happy to see it on the back of the M8. A few people ask for money, but most don't.

We walked across the Shivanand Jhula bridge and down the river to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s huge ashram complex.

Then, after a great $2 thali lunch on the roof of the Chotiwala café, we walked two kilometers up the river to the next bridge, Lakshman Jhula. It was a beautiful, quiet walk with lots of photo opportunities.



The walk across the bridge and back down, however, was not quiet or beautiful. Many honking truck and buses spewing diesel fumes and trying to run us off the road! I was glad to get back to the market and the river. There were a few people bathing here, but not nearly as many as in Haridwar. There are monkeys and cows everywhere, making a mess and a nuisance of themselves.





I used all three cameras today with the help of my sherpa (Tommy), who carried the heaviest Canon most of the day. He even took a few photos.



As usual, when I got back and downloaded photos, I found myself looking for ones that I remembered shooting but which are on film! We came back to the hotel early to pack because we leave very early in the morning for the 6 hour drive back to Delhi to catch our flight for Varanasi.