Impressions of Rishikesh after week one

To begin with.... Too small streets, too many big cars, too many squeezed in unplanned buildings, too much loud honking, too many tourists attracting too many touts, too much cow dung, ambiguous sanyasis hanging about in dusty orange robes... Spiritual or seedy?? Cafes that are good at western food, but pretty poor at good Indian food. And what? No supermarket? Do we really think we can be here for 2 months?

 

Plenty of cows and cow dung in Rishikesh too

BUT – ooooh the mountains, the fresh air once you are just five minutes up the hill, the river Ganges and all the waterfalls and streams running into her (the river is a she in Indian folklore), the dramatic scenery... It all makes up for the nasty, noisy town.

Cooling mountain water after an uphill walk

And then some good news... Our first 4 days were a peak holiday weekend, hence the craziness and congestion in the streets. We thought this was the normal state. To our relief Laxman Jula (our apart of Rishikesh) has become much calmer since the weekend - fewer people, fewer cars, mopeds, buses, rickshaws. Although those that are here are still honk-tastic.

And even better... We headed off for our first trip into the main town of Rishikesh on Tuesday. We expected the worst, given that The Lonely Planet gives it a wide berth. But we were pleasantly surprised. 

You can actually walk in the shopping streets without too many vehicles around. The people are pretty friendly, and not at all hawkish. Who needs a super market when you have a street of bric-a-brac stores, a whole host of bedding stores together, the largest shop of plastic things ever, the dhal and spice shops all huddled together, and an entire market of fresh veggies? We came home laden and looking forward to our next trip.

Add to that a very pleasant time in our new home so far. A kitchen where we can experiment with our own Indian food, and learn from our willing landlord and his kitchen "help." A wonderful yoga teacher. A friendly crowd in our yoga class. The two months are not going to be so bad at all!