Trivia: What do this post and the Beatles' White Album have in common?

Answer: Both were written in Rishikesh! (Ok, so not all of the White Album was written here, but many of the songs were composed while the Beatles were staying a meditation center in Rishikesh)

Rishikesh is in the foothills of the Himalayas, with fresh clean winds blowing down from the mountains and a cool and sparkling CLEAN Ganges flowing through town. The area is very holy to Hindus, and the town is full of shrines and temples to the myriad Hindu gods. It is also "the yoga capital of the world" and is hosting the International Yoga Festival next week. And finally, it is a gateway to lots of adventure type activities, the most popular being white water rafting on the Ganges. The result is a strange mix of tourists including older Indians coming for the shrines, younger Indians coming for the adventures, and foreigners coming for the yoga. Oh, also the entire town is both alcohol-free and vegetarian...

So why am I here, you are asking? Good question! I am here because my old bike partner Michele is staying here for a month to do yoga! SO I decided to come visit for just a few days. I also came because after Delhi, I desperately needed to get somewhere where I could breathe the fresh clean air.

Delhi was a mad house, Rishikesh is still kind of a mad house, but in comparison to Delhi, it feels like the most laid back out of the way place you can imagine. We took a hike today up to a waterfall and for the first time since coming to India, there was no one else around! (The modern art museum was pretty close to empty, but still not quite) The only other thing around was this white dog that decided to follow us for a few hours... didn't bark or beg for food or really pay attention to us in any way, it was just there walking along doing its own thing... It was nice dog (not like that monkey that almost jumped out at me... bad monkey!!) Other awesome and relaxing things included sitting on the rock and soaking our tired feet in the Ganges, reading a book in a cafe overlooking the river, and sitting in a restaurant with some Indians watching the India-England World Cup game (cricket). You hear a lot about Indians going crazy over cricket, but this was actually kind of dull, in a nice way. Maybe it's because Rishikesh is a dry town... maybe going to a bar in Delhi during the game would be much crazier... anyways, it was a long game, so it's still going on actually, but when we left India was looking pretty strong (36 overs with only 1 out! (yes, I've been learning some of the rules of cricket)) and I think England will have a long way to go to catch up.

Not sure how long I'm going to stay here in Rishikesh. It's a really nice place, but for someone who is not Hindu and not taking a long Yoga course, there isn't mush else to do... Might stick around a few days and just sit by the river and read. That sounds nice. :)