Recently I got back to Japan after a two month yoga retreat in Rishikesh, an ancient and sacred place to practice yoga, located in India.
I arrived at the New Delhi airport (which has no WiFi) in the Middle of the night where I met a driver who I had booked in advance.
The airport not being equipped with WiFi is very inconvenient, at first it felt like a safety risk, arriving to this new and different place I wanted to be able to organize the next stage of my trip. I was very nervous as recently I heard India is not a safe place, so I was anxious about it.
It turns out despite my anxiety, the driver is quit nice guy, to my relief. The driver walked with me from the airport to his car and to my surprise there were stray dogs everywhere!! I love dogs, but decided it was not good idea play with them this time because they might have rabies or another disease. Actually I love dogs so much that I may have risked it except I did not get any vaccinations for this trip to India.
Finally, I got in a taxi and lets go to Rishikesh!!
After 3 hours of driving through the city and then into and through the country side the driver suddenly asked me
Driver- “ can I drop by a restaurant? ”
Lily- “ Hmmm,ok…”
I was a little worried.
The driver- “ Do you want to come with me or stay in the car? ”
Lily ”I come with you, because feeling scared to wait here alone”
As it turned out my decision was wrong :( So on your own trip please be very careful.
It turned out that I survived, but this can be very dangerous in the country side as I was the only women around there, groups of guys looked at me strongly at all at the same time. Specially foreigners are uncommon in this area of country side. Bathrooms are not clean at all, they are dirtier than I could ever emagin, way more than I expected, so much so that even after many hours of driving I didn't feel like using it ;; Back on the road again!!
The sun was starting to rise and WELCOME TO Laxman Jhula which is downtown in Rishikesh^^
It was an amazing experience entering this sacred village that rests on on the Gages River banks during sunrise, what a fantastic experience.
My trip to indian was off to a rough start. After a few days I was starting to have some great experiences. My Idea of India was evolving, I was starting to see many interesting and good things. Rishikesh is the only place that I went in India, so It’s hard to compare with another cities, but the locals are very warm and kind people. Rishikesh seemed to have less crime than some places I crossed through on my way in the car service. It also seemed to be a safe place as well. Perhaps the lower crime rate in this city is concerned with the fact that this city is Hindi and buddhist holy land, so it may receive more respect that other places..
I had an interesting discovery that contradicts the theory that the Ganges River is dirty and disgusting. This is an absolutely misnomer. The Ganges River may be dirty in places, but we have to think of it as a huge waterway and the portion of Ganges River flowing through Rishikesh and many other places are upstream making for high water quality. Upstream the Ganges is pure and clean. Many locals, religious pilgrims and as well as other people enjoy swimming and rafting in the Ganges.
I tried rafting in the Ganges River. It was really fun, more than my expectation and I highly recommend everyone to try rafting in the Ganges River:)
From here I would like to share some practical travel information which with you.
You have will have 3 ways to transport from the New Delhi air port to Rishikesh. The three typical transportation options from the airport to Rishikesh are bus, train or taxi/car service. I chose taxi/car service because this was my first trip in India and this option helped to remove my anxiety. The taxi cost around $70.00 dollars and took approximately 6 hours, WOW thats really inexpensive. I recommend take a taxi if you are worried about your safety on your first trip to India, this option is especially good for woman like me who are embarking on a solo adventure.
Let’s talk about accommodations!! Rishikesh has many hotels to choose from and you can easily find these hotels simply by walking in, but availability varies depending on season. If you are planning on an extended stay like my two month span, you can defiantly negotiate a cheaper rate with the hotel manager.
The Rishikesh hotel which I stayed in only cost only $8.00 per night and it was new hotel, super clean, provides hot showers (which is not a universal feature in hotels in India). My Rishikesh hotel was also in great location walk 5 min to Laxman Jhula bridge ^^
Unfortunately, I couldn't find that hotel name and homepage of the hotel that I stayed in, but It is right next to Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House. The Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House hotel was my first choice soley based on it’s cheap price which at $4.00 dollars per night you can’t beat. I changed my mind when I walked by the other hotel. The hotel in which I stayed looked super clean which is a feature that is I value.
The Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House hotel however has a nice cafe on the first floor with a good Wifi connection so I frequently spent time in the cafe.
How about Indian price…it was surprisingly cheap in Rishikesh and in India in general, for example bottle of water is only .20 cents, a yoga lesson in the picturesque Rishikesh is only $6.00, also ( dont say etc. a blog is for writing;) put more examples lol)
Rishikesh informations in the up around here..
Up coming next blog is about Ayurveda☆
Thank you for reading^^
yours
Yogini Lily :)
You have will have 3 ways to transport from the New Delhi air port to Rishikesh. The three typical transportation options from the airport to Rishikesh are bus, train or taxi/car service. I chose taxi/car service because this was my first trip in India and this option helped to remove my anxiety. The taxi cost around $70.00 dollars and took approximately 6 hours, WOW thats really inexpensive. I recommend take a taxi if you are worried about your safety on your first trip to India, this option is especially good for woman like me who are embarking on a solo adventure.
Let’s talk about accommodations!! Rishikesh has many hotels to choose from and you can easily find these hotels simply by walking in, but availability varies depending on season. If you are planning on an extended stay like my two month span, you can defiantly negotiate a cheaper rate with the hotel manager.
The Rishikesh hotel which I stayed in only cost only $8.00 per night and it was new hotel, super clean, provides hot showers (which is not a universal feature in hotels in India). My Rishikesh hotel was also in great location walk 5 min to Laxman Jhula bridge ^^
Unfortunately, I couldn't find that hotel name and homepage of the hotel that I stayed in, but It is right next to Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House. The Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House hotel was my first choice soley based on it’s cheap price which at $4.00 dollars per night you can’t beat. I changed my mind when I walked by the other hotel. The hotel in which I stayed looked super clean which is a feature that is I value.
The Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Yellow Guest House hotel however has a nice cafe on the first floor with a good Wifi connection so I frequently spent time in the cafe.
How about Indian price…it was surprisingly cheap in Rishikesh and in India in general, for example bottle of water is only .20 cents, a yoga lesson in the picturesque Rishikesh is only $6.00, also ( dont say etc. a blog is for writing;) put more examples lol)
Rishikesh informations in the up around here..
Up coming next blog is about Ayurveda☆
Thank you for reading^^
yours
Yogini Lily :)