Train to Rishikesh and Spiritual Enlightenment A La Anne

So we got up at 5am this morning to get to the New Delhi train station to take a train to Rishikesh. Many people may remember that Rishikesh was the place the Beattles visited an ashram in the 60s known as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram. Rishikesh is a holy city for Hindus located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. It's majestic and for the first time during our trip, V and I can breathe in clean mountain air. The town rests on the banks of the Ganga river (known in the west as the Ganges River), and is considered the holiest of rivers and also a Hindu diety. Everyone is here to gain enlightenment, whether they be devot Hindu pilgrims or Western-hippy-new-age-yoga tourists. I feel like I'm back in Venice beach. For folks who are familiar with Santa Cruz, this is where Santa Cruzites vacation. All the Americans have dreadlocks and wear blankets and I saw one pasty white guy walking around in a Gandi-esque wrap with no shoes and nodding rather silly at passerbys. Peace man.

So those of you who know me well, or even a little, are realizing the huge cosmic irony of me finding myself here. After having worked the last few months on a documentary about religion, I almost think perhaps the universe is trying to tell me something. If so, it should speak up, because right now all I feel is a mild case of amusement while people watching.

And I have to tell you about this American we sat next to on the train ride here. His name is Steven Shupe, and he's been living abroad for 17 years. In his former life he was a lawyer and a water management specialist. At 6'7'', he really stood out. We had a long discussion about his metaphysical perspective and I have to admit, I understood very little of what he said. I gather from what he was saying that my lack of understanding and "truth" had something to do with my having lived among other humans and 'not knowing myself'. In order to gain true enlightenment, one must shed all the outside layers of who we 'think we are'. But I like my layers. In the end, he turned out to be a really nice guy and helped us find a suitable hotel with river view (for 6 bucks a night, not to mention he recommended things for us to see/do while there.) So it was good that we met this particular crazy American even when he asked us if we had boyfriends and started to give off that desperate vibe men sometimes give off. Vidhu explained to me that he had been alone for so long that he was lonely....makes sense, I guess even the enlightened get horney.
It was afternoon when we arrived, so we checked in to our hotel, ate some lunch and did some shopping. After the sun set behind the mountains, we listened to spread out over the river. We found a coffee shop called the German Bakery (it was indeed German, the cinnamon rolls were as dry as croutons) and watched the monkeys jump from rooftops to the footbridge. We read books and bought more at a local bookstore. Then we ate dinner as we rested on colorful mats and drank ginger lemon honey tea. Today was a great day. Shopping is truely the way to inner peace. The picture below is of a cow that followed me around, trying to nuzzle up against my hand as I looked at Jewelry. I call him Bob. Or she. Those cows are so cute.