Rishikesh

Finished our ten day Vipassana meditation course. Hard work. This was no holiday.

Arrived in Rishikesh today. We drove past a row of saddhus (given up all worldly posessions), sitting along the road next to the Ganges. Their orange or white lunghis dirty, their hair dreaded and matted and grey and coiled on top of the head, the long silver and gold beards, smoking chillums and their eyes yellow and peaceful. As if we were passing them in slow motion, entering the holy city. Young mesmerizing men with orange robes and yellow marks on their foreheads, with heavy snakes stiffly hanging from their shoulders, and incence burning and the general chaos of Indian cities. And in the background the river Ganges and the green lush mountains, and temples and ashrams on the slopes of the valley, and a hanging bridge that we walked across to get to the other side of the river.

Every sensation in your body felt that this was a holy city. The city of gurus and yogis.

Took a swim in the beautiful river, flowing powerfully and fast around corners - 300 meters deep at places, this huge mass of water sweeping past you, and mist floating in places. It was so hot outside, but the water was cool - still fresh from the mountains and glaciers. And the light - as the sun vanished behind another hill - had this magical quiet glow.

I don't know - maybe it's because of meditating for fifty hours - but every atom in my body dissolved into the atmosphere of Rishikesh.