Hari om (namaste, rishikesh version)!
It’s been awhile since we’ve last posted, so there is a lot to catch everyone up on.
Going back in time about two weeks ago- we were in the wonderful city of Darjeeling for three days to relax after our trek. Darjeeling is an absolutely magical hill station located in North eastern India, surrounded by rolling hills and the Himalayas. It is well known for all of the tea plantations (you can find their tea in grocery stores in the states)!
With no structured activities through carpe, we were able to create our own schedules. Even though we were in tea-land, it didn’t take long for us to find the best coffee in town. Very few shops opened until around 11:00 p.m., so for any of us early risers, mornings usually consisted of hanging out at Sonam’s cafe for a while, drinking coffee and indulging in egg, roasted tomato, toast, and hash brown breakfasts. YUM! We met some awesome other travelers who had also discovered this gem.
Once the shops opened… so did our wallets!! Local tea, kashmirian shawls- simply irresistible! In our defense, the end is coming near and so are the holidays.
As a farewell to the city we woke up at 3:00 AM on our last day, piled in a jeep, and made our way up to tiger hill. The hill was swarmed with Indian tourists waiting for the sun to come up to see the view of the surrounding mountains and mt. Everest!
On to Rishikesh- the yoga and spiritual epicenter of India.
The next week was spent at the phool chatti ashram, learning the “ashram life”. We woke up at 5:30 every morning to the sound of 4 bangs on the bell. Making our way to the yoga hall by 6:00 a.m. (some later than others– jake and shayna *cough cough*). From learning how to use the neti-pot to chanting the same mantra 108 times- I think we would all agree that we got an extremely thorough introduction to the ashram life in one weeks time. My personal favorite part about the retreat was the people we met.
Lovin’ the traveler vibe.
Sending love!
Margaret