Rishikesh!

Pretty much all last night and this morning was spent travelling. I took a flight out of Singapore at 2:30am today and reached Delhi at 5:30am IST. During the flight I watched a really adorable film called Filmistaan. Loved it! 

Then I had a long 5 hours wait before my domestic flight to Dehradun, during which I bought a few books, had Onion Uthappam and Filter Coffee from "Vaango" at the Food Court, dozed off a bit in a lounge chair and walked around aimlessly for a bit.  

Flight to Dehradun was just 30 mins during which there was a mad frenzy of distributing sandwiches by the crew. I don't really know why Jet Airways bother distributing food for a 30 minute flight, it was chaotic to say the least. I didn't get any sandwiches. What I got was a window seat out of which I could make out the snow capped Himalayas at a distance and the plains down below. Soon the foothills started to appear below, and it was time to land. 

I was picked up by the hotel car from Dehradun airport. It was just a short 30 minute drive from the airport to Rishikesh, where my retreat is. Most of the road was through a thick forest with "BEWARE OF ELEPHANTS" signs all around, some with pictures of wild elephants toppling over cars, for added effect. I found that so thrilling and kept my eyes peeled to catch sight of a few of the majestic beings. I saw none. Instead, I saw monkeys and at one point, a huge patch of gorgeous purple flowers on the side of the road. 

One thing I noted through the drive was how every stream around was completely dried up. There was not one drop of water to be seen anywhere. I wasn't expecting that. I thought these rivers were watered by the melting snow, and given that we were just in end of March, they should be having a lot of water now. But the driver told me that these streams carry water only during monsoons. "No rain, no water". Hmmm. 

I had been to Rishikesh once exactly 20 years ago. That was during April and it was HOT in Delhi. But I remember Rishikesh to be extremely cold, especially in the morning when there was a strong wind and there was a thunderous Ganges flowing with icy, cold water. "Am I not going to experience any of that this time?", I wondered sadly.

I wasn't sad for too long, because just then we passed by the main river in Rishikesh, the Ganges that cuts right across the little town - and there it was, huge, mighty, with a lovely blue shade, flowing calmly as if saying "I am still here". That cheered me up considerably. 

Soon we reached Dewa Retreat, my home for the next one week. Everyone greeted me with a pleasant Namaste and my welcome gift was a string of prayer beads. How lovely! I also realized that I am probably the only Indian guest staying here... the place seemed to be full of foreigners! I checked into my comfortable room and was served a welcome drink of sweet Tulsi Tea. It was awesome! The view from the balcony was a little bit of the town with the Himalayan foothills beyond. The river is only a 7 minute walk but could not be seen from here. 

After freshening up, I ordered some room service - Spicy Hakka Noodles and Sweet Lime Soda. And then I went to bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. 

I woke up with a horrible flu - I was feverish, had a really bad running nose and a few horrible bouts of cough. Ugh. I cursed the absolute lack of immunity just before a yoga retreat. I had packed a lot of medicines but none for a fever I realized. So I called up the reception for some fever medicine and I must say, I got the best service ever! 

They first asked me the symptoms and after a while, got me a few tablets. They also brought me a huge jug of hot water to inhale steam from. When I ordered the convalescent food of "kichdi" - or rather, "vegetable kichdi" as per the menu, they told me that for my condition, kichdi made of moong dal and ginger, with some vegetables would be a better option. So that's what I had - moong dal kichdi and Ginger Honey Lemon Tea. By the time I hit the bed, I was feeling better from being well looked after. Really incredible service! 

I spent some time reading a book I bought from the airport (a really horrid one unfortunately - I mean, brilliant language but terrible plot with about zero creativity) and at some point in time, fell fast asleep. 

Now looking forward to the first yoga lesson of the retreat tomorrow morning, and hoping that I will wake up a lot less sick for it!