Rishikesh
So as we were warned travel in India requires flexibility. Our flight to Rishikesh was supposed to leave at 11:39. They changed it last night to 7:20. I would have been more upset but as we are all still getting up at 3 am anyhow who cares. So we made it out into the wee hours of the New Deli morning. The plane was small and had propellers which I’m never a fan of but it was a super short flight. We landed in Darmahahaja(just kidding I don’t know what the name of the town was but it starts with Dar) anyhow I have no internet connection so I’m being lazy-then we went to board a bus off tarmac that took us a whole 20 yards to
The doors of the very small terminal. No joke would have been so much simpler to walk but no one asks me so we rode.
The drive here was beautiful. Rishikesh is about 18km from whatever the Derksjjdhsh town I mentioned before. It immediately becomes obvious we are in a different world. Flying in you can just make out the snow capped backdrop of the Himalayas. We drove past town and I start to wonder if the driver knows where we’re going as I don’t. Then he pulls off the road and looks over at Todd. He says “here”. We’re literally on the side of the road, no sign, no path. Just a run down old building and some stray dogs.
Then 3 helpers appear and carry our bags down the now appearing trail. Still really not sure if we are being taken off into the jungle to be murdered or what...so we do the logical thing and follow them. Down the almost path we go. You can hear the river below getting louder and louder and soon make out the turquoise flowing through the tall trees. Monkeys swing in trees then a building I vaguely recognize from the internet appears and we are greeted at our next home. It’s cold. It’s early only 9:00 or so and the sun has not yet reached this side of the river. The owner gives the kids hot chocolate and we warm up a bit. This place is really beautiful. The Ganges River begins in the mountains behind us and is still clean here. It’s also a sacred Hindu place and alcohol and meat are not allowed here.
The kids seem to like the contrast this place plays on our last few days in Deli. We walk to the River which is just beautiful. There is sand that sparkles and while the water is ice cold the now generous sun is heating the sand enough for short dips into the water.
We play in the water and hang on the beach. Todd and the girls are “swimming” sort of when we can suddenly hear cow bells and all manner of trampling of forest branches. Then a few cute cows appear. They slowly make their way into the sand. A brief moment of “awe look at the cow” and then it lowers its head slightly....ya, we got charged off the beach by a cow. It charged at us enough to send Hannah into the water one way Sierra into the rocks another and Todd and I up another rock. It then meandered it’s way to the water got a drink, sniffed our clothes, had its cronies come down for some before unseen grass and then sort of left the same way they had come. It changed the mood of the beach and while we’d assured Sierra they knew she was a vegetarian and wouldn’t hurt her(remember she was stranded in a rock alone while all this happened) she seems to like cows less than before.
The guest house made lunch for us. It was really really good. Which is bad as we will likely not want to leave this place and go to town.
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