life in Rishikesh

I've been in Rishikesh for a few weeks now. I have settled into a routine. This morning an Indian Family were chanting as they all bathed together in the Ganga, it was a beautiful sight to behold. I wake up at 6am use the squat toliet, do some asana for body, meditation for my mind, focus on the Divine, and then take a hot bucket shower and do my laundry in a bucket, hanging them to dry on the clothsline. I try to see if two of the small family run healthy restraunts are open, they aren't 80 percent of the time, walk past the business of the rickshaws asking me for a ride and go to Madras Cafe where I order breakfast, today it was chocalate lassi w/ iddly, a steamed rice puff cake and coccunut sauce w/ sambar, veggies in veg sauce. I was turned onto iddly and dosa in Mysore and like it when I can't get my wholewheat pancakes or fruit and nut porridge at the two family run restraunts that say that they are open early, but never are India time can be 8am or 10am or not all, or prompt, you learn patience here. I go to talks at the Sivananda ashram given by Muktanda Swami. He travels and lectures around the world, and has been a Swami for 26 years. He is a big man probably 6 foot 5. He is fluent in Enlish, French, and Spanish, and is a great presenter. In the evenings I go do Iyengar classes where I am staying. I stay on a balcony apt. that overlooks the Ganga and the forested hills, so it is beautiful. Also in town is the Welcome Center owned by couple married ten years, he is from Holland, she is from India. They have chess, a yoga swing, organic food, garden, and it is a chill spot to meet other travelers and relax from the chaos that is the sensory assult of India. They also have films there. I recently watched Gus Van Sant's Last Days about the last days of Kurt Cobain, it was an art indie film that was decent and the new version of King Kong that was epic 3 hours long, apparently he gets dvds in India before they come out in America. I go to sleep around 9pm after reading unless I go to an evening kirtan or satsang. I am reading On the Road to Freedom: A Pilgramage in India about Swami Neal's 30 year path in India, living with sages and meeting Amma. He is a Western, so it is easy to relate, just finished an interview book w/ 8 of Australia's renowned yoga teachers, reading the Yoga Sutras, and am going to start Shantaram- the true story of Gregory Roberts, who was a fugitive from Australia who spent 8 years in Bombay working for the mob, acting in Bollywood, and setting up a health clinic. He wrote this international best seller 3 times, the first two versions got destroyed while he served out his sentence in solitude prison for passport fraud. Johnny Depp bought the rights to the film and will apparently star in it, because he likes India. I also recovered from another bout of stomach virus and the runs. The hospital here was cheap and helpful as always. Here are some things that stand out in Rishikesh:

animals- cows, donkies, monkies, goats, wild dogs, and so forth walking, eating garbage, shitting, pissing, and just carrying on with there life like the crowds of humans. The monkies are great fun to watch and are mischief getting into trouble stelling goods and can be aggressive

bridges- there is two suspension bridges that come over the Ganga

ashrams- there is a slew of ashrams, lots of chanting in the evenings w/ tons of monks and can be loud projected over loud speakers, some ashrams run as cheap hotel

annoying things- the crowds, the noise, the constant honking by motorcycles, rickshaws, and nearly getting run over, the pollution, the beggars- I have seen some crazy sights beggars w/o arms, w/o legs, blind and chanting holy names, there are a ton of beggars "Hari Om" they say and rattle their cup, the ashrams feed the beggers, but some of the beggars just want some chai or chappti bread and say "chappti" as they beg

sadhus- the holy renuiciate dreadlocked mary jane pufffing men are pretty cool to talk with, some of them, some are real authentic on a holy path, others just are life drop outs or outlaws hiding from the law