Rishikesh and the Retreat

08/05
This morning we are leaving Haridwar to go to Rishikesh, a pilgrim but also hippish town since the Beatles came here to meet their guru in the 60s, it is now officially known as the world capital of yoga! We struggle to get in a bus, full , really full and meet a group of Israelis and Belgian people, we chat, exchange about Nepal, they all loved it, talk about the harsh reality of India, the stares, the poverty, the business, the garbage, the way we react to all of that....the journey goes quickly, we then take a rickshaw and try to find a nice place to stay, the first impressions are that the town is quite big, we were hoping for something smaller, there are few good areas for pilgrims and travellers. After inquiries, we end up on a hill, on the high bank, a small area on a small hill overlooking the Ganges valley, in a very very cheap guesthouse, no electricity, an OK room, a big terrace overlooking the river! Sounds idyllic, well think again...the view if we look down is on a pile of garbage, it smells, the trees look naked and dead, the river is quite dry, it is very dusty and there are many many lorries on the road just below us!!! India again...
We go for lunch in a cafe around, take a small nap (we tried but impossible to sleep with twenty lorries a minute!!), Fab is so not enjoying it today, he hates it, feels freaked out, disgusted, annoyed and so full of emotions towards the country...I worry for him, he is not coping and is feeling vulnerable.
I have gone beyond today, I feel OK, more detached somehow, the days before I was suffering from the heat, the noise, the honk of cars, the dust, the massive sensory overload, but today I feel it will be fine....I think India will teach us many lessons and show us many paths, we will adjust and love this place!!! I try to clear my mind from the smell, the noise, the garbage...There is something in this putrid air...but what??
We then decide to explore the town and go down to the area called Laxman Jhula, just below our little hill, there are small streets, a big bridge, waterfalls of plastic bags and rubbish down the slopes, many shops, ashrams, classes of yoga, reiki, cooking, ayurvedic medicines, very new age, some gigantic temples, many hippiysh looking Western kids, all dishevelled and very very dirty, the unwanted children of Mother India, face encircled by Medusa-like dreadlocks, dirty bodies, hippish ragged clothes, all searching the meaning of life or just enjoying smoking some pot here....Many Indians pilgrims too, a busy activity, cows, donkeys, dogs, sadhus everywhere, a busy but quite pleasant little neighbourood. It feels less intense than Haridwar, quieter somehow, less people, less pilgrims...We stroll around, avoiding the jeeps, cars, rickshaws honking like mad, the noise is so overpowering, they all honk constantly and so loudly, nothing compares to that, Vietnam seems so quiet now in comparison. I enjoy the walk, the Ganges looks nice, even pure, we walk around then decide to go back to our hill as Fab is tired, fed up and we need some food and rest, we eat just around our little guesthouse, then reach our bedroom. We are both full of dirt, dust, this country is unbelievable, 5 minutes in the street and we are covered in a thick coat of dust!!! It is all too much for Fab tonight, he has to sleep, tomorrow will be better. I sit down and write, reflecting on those last few days here. A country of paradoxes really, love and hate, poverty and richness, spirituality and dollars-rupees capitalism, beauty and ugliness everywhere, dirt dirt dirt but also peaceful, beautiful women in their colourful saris, kids smiling, sweet little cows on the roads! Lets see what tomorrow brings us.

09/05
Today we go for a walk and stroll to another area, Swarg Ashram, a nice walk along the river, trying to forget the smell and the garbage falling in the water, looking, observing the people, the sadhus: sadhus are men who have abandoned their families to travel India's sacred sites and dedicate thier lives to worhsip, many look more like beggars to us...so many ashrams and yoga centres here. We stop in a nice bookshop and get some books about yoga, India and spirituality to get in the mood. Tomorrow we are entering a retreat in a small ashram outside of town, meditation, silence, yoga for a week. Seems exciting...we are also looking for a perfect place to adjust to India, feel OK here and rest a bit.

10/05
We take our time, get ready, I have been unwell for few days, stomach pain and feel a bit weak so it feels hard for me to leave this morning even if we both feel it is going to be great doing the retreat, in a peaceful setting far from the agitation...We manage to walk across town with our heavy bags, a challenge, many people, a bridge, many cars, cows, honks, noise and the heat!! Fab tries to negotiate a taxi to take us to the ashram, 6 kms away in the mountains but it is hard...We finally meet an Indian man who is going in the same direction and share a car the three of us....After a bumpy road and little journey on this jeep, we reach Phool Chatti Ashram. The ahram is in a fantastic location, in the mountains but very close to the sacred Ganges river. The ashram is formed of few little white buildings and our room while very basic (bucket shower outside) has a view of the river and some great mountains, it is so quiet and peaceful...We feel happy! Just nature, the river and this small spiritual place. Today we are free, we arrived early, we go for a walk along the Ganga, we look around, get used to the place...Some participants arrive too, we chat, discover...A nice day. We feel better, much more relaxed in this calm setting, the atmosphere in the ashram is nice and quiet! At 7pm, we participate in the temple pooja for the gods (the worship ritual) held in the courtyard, after the ringing of the bell (waking up the gods), we sing along for Shiva, play instruments and recitate mantras...a spiritual moment with the ashram community. The nigt is pleasant, we feel relaxed and happy here.

11/05
Today is the first day of our retreat, the induction day, we have the morning free then meet after lunch to get the programme, the rules of the place...Bucket shower cold, a hot day in front of us...This retreat has been designed to promote the integrated health of body, mind and spirit. It is a strong introduction to the yoga tradition, but not as we know it in the West, reducing it to the asanas (the body postures, the physical aspects of yoga), here there will be many yoga exercises, meditation, breathing techniques, contemplative walks and lectures on hinduism and yoga traditions. It will be interesting and challenging as we have to wake up and start meditate at 6 am everyday!!! After an intro, we are quite a big group around 25, many nationalities and ages, and a group of young American doing a retreat trip in India. First talk today then a first hatha yoga session! Hard with the heat but we both enjoy it, also commenting on the lack of flexibility of our bodies and their stiff ways...Diner all together in silence, eating the chapathi, rice, curd, vegetables and dhal which would be our lunch, dinner everyday for the next week!! We each get a massive metal plate with different compartments, a spoon and a cup, we have to keep them for the next week too and wash them after each meal with water and soap! Back to basics here....but we will adjust very easily. We have to go to bed early as the bell rings at 5.30 am every morning for the meditation...I cannot sleep, very excited, anxious too, some silly issues such as 'how will I manage to do a meditation session, some yoga and breathings excercises from 6am till 9m without breakfast?' Fab sleeps quietly and seems relaxed,I am pleased he joined in this spirtitual adventure and agreed to come here to experience it with me.

12/05
It is Fab's birthday and it will be our first full day at the retreat, hard to celebrate as we have to keep silent from the evening meditation (last time) until lunchtime...we make eyes contact, share few kisses and small talks in our bedroom but then ...silence!!! So hard to hear the bell at 5am, I rush to get a cold bucket shower in 5 minutes then the day starts....Meditation from 6 to 6.30 only half an hour but so hard to keep still, at peace and focus on your breath, I juggle around as my back is painful, my thoughts are mad, the famous monkey mind jumping from one branch to the next, and I feel sleepy...
We then do some chanting (recitating some om mantras) then some yogic cleansing (jala neti: nasal cleansing: warm salted water is made flow from one nostril to the next) to rid the body of mucus. After that, we have a pranayama session, some respiration control excercises to increase energy and focus. Then it is time for a yoga session, I feel exhausted today and find it hard to have nothing in my belly (even if I ate a mini banana at 5am!!). The asana practice is gentle this morning, some hata yoga, we coordinate our movements, stretch, do some asanas (postures), I feel so annoyed at my lack of flexibility but it takes time and our yoga teacher, Lalita ji, the instructor of the ashram's yoga program emphasis that yoga is for life, and it is only the beginning....I try to stretch properly and keep in balance, not do some wrong movements, a big effort! I look at Fab and he is really enjoying it.
Then it is 9 am and after this full on morning (and again it is only 9am!!) the bell rings and it is time for breakfast, I find the silence hard, difficult to be around people, to sit with them, especially Fab and not share. After this hour, we meet again at 10 am to go for a contemplative walk, we walk to a waterfall in silence, trying to look at things without labelling them, obersving them with focus and walking mindfully in nature...It is weird to walk like that and hard under the sun, a big climb until we reach the waterfall, many including Fab bath in the fall, I watch and relax...breaking the rules a bit exchaning few words with some nice people, including Katarina, an Austrian girl who has been travelling for three months in India, our room's neighbour. Back to the ashram, and lunchtime already, the same dishes are served, we eat calmly, we observe silence until after lunch, the joy of sharing, speaking and drinking chai!!! We are free till 3pm, we rest, relax in our room, sleep as we feel soooooo tired then we all meet again for the discussion and lecture time, we talk about yoga philosophies. Yoga means union, the union of the individual soul with the Universal spirit in the Indian beliefs. We could say that yoga is the union of the body with the mind and the mind with the soul.
I like the idea that yoga and meditation are universal, that they are tools for the spiritual and physical developments of the individual. After that we do an ashtanga yoga session, a more strenuous, active type of yoga, it is hard, we both sweat (the all group struggles and sweats a lot), the flow is quicker, the asanas are more challenging...I struggle and again am aware of my body limitations. Time for a bath in the Ganga, it is cold, and women have to bath with long clothes, so it will be just a careful cautious dip, no head in it....The river is nearly at its source here, so it is supposed to be clean, on top of being holy, cleansing you of all your sins and regenerating, so cold so very enjoyable though!! Bathing here is part of the retreat activities and feels nice....despite the clothes and my worries about the water!!
Little time until the ceremony, the evening ritual then dinner time at 7.30 (again the same but quite good, I guess we will start to feel frustrated after few days..)then a guided meditation before entering silence and going to bed at 9am-10pm!! We struggle not to communicate, to share our impressions, feelings, specially when we are in the bedroom.....hard to ignore each other but we manage to stay silent most fo the time. It was good but challenging too today, I start thinking again about the Vipassana meditation, the 10 days buddhist retreat in total silence and 10 hours meditation per day that I want to do in Dharamsala but wonder how I could manage as even two hours a day of seated meditation are difficult...Fab enjoyed the day too, I feels positive, he left aside the spiritual bits that are not for him but is determined to gain more knowledge and practice yoga as he is enjoying it....and loving the peace here, all very SHANTI!

13/05
A similar day, same schedule, waking up doesn't get easier yet!! We struggle in the asanas, in the morning meditation, some people fall asleep. We do some lauging yoga, laugh like crazy and it is really fun! The meditative walk is nice, we go to a small river, walk on some small paths, bathe, we relax then Fab and I come back early, to rest, relax, our bodies are aching and we feel tired! I skip the ashtanga session as I am worried I will overstretch my body and feel lazy, very bad!! Dinner time then the meditation is a chanting one tonight, it is all about vibrations. We repeat a mantra, sacred chant in a loop, nowhere else has the potency of sound been investigated as in India and it is really powerful. The Aum vibration (we sing the aum shanti shanti very often here) is so powerful and so universal!! I really enjoy this meditation, I forget time, place and get in a sort of transe...The energy is great in the group and I really feel some vibrations, energy going on...A beautiful strong moment for me...deep... Fab then tells me we sang for 45 minutes non stop!!!! I am touched and really wonder if there are ways to free oneself from emotions, intelligence and instincts...Bed time already...

14/05
Same routine, still hard to wake up, but the yoga sessions the meditation moments are great. I really want to play the game today and not speak but it is impossible as we are two. Fab goes for the walk in the morning, I rest, write, stay in the ashram. It is getting hotter now, hard to cope with the heat around 45 degres, the schedule and I really want to focus this week but it is not easy. The day goes on, again resting, yoga, meditation, talking to the group, very nice people from all over the world, Inge from Asutralia, Ralph from Germany, Pinard from Turkey, Lisette from Holland and Kevin from England, with Katharina are some of the people we really like here.

15/05-16/05
Days are very similar, with some nice moments, reading, observing the lightning in the evenings from our terrace, swimming in the Ganga, meditating. We both feel happy here, some sort of emerging exhilaration, we are happy to learn to control our minds, I personally really want to find peace in the only place possible in India: within me...Slowly we fall under the spell, we start to love being here, this ashram is special, the Ganga is tumultuous here, many waves, movements, the river is quick, running, and the mountains despite being so dry are still serene and beautiful. On the saturday eve, we have a big bonfire on the bank of the Ganga, as a present to the group each person has to sing a song from its country, we sing together 'la vie en rose'!!! Guitars, fire, some hippish kids joigning us from the rainbow beach (true!!, a hippish community living on a nearby beach!!). We finish the eve on our terracce a small group of us talking about trips, retreats, life etc etc...We go to bed, tomorrow is the last day, finishing at lunchtime but we have decided to stay few more days here to keep the peace and the quietness.

17/05
Wake up at 5am, maybe for the last time, then meditation, yoga, cleansing excercise, we then have to meet up all cleaned up at 11am for the fire ceremony...the final farewell as a group. We have been told to write on a piece of paper what we want to get rid of within ourselves (thoughts, habits, anger etc etc) and bring the paper to burn it during the ceremony...a bit like leaving in the Ganag what you don't want! We all sit in two circles, chanting some mantras and throwing soome special herbs in the fire, 108 times, before throwing our paper in the fire. It is a beautifl ceremony, a nice group vibration, we all feel a bit sad and happy at the same time, we take pictures, have a last lunch together and some of us leave. Some stay, we rest, we talk about what to do next, when to go, we go for a walk, a swim along the river then dinner and rest. Fab goes into town with Lisette and Kevin to look for train tickets, it feels hard for him to get back into the craziness. I stay in the sanctuary, enjoy the peace!! We are sad it is ending, we both loved it, the structure helped us, we aim to keep doing yoga and meditate to feel healthier and at peace. In the eve, one of the dogs goes missing and our yoga treacher Lalita-Ji is very upset, we all take our torches and go in search of the dog...walking in the darkness...nobody finds it, but it comes back few hours later!!!!!

18/05
We sleep late this morning, then Fab goes back into town to sort out the tickets, we are finally going to Dharamsala by bus tomorrow with Kevin, it will be easier to tavel as 4 people. I rest, go for a walk, watch the river, sit and read, Lisette and I go for a bath in the Ganga then last eve, we pack, feel a bit sad but excited..anxious too as it feels so peaceful here, we want to come back maybe before the end of the trip to the ashram as there will be no more retreats, just pilgrims and the staff.

19/05
We wake up really early to go for walk at 6am and do some pranayamas (breathing excercises) on the bank of the Ganga, so pleasant and the light is amazing, then we meet up with Kay, one of our teachers, she has offered to teach us a last yoga session, it will be ahstanga this morning on a balcony waching the river!!! We are only 4 of us, it feels like a private lesson!! So nice and energising, it is challenging, hard to keep the momentum from one posture to the next, so many dynamic movements but we are really enjoying it!! Sweat sweat sweat, last chai, last breakfast then we sadly leave the ashram around 11ish to carry our big bags on such a long journey...first we try to hitchhike to get to Laksman Jhula, after a moment waiting and sweating, we negotiate a jeep to the town, then take a rickshaw to Rishikesk then another bus to Dehradun!!! After few hours we arrive in this capital to find out the next cheap bus for Dharamsala has left before us, the next one is at 5pm and it is deluxe!! Well, we have to take this one, after a quick lunch in the dirty station, we board on our deluxe bus (a normal bus really but with AC and proper seats reclinable) for a 13 hours journey in to the Himalayas!!! The bus is full of Tibetans, very few Indians and just the 4 of us as tourist....we already feel we are going in a different country, Dharamsala is called Little Lhassa, MacLeod Ganj, where we are going, is the spiritual centre of exiled Tibetan Buddhism, and the exiled Tibetan goverment, the town of the Daila Lama, a tiny settlement perched on a ridge of the Himalayan foothills. It is a long journey, sinuous mountainous roads, Fab manages to get some sleep, I cannot, I have cramps in my belly, start to feel ill, and sleeping while the road is turning so much is not an option! Little hell but somehow manageable, the ashram retreat has made us stronger and more at peace, India seems easier now, we feel lighter, able to cope more and we even start to love this crazy intense place.

First days in India: Delhi and Haridwar

3/05
We leave Colombo and after a short flight arrive in Delhi. We get an airport pickup and the driving feels mad, loads of people walking everywhere. It feels busy already, intense. We arrive in Pahar Ganj, the Delhi seedy area full of bacpackers and cheap hotels. We settle down in the Hotel Cottage Yes Please, fairly recent and clean. I go for a quick look around, many cars, rickshaws, cows, many people and then we have some food in the restaurant across the street. Quick walk in the bazar to have our first impressions. We feel tense, anxious, it is so different...A realy dirty and dirt road (the street is in really bad state) but it is late and the street is not too busy. Few cloth and souvenir shops around and apart from a couple of guys, not many people seem to care about us too much. Bed time and we find it hard to rest.

4/05
Wake up. We then have breafast across the street, we can already feel the heat and the dust. We go for a walk in the area, Pahar Ganj, trying to walk in the middle of rickshaws, cars, cows, many people, managing our ways in the dust inside the bazaar and side alleys. Val starts getting oppressed by the men looking at her in her 'chest eyes'. She feels vulnerable and rather disturbed by it. We have been warned, Indian men stare and stare and never stop staring..We will find some more Indian clothes for her as many female travellers advise her to protect herself that way....We then take the metro to Connaught Place. So different again, a certain order here, in the middle of the chaos. We go to a travel agent for some info and he is trying to sell us a package holiday with driver and all the bling...We walk around, oberving the masses, the people around. We take the tube back and it is amazing to see some endless lines of people queueing in a way never seen before!! So organised and quiet!!!Not indian at all!!! Londoners could only be ashamed in comparison of the calm and order of the users here. Each door has two waiting lines, each composed of no less than 50 people...okay it was our mistake, it's rush hour!!! Stormy weather, the rain starts, lightnings. We walk in the streets back to the hotel, the dust blown by strong wind...Dinner at a corner eatery (local). We are the only foreigners in that one, the kids stare at us. Feels strange as they look but with an empty glaze. Is this curiosity, challenge, arrogance? They don't look down...we smile, they smile back...The area is not brilliant but we could get used ot it, even the dirt, if it wasn't for the constant mad noise, the horns, the shouts, the real assault on our sense is through our ears here...

5/05
Today is sightseeing day. We have booked a car with a driver to take us around Delhi as there are many areas to visit and under 45 degres, it seems mad to struggle and walk around. Our driver, Gail, a devout sikh, is going to take around all day. Old Delhi first, to see Jama Masjid, the mosque very sobre, we walk through the market, and through an extremely poor area, it feels weird to walk through this. No bad feeling about security, more...disgusted! We are now dealing with a real indian street, crowded, poors, beggars, cows, dust, rubbish everywhere, bad smells...amazing how people don't seem to be affected by it!!! We see the Red Fort from outside (the one in Agra is apparently similar but more beautiful), a lovely red stone fortress built by a Moghol emperor in the 17th century. We also see a Jain temple and its bird hospital on the way. We then visit Taj Ghat, the Gandhi memorial, in a beautiful garden, with only a black stone with a burning flame. The place is peaceful and many Indian come here to pay their respect to the Nation founder. We have food in a very posh restaurant, our driver refuses to let us eat in small cheapies!! We then visit New Delhi in the afternoon, it is more airy, big avenues, we see the India Gate, Humayun's tomb, the Parliament and government House, Gandhi's killing place and then our driver takes us to a big Sikh Temple. It is the second temple in the country (18-20,000 devotes a day). We get in, covered, walk around, observe the devouts, see the rituals, it is nice and feels intimate and quiet despite of the crowd. After a short break, we go to the train station to book some tickets. An adventure in itself, crossing the station, the many many people, the crowd, finding the right place, getting our tickets...a struggle..like many things here, so many contrasts, such plurality in everything, religiosity everyhwere, business like mad, uncoherent mixes... We realise it will take time to adjust...We go to a nice cafe for meal, we have some chai across the road from the hotel, then bedtime.

06/05
We take it easy this morning. A quick shopping session to try and find more appropriate clothing for Val. We stroll in the main bazar and stop for lunch in the small canteen around the corner. We have our thali and the very good chai from the old man across the street before heading off to the station. We hire a cyclo-rickshaw and climb on the small seat with the bags behind us. It is a bit of an epic, we're obviously so heavy, the guy sweats like mad, it is hot. The driver smiles to us, a smile on which we can read the pain. Val feels so guilty, but I sort of don't. He's a proud guys and I respect him for that. He works hard and we pay him a price probably relevant to the effort. We're trying to adjust our good-thinking European mentalities to the indian way. It is hard, believe me. But a man who works will be able to afford some food and some kind of accomodation. I prefer hiring this rickshaw-wallah rather than the tuk-tuk guy. The last one charges more for the same journey (same duration also), but without any effort. The road is bumpy and full of potholes, there is not much left of the tarmac, the ride is not comfortable but we get to the station. We load our backpacks on our backs and start crossing the station grounds, scattered with litters, beggars, entire homeless families, other families waiting for their unprobable train, the queues are so long for the cheap second class or unreserved seats, that some of them will maybe wait for a day or two to get on one of the trains. We make our way around them, slowly progressing through the station, smiling at people smiling at us, being stared at by others we stare at back, smiling again. This is crazy, nice, mad, demential, interesting, infuriating, entertaining, confusing, annoying, amusing, irritating, funny, strange, weird and god knows what. Hence the warning from everybody and the stressful constant announces from the rail company for watching belongings, suspicious passengers, potential terrorists, pickpockets, street kids...where the f*** are we!!!!!??? I acknowledge that I freak out a bit, but there is nothing threatening around here...If you ever buy a guide book to visit India, please start by ripping the danger and annoyance pages...It is mad but somehow manageable!
We find our train and talk a bit with a guy from Austria. We board our conditioned coach (it's about 40 degrees inside!!) and soon set off to the North in direction of Haridwar. The train is packed with indian tourists, all of them middle and upper middle class. We will not have much of an experience here as we are not in the popular carriages but didn't feel adventurous for our first trip in train!! We slowly leave the megacity of Delhi, going through the suburbs, some clean, some nearly like slums, with kids running naked on the piles of garbage, some digging in the hope of an item they'll be able to exchange for a few rupees, rubbish in the water, waterfalls of garbage in the fields. We then pass the dry landscapes of the countryside and finally reach our destination just after sunset. The near entire carriages unloads here. The hussle and bustle carries on when we thought it would become easier!!!Loud noise, horns, shoutings. The dark helps, but hundreds of people walk around us, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws (tuk-tuks), horns, buses, cows, dogs, beggars...Wow...we walk along the dark and murky road to end up in our hotel. Not nice, but we don't want to walk around at night so heavily loaded...We were expecting something quite nice, but the rooms are tired, not really dirty (a bit though), bear...It is far from the luxury of our Sri Lanka Palaces...We are desperate to go somewhere else nicer but what will we find at this time? After a long chat, we decide to take the room and go for a walk around the small streets of the bazar and check some other place on the way for tomorrow. The city is busy with pilgrims, we are the only Westerners around, but it feels fine. There are many small streets, alleyways, tons of ashram all around the place, some ghats, a busy markets, some bridges with many sadhus (spiritual local wise men), a strange and very religious atmosphere.

7/05
Short night. Wake up late today for Val's birthday, a bit tired and apprehensive. We have recovered and try to think pink for this special day. After breakfast we go for a walk in the bazar in direction of Har-Ki-Pairi, a very holy ghat on the pilgrimage route to the Ganges sources. We were aware of the fact that Haridwar is full of Indian tourists and that the summer holidays are taking place now, but the city is buyant, a continuous flow of people arriving from the entire country but it feels that we weren't fully prepared. Not scared or anything bad but during the past four months we haven't encountered this intensity...
We arrive at the ghat surrounded by Sadhus and Holy Saints of hindhuism and beggars and poor pilgrims and middle class pilgrims, bathing, taking pictures, I get a street guys to show me a King Cobra straight under his nose (but alive and not to be eaten this one, spine shivers...), the place is definitely holy but there is some kind of paradox that it is more a spa but also an asylum...it is very strange. It is so disturbing and confusing. Poverty is overwhelming, noise is omnipresent, motorbikes, auto-rickshaws, cars, lorries are honking constantly, even close to your face, swerving in front of your nose in such a normality that is so unsettling. I don't think we've ever felt in danger anywhere because of the traffic but there is this 'so be it' attitude here from everyone that makes my heart pump sometimes.
Because we feel slightly overstimulated we decide to go and hide in the only 'nice' restaurant of the town. It's air conditioned, but overlooking the street behing thick glass. At least we can enjoy watching the stream of people and avoid the shouting loudspeakers, honks reving engines and bells. All our senses are overloaded, and we feel a bit lost...We catch ourselves spotting westerners. There aren't many of them...far from it!!!
We want something special today...but it is a bit in its own way. India way. We have no reference here, everything is different and we sort of look around trying to find something. There is some sort of vertigo, a whirling that takes us. We have a quick walk to check the buses to Rishikesh after lunch, feeling a bit more relaxed and ready to confront our surrounding but 20 metres later we feel tense again. India will be a complete and unique experience, we have to learn new skills to be able to cope with the singularity and forget about plans, as it seems it is always changing here. We rest again and then go for a walk in the market, I buy Val some small pink bracelets for her birthday, we then go to see the ceremony at Har Ki Pairi, it is a fascinating fire ceremony but a bit scary as the ghat is really crowded by thousand of pilgrims, offering flowers and candles in some small boats to the Ganges, mother of river. Flowers, powder, incense, flames, gurus, pilgrims, a fabulous mix! Amazing to see such a mass of humanity: the pilgrims with long hairs, bright saris, some smells: shit and burning onions, incense and urine, sandalwood and spices...We try to reduce the sensory overload from time to time by closing our eyes but you can still feel the buzz. Spirituality everywhere here. We then go for dinner in the nice restaurant again. We manage to find an internet cafe, in the middle of the street and Val checks her birthday emails, she needs it, we both have to feel strong and it will be an education this raw humanity around us!!

The Villa!

27/04
We leave the hotel around 10 am and leaving Colombo is not easy, many military checkpoints, policemen everywhere, guns in their hands, we suddenly feel we are in a country devastated by conflict in a state of emergency, after 4 hours of coach, driving along the coast, looking at villages and seeing the blue sea, we reach our destination the Villa Victoria in Talpe, a true magical place!!The villa is breathtaking, two aisles with wood everywhere, old shutters, 5 bedrooms (we will be ten this week) old genuine antique Indian furniture, paradise garden with coconut trees, a swimming pool and a fabulous view over the beach! It has been created to be a home away from home and it feels magical!! We even have some staff members, a cook and a house dog Billie!! We all feel enthusiastic, a really luxurious amazing house!!!We spend the rest of the day swimming, resting and looking at the indian ocean, a tranquil atmosphere, a really restful house! We watch the sunset on the beach, it feels like we have entered paradise!!!

28/04
The day is spent lazing around in the villa, observing the waves, the sea, the coconut trees, the frangipani trees, swimming, talking together, sleeping, reading in the pool, a paradise!!
So cool to have our lunch and dinner prepared by the villa's chef and to laze around, we both feel we need that time to feel on holidays to recharge our batteries before the next BIG challenge: India! We relax, rest in a magical environment! It feels so secluded and protected, we are so not in touch with the conflict that is devastating the country up north. We hear the violence has escalated and that the LTTE is still encircling people in the north. So sad but so weird to be in a paradise and so close to a violent conflict.

29/04
After a little swim in the pool, Fab and I decide to go for a walk,to discover the beach and explore the coast, it is wonderful, lovely beaches, wild, white and black sand, active sea, lots of waves, the water is green, turquoise, and the places are delightfully unexploited by mainstream tourism. It is beautiful, fishermen on their stilts, nice villas and villages, again very clean. We observe the people, the natural wonders and it is great!! The waves are too big to swim but I manage to dip myself in the water. So nice to stroll gently with my man and the dog Billie who comes with us all the time, a great walking companion!! After so much sport, we have to rest!!The afternoon is spent chilling out, lazing around, swimming, reading in the pool and then it is time to celebrate our birthdays in advance!!! A BBQ has been organised, lobsters, gigantic shrimps, some champagne and creme caramel!!So nice to feel loved and surrounded, thanks to our friends!!! A really lovely eve!

30/04
We spend the morning chilling out in the villa, swimming, chatting, reading under the sun then after a fish soup the 4 of us decide to go visit Galle which used to be a very important port until the 19th century. We take the local bus, noisy but fun, and arrive in town, after looking around the new city, we make our way to the old part of town, the Fort, with its remparts and fortifications. It is hot and sunny and we are strolling gently, slowly, stopping to eat rotis and looking at shops, dreaming of buying old derelict hospitals or colonial houses to renovate! The fort is really interesting to visit, many small Dutch houses, narrow streets, boddhi trees, mosque, churches, greek temples, remparts, old gates, all those buildings were protected from the Tsunami thanks to the fortifications. So nice to walk in a town full of history, it is a really good well preserved colonial era city, it feels very Dutch and very colonial, so interesting and lovely too, watching the sun, walking on the fortifications, observing life, people around us. After a bit more shopping in the new town, we have to meet with Marie and Xavier (friends and guests at the wedding) who are in town for one night, we bargain hard to get a tuk tuk to take the 4 of us to their hotel! A mad fun drive, the tuk tuk is too heavy and I am on top of Fab, lying on Bertrand and the driver is struggling to keep the tuk tuk straight, we then arrive at the hotel to find out that our friends left this morning: complete mix up with dates and mobile phones messages arriving too late!!! What a shame!!We have a drink the 4 of us there, thinking of them, then decide to stay out for dinner, baby Timeo is looked after by his grannies so the parents can stay out late! We find a little local cafe and stuff our faces (literally) with parathas, kuthis and rotis, so good, we are the local attraction, people come to watch us eat, again we find the Sri Lankan very nice, very chatty, very friendly people. After this cheap feast, we decide to take the local bus home, and start to wait for 25 minutes at a corner of a street, buses go past us and never stop!!!Then somebody tells us, after having watched us for half an hour that it is not the place to stop bus and that there is a bus stop nearby!!! What a laugh!! We then go and wait, wait, wait at the bus stop, a tuk tuk driver is waiting for us to be fed up and do business with him, but we wait despite buses going again and never stopping too full or not going to our place!! Then suddenly what seems to be a big red bus stops, as we waive for it and we go and jump in it, it is NOT a bus but a big lorry, looking like a bus but the two drivers agree to take us home, we have a fun ride, laughing in the noisy lorry, imagining the tuk tuk driver seeing us jump in the lorry, so much fun!!! The noise is mad in the driver cabin and we all try to recognise the sights close to our village, hop we are home, thanks for a great hitch-hiking moment! The end of the eve is a bit dampened by finding out that baby Timeo has been ill again, many guests here have been affected by belly issues. Sandra and Bertrand will call a doctor tomorrow to check it is OK. I struggle with a big migraine and managed to fall asleep in pain...

01/05
We both wake up late, Fab goes into town with Sandra and Bertrand, I stay in the villa with the rest of the group, they are leaving tonight, we are leaving tomorrow, I want to read, rest, write, enjoy the view of the sea. Fab is going to book the Delhi hotel and do some shopping. Baby Timeo is still weak, and the doctor has been called in, a bad gastro, contagious so he needs to rest and be rehydrated today! Later after dinner, the group is reducing in number, Bertrand's family is heading back to France. Only 6 of us left tonight including baby!

02/05
Sandra, Fab and I wake up in the morning and visit a sea turtle hatchery. Endangered species eggs are being artificially hatched in order to try and maintain the population of the beautiful animals. We learn a little bit about the process, the charity buiyng the eggs from the local fishermen and burried in sand in a protected compound. When the turles hatch, they are being released in the sea under tight supervision so a maximum number of babies survive. Nature still does the selection after all, but more babies make it to the water. We see Green Turtles, Hawksbill, Loggerhead which head looks a little bit like a dog...Sandra and I pick some babies up (Leatherbacks), the tiny animal holding in the palm of our hand. It is funny to think that they will grow so big a few decades on...
We come back to the villa enjoying another fun bus ride before our lunch, we mange to spend few hours in the pool before going back to Colombo. A few hours later, we're back in the heavily policed and militarised city. We walk to get some dinner in a local, and stop on the way to the Cinnamon Grand Hotel (a palace) to have an ice-cream. The place is hosting one of those impressive wedding in the main atrium. Women in colourful saris, men in elegant suits, gigantic bunch of flowers. We watch the show...and return to the hotel to sleep through our last night in pamperland!!! A bit anxious as we are leaving for Delhi tomorrow and have so many expectations and fears about India!How will it be? Will we struggle? It will feel strange to get back on our bacpaking adventure, after having been pampered and in a group...but it is time to start the journey alone again.

03/05
We wake up and meet up with Sandra, Noelle, Timeo and Bertrand to enjoy a last breakfast. We've had a fantastic holiday, we've spent some time with dear friends. In a few hours we'll be in Delhi but the story will be different. We're looking forward to it but we're also a bit apprehensive. Fab especially. The holiday did him loads of good, the comfort, the good food, going back to a familiar surrounding, settling down in one place for while...and not having to deal with the bags...We're excited because we will go back to a more normal and real life, closer to the roots and to the people also. Luxury is fantastic but the drawback being that one tends to live cut off the realities of a place. But for a holiday it is priceless!!

Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Colombo

22/04
We leave in the morning for Kandy. En route we stop to visit a spice garden in Matale then drive through geometric fields of rice paddies, forests, wild flowers and amazing vegetation, very lush. We arrive at the end of the afternoon at our next palace, the Amaya Hills in the mountains around Kandy, a charming hill capital, 465 metres above sea level. The city is nice, with valleys, hills, temples, shrines. After a good rest, we set off to visit some gem stone shops, in which we finally decide not to go. A little later we visit the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. The tooth relic was brought to SL and became the most sacred object of worship in the country. It's a public worship, with the ceremony starting with trumpets and heavy drum beats, an unforgettable spectacle. It's a very beautiful temple, comprising wood and stone carving, wood painted walls, stone friezes, frescoes depicting the story of the Tooth, and its miracles. The temple is quite impressive. We attend a ceremony where devotees pay their respect to the Tooth, some sort of beautifully carved stone box containing the remains of the Buddha. But the process is quite ruled and we do not have too much time to look at any of the main relics, but we do get a gist of the importance of the pilgrimage. The place is very holy and any room it contains is very well maintained and decorated. The people present here in large number are patiently waiting for their turn and everybody is impressively well dressed up. Then we visit the grounds of the temple and slowly make our way back to the hotel, nice dinner, chat and bed time already.

23/04
After a good night we set off to visit the botanic gardens of Peradeniya, spread over 50 hectares, and containing many species of trees and plants. Along the walk we discover trees onto which thousands of giant bats hang head down in an eery and screekie scream. Some of them fly in order to cool down. It is rather special... Beautiful plants and flowers, some with an incredible flashy turquoise-blue tint, giant fig trees. It is a very relaxing start of the day. We spend the afternoon at an elephant orphanage, see the massive baby elephant milk bottle feeding (each is around 5 litres and each elephant needs a good half dozen of them). We then cross the road and head for lunch over the river. Just as the food is arriving, so is a herd of hundreds of elephants, going to the river for their daily bath. The moment is magical and each one of us really gets hysterical... The experience is absolutely magical, some elephants dip in the water completely with only their trunk (or their bum!) sticking out of the water. The little baby elephants are also present, the young ones playing or even wrestling in (giant) splashes of water. The rain starts to fall and the colour of the sky and the river change to a golden colour. What a background, what an experience...we're delighted, we take our fruit plates and go feed the big animal. They come and pick the fruit with the end of their long trunk, funnily terminated by some sort of finger that allow them to literally grab the smallest edible things. The enormous and imposing animals are however very delicate and gently pick the pieces of delicacy we hand them out...we love it...Such a nice moment! Us, adults feel like children again in this magicval setting!
At the end of this lovely afternoon we return to Kandy to attend a traditional dance performance. The show is split in different parts and scenes, alternatively showing aspara dances, warriors, musicians etc. The entire show is accompanied by drums and the dances slowly become acrobates, jugglers and stuntmen. The dresses and costums are colourful and the show is quite spectacular. Back at the hotel we meet up with Marie and Xavier for drinks after a massage for Fab and Bertrand and a reflexology session for Val. It feels nice to relax, visit and not worry about anything!!

24/04
Today will be another beautiful day. We leave Kandy for Nuwara Eliya, not in the tour bus, but by train. This journey is one of the most beautiful route and way to explore Sri Lanka. The track climbs up the hill to the mountain town in the middle of tea plantations and overlooking the valleys, rivers and waterfalls. Lanscapes are breathtaking and superb. Men and women working in the plantations hand picking tea leaves, in a sublime combination of tendre green leaves and colourful saris... On the train, locals play music, sing, watch the rolling lanscape, take pictures and films, interact with us. All eyes keep looking outside, and all of us spend time switching between our sits and the train steps, sticking our head or our entire bodies out of the open door and windows. Kids smile to us, play with us, the train officer literally falling in love with Timeo and plays with him the entire length of the trip. Station after stations we progress, stopping here and there, watching the ancient tradition of the toll ring catching. After this very scenic and spectacular train ride, we reach the Nuwara Eliya Grand Hotel. The hotel is one of the relics of the British empire, a very beautiful colonial building, very exclusive, but quite old. All the rooms and corridor and made of dark wood, in a Victorian style. We feel like going back in time, a suspended time. We team up with Sandra, Bertrand and Timeo for a walk to the town centre and visit bazaars and old market. We leave them for further explorations but the town is quite small and does not offer much to see. We all have dinner together and some of us go to the old bar for a snooker lesson we've arranged with the bar tender, stuck in his mid 1800's all white costume!! The snooker tables (3 of them) are enormous and sometimes receive Sri Lankan and international tournaments. It is a real honour and experience to play on a 120 year old snooker table, brought here by the first colons on the back of elephants from Colombo!

25/04
Today we take our bus to Colombo, through the beautiful tea plantations again. Pretty much same route as the train but closer to everything. We also make a couple of stops for lunch and tea. The road is quite challenging and bends are numerous. Late afternoon we arrive at our next palace, another British empire heritage splendour, the Galle Face Hotel, on the sea front in the middle of Colombo. Once again, a stunning colonial influence building with a great swimming pool, in which we all have a swim after a straining day on the bus. We watch a beautiful sunset under the American embassy mirradors and machine guns and coastguard boats patrols...weird!We feel the city is under alert and that the war is not so far, many police patrols, military men in the streets but the hotel feels like a secluded palace...while outside there is a certain tension.

26/04
Today is shopping day and we trek aboard tuk-tuk to the fashion malls and shops of Colombo. We have lunch in a local eatery with Bertrand and Olivier. More military presence and few stops at police checkpoints but not much more than that...again so strange for a country in conflict! We spend some more time in the swimming pool and do absolutely nothing else at all...Little note on this; we both start feeling something is missing a bit and slowly realise that we did not have to organise anything for our stay. This is a holiday, pure and simple. The buzz of looking for an accommodation for the night has disappeared. How did we get to and from any place? Where is the dodgy hotel, the grubby room, the badly wired electricity, the shabby backpackers, the disfunctional air-con (forget this last one, we found it!), where is the bloody heavy bag (21.5kg!!) that has been killing Fab's back for too long?????? Where are we?? What's happening??? Which planet is this??? Is this normal?????? Well, yes, in the world of luxury travel and four or five stars hotel, all of this is normal...We are being pampered. It feels REALLY good. Nothing to worry about, we're being taken care of! For a while...but we also long to get back to our backpacking experience. For the moment we are enjoying the friends, the lovely palaces, the safety and luxury feeling.