Randy's 50th birthday travel adventures

In January and February 2011 I had the fabulous opportunity to travel through Northern India and Nepal. The photos and stories in this blog document my adventures and experiences; what I saw and what I learned. My travel started in Delhi, India and then led me to the spiritual town of Rishikesh, India for a week long stay at a yoga ashram - Rishikesh Yog Peeth. After that I traveled to Khajuraho, India to view the ancient Hindu erotic temples, tour a local farming town, and spend the day at a small Indian village. Next I traveled to the holy Hindu city of Varanasi where life revolves in and around the holy Ganges River. I spent a day visiting the town of Sarnath where Buddha offered his first teachings, and which served as a pre-cursor for my trip to Nepal and the Kopan Monastery to study meditation and Buddhism. After Varanasi, I flew to Kathmandu and spent a couple of days walking the streets of the city before venturing about a half-hour above the city to the Kopan Monastery for a week-long retreat to study meditation and Buddhism. Afterward I went back to Delhi and took a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Enjoying the sights around Rishikesh

             After yoga class today, we went for a trek to see a waterfall. The ride to the falls was true Indian excitement - 3 of us on a motorcycle buzzing through town and traffic and people and of course, cows.  We followed a narrow road along the Ganges River to the trail-head. The hike was about 1/2 mile straight up to a nice waterfall. Then we walked further up the trail to a construction site when the ashram is building a new site. On an Indian time schedule, it will probably take a couple more years to complete. The only access will be the 1/2 mile trek up the mountainside, but with this view it will be well worth the effort. Once completed the new ashram should be beautiful - the location is completely isolated and the views of the surrounding mountains are magical.

          After wards we walked further up the trail to the middle of nowhere and found beautifully terraced fields, an old irrigation system, and a small mountain village. We spend time playing with the local kids and enjoying the absolute peacefulness of the village. It's absolutely the quietest place in India I have been. Before we left an old Indian woman invited us to here home to have tea in her courtyard and show us her flower garden. She started a fire to heat the water and served us marvelous chai tea. This was such a treat and a real Indian experience, and well worth the hike up the mountain to discover her and the village. We made it back alive on the motorcycle and then went into town for the evening prayer service on the banks of the Ganga.

          Later that night our yoga instructor (in the maroon shirt) told us about his conversation in Hindi with the old woman. She asked him if we wanted to come to her home for chai. He said no; she asked again and he still said no. Then she said to him to ask us (me and French guy below) if we wanted chai. He asked, and of course we said yes. He told the old lady and she said, "see, I told you so!" The photos below include our trip to the village. Hopefully you will appreciate this story when you see this dear old woman and the idyllic place where she lives.