Smiles and Awakening
16 Friday Feb 2018
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in16 Friday Feb 2018
Posted Uncategorized
inNow of course, trees do not speak. At least, not in the usual way, though sometimes, when the wind stirs in them, they are known to sing songs that are soft and shifting, but to the creatures, both old and new, there is an understanding of the language of trees and grasses and leaves, old as time itself – the Green Language.
He wished from his soul that this melancholy game of Shuffle would end, and give him peace in his bones.
Shaved and robed loonies from all nations wander the streets, fill all the ashrams, and sit around at all the coffee shops. It’s quite fantastic.
One part tourist destination, river-rafting hotspot, and one part mental asylum, Rishikesh is a world on its own.
Death stalks the bathing Ghats, but people do not fear it. Dogs gnaw at limbs on the funeral pyres, but people don’t cringe in disgust. Why should they? This is nature. Everyone and everything is caught up in the cycle. It is all temporary. Let go, and flow.
We spent many of our days wandering the mountain pathways on foot, discovering old monasteries, breath-taking mountain vistas, hidden meditation caves, and Joey’s pub, where we spent many of our nights.
Landing at Howrah train terminus, we knew we’d arrived in a city we would love. First of all, there’s a …
Indian trains use the “hole in the floor” method. Waste goes straight out onto the tracks, and so people are encouraged not to use the toilets when the train enters a station. Presumably this is ignored by many passengers, judging by what can be found on the tracks in places.
We ended up staying in Hampi for a couple of days longer than we had originally thought to do …
After a mesmerising train journey from Margao, that took us over mountains and hills reminiscent of the stories of Kipling, …