Haridwar and Rishikesh, Uttaranchal

Haridwar is located at the point where the Ganges emerges from the Himalaya, and is a holy Hindu city. The Ganges water is actually clean here and is a shade of a beautiful blue green. We stayed here for a day and a half and stayed in an Ashram. We walked around the Ganges, attended the night puja (prayer) ceremony held at the river, and climbed up a mountain to a temple. We hopped on a bus and head an hour north to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is considered the yoga capital of the world. Many head here to study yoga and meditation at the numerous of Ashrams that are located here along the Ganges. Rishikesh is nestled in the foothills of the Himalaya's and is a perfect atmosphere to practice yoga and meditation. Kayo and I stayed in Ashram again here, but this time we participated in the daily activities of the Ashram. We got up at 6:30am to attend the morning yoga and meditation class. We learned breathing techniques and basic yoga and chanting. Later in the morning we learned lessons on the Bhagavad Gita (lessons on how to live) and again mediated. We only
did this for a few days, so you could say that we only flirted with yoga and meditation. Rishikesh is a cute little town and we had a really good time!