Hello again! It's been some time since our last entry... We have covered quite a bit of ground since then. We ended up staying in Varanasi for 2 weeks. We made our little room quite homey, complete with flowers to enhance our views over the Ganges River.
Varanasi was hard to leave, especially when surrounded by such delicacies as huge lassis (yogurt based drink) so thick they had to be eaten with a spoon. The ceramic cups are fun too, cause when you finish the drink you get to smash the cup.
If anything could motivate a big travel move, it would be India's only Surf Ashram.
3 nights, 2 trains, and a rickshaw ride later, we found ourselves in a little paradise. It was more than worth the long trip! The ashram was not only peaceful, clean (yes! clean!), and beautiful, but the people who run it have big hearts. They immediately made us feel at home, fed us home-cooked meals, and got us in the water soon after we arrived. JB caught some waves, and JL definitely perfected a headstand while on a wave. For real! Unfortunately we don't have action shots 'cause in order to get to the beach we had to paddle across a big river. More surfing to come from Central America!
The ashram was also amazing because it was at a beach with NO ONE else on it. Let me repeat: NO ONE. This is amazing for surfing, and unheard of in India. There are always people in India...but in this little sliver of paradise, the only other people there were also from the ashram. Needless to say, it was peaceful, relaxing, and very special. We were also able to bike around the sweet little village, take out kayaks, play ping pong, and watch some surf videos. This was a pretty hip place...and of course the sunsets were awesome.
We stayed at the Ashram for 3 nights...just enough time to rest up for the big trip back up north. This time it took us 2 rickshaws (a cross between a taxi/motorcycle/buggie), a bus, 2 trains, a taxi, and a bit of walking, but we got ourselves back up north to New Delhi, where we stayed for 3 nights. The first night we were fortunate enough to stay with a wonderful friend, Rohini, who made our time in Delhi easy by welcoming us into her warm home. We hope to see her again before we leave!
From Delhi we took a day trip to the Taj Mahal. Look how Indian we have become!!!
Well, almost. OK fine, here is a real picture of us:
We also visited the Agra Fort, also built by the same man who built the Taj.
It is customary for women to get henna on their arms and feet. Here is JB with a "simple" design on her hand.
Indian cities are a bit much, and after just a few days we were ready to head north and breathe in some fresh Himalaya air.
We found a great room in the town of McLeod Ganj that overlooks the valley and into the foothills of the Himalayas. These pictures are taken from our balcony.
McLeod Ganj and Dharmsala (the closest city) are the home of the exiled Tibetan Government and H.H. Dali Lama. Tibet is currently occupied by China and has endured their own Holocaust in the struggle to remain free and autonomous. India has received the Tibetan refugees with open arms and support. We are just steps from the Dali Lama's home and temple here in McLeod Ganj. The Tibetan population here embodies the compassion and warmth that the Dali Lama stands for.
We encourage you to read more about the Tibetan struggle for freedom. Free Tibet (Click Me).
We are looking forward to another 10+ days in the mountains and we will continue to hope for warm and dry weather, so please think good thoughts. We plan to spend our time doing yoga, becomming professional Tibetan cooks, and walking through the woods.
After our time here we will begin to transition to the next leg of our journey...Central America! Lots of love!
Brilliant pics of you too ! and a great sum up of your experience so far ! :) Keep it going.. miss you guys ! :)
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