Flight is booked.
My 5th visit, this time I’m going to stay in the World Heritage site of Bhaktapur outside of the city.
Trying to avoid the KathmanFlu this time.
Goal is the new Manaslu Circuit trek. Independently.
Category: travel
Rishikesh Adventure Sports
For centuries a Holy city, Rishikesh, India is today branding itself as an outdoor Adventure Sports centre. Especially for white water rafting. The Ganges here offers medium to rough rapids rated class 3 and class 4.
Bungee jumping was recently introduced, the only leap in India.
I’m here for trekking. But the trekking guides are NOT busy though it’s still high season.
My contact at Red Chili Adventures blames it on the Spring flooding which damaged many of the mountain roads. You can still see the damage here in Rishikesh.
In any case, I hope to survive a 9hr drive over those damaged roads tomorrow. En route to the Kuari Trek. Vistas of Nanda Devi.
I hear most of the flood damage has been cleaned up. In Rishkesh, it’s ongoing.
More Rishikesh photos.
Rishikesh cons
WikiTravel – Rishikesh, India:
A holy city it may be, but Rishikesh draws more than its fair share of criminals and conmen. Don’t walk around alone at night and beware of the motives of sadhus offering one-on-one tutoring. …
Hindu holy men do come to Rishikesh. But you’re not likely to find them in the main tourist areas.
Most of those are tourist sadhus. In the business of separating tourists from their money. 🙂
This guy got 100 rupees!! ($1.60) from cynical me. 😦
He’s good.
Amazing people skills. Gift of the gab.
Hits on every new Western tourist crossing the Ganges bridge.
Seems I’ve met him about a half dozen times around the world. Tall. Bald. Usually Hari Krishna. Usually in an airport.
This one says he’s Italian Swiss. Been in Rishikesh about 30 years. An itinerant Yoga teacher.
Don’t believe a word he says.
My default is never to do any business on the street.
Hindu festival Rishikesh
Just outside my hotel men & boys began constructing a giant statue of bamboo.
The pieces arrived complete. All that was needed was assembly.
By evening it was erect on the bank of the Ganges.
The party was loud and raucous. Many Western tourists joined in.
Next morning there was nothing left but charred remnants. It had been burned at some point.
Just another extravagant, confusing celebration in India. 🙂
Welcome to Rishikesh
Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, it is known as The Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas. …
Rishikesh has a permanent population of around 75,000. …
The sacred river Ganges flows through Rishikesh. It is here that the river leaves the Shivalik mountains in the Himalayas and flows out into the plains of northern India. …
… sometimes nicknamed “the world capital of Yoga” …
Not much has changed since my last visit, 14-years-ago.
Some of the Saddhus have mobile phones. And take photos of their spiritual journey.
Actually, my memory is so poor I don’t recognize much of the Holy City. Aside from the famous bridges.
Monkeys are all over town. They, along with the Holy cows, own Rishikesh.
This Holy cow directed me to an inexpensive room ($4).
It costs an extra $1 / day for WiFi for a day.
I immediately bathed in the Ganges, for it’s reputed healing powers. Hot out of the shower head, I was rejuvenated. 🙂
32 Parents Who Nailed It On Halloween
Looking for Halloween costume inspiration?
It’s Durga Purja (Dasain) where I’m at, celebrated October 11-15th this year.
… Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. …
The Goddess requires blood sacrifice. I notice the goats of Dehradun, India are eating well in the days leading up to the Festival.
I’m here getting organized to head up into the Himalaya.
my Portuguese meal
I stayed one night at Gallery Hostel in Porto, certainly the prettiest hostel I’ve ever seen.
It’s an active Art Gallery.
Click PLAY or watch a Promo video on YouTube.
Found it via TripAdvisor.com, the site I’ve been using over the past couple of years in preference to Lonely Planet.
The most luxurious dorm accommodation anywhere?
Cost was $30 / night including a wonderful breakfast. (Eggs cooked to order.)
Even better was the optional evening meal, $13.50 including all the local Douro wine you could drink. 🙂
It’s prepared by a couple of guys working at the hostel. They are keen to teach any of the visitors interested how to cook local dishes.
The economy in Portugal is still lousy. Their friends looking for opportunity go to Brazil or other former Portuguese colonies.
These tapas were my favourite. Ground sausage. Cheese. Jam.
see more photos
I had several other excellent meals in Porto. Twice the Francesinha:
literally Frenchy, or more accurately little French (female) – is the most famous popular native snack food in Porto. It is a kind of sandwich with several meats covered with cheese and a special sauce made with beer and other ingredients.
Maybe 9000 cal a plate!
love Porto
Porto, Portugal, is one of the oldest European centres, and registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. …
This “city of bridges” was built along the hills overlooking the Douro river estuary …
I made the most of my one free day in Porto, taking several walking tours. It’s very photogenic.
See all of my Porto pics in flickr High Res.
I’d arrived from Antwerp, another of the 6 charming and affordable European cities you haven’t visited yet.
Heathrow Airport security
Airport security theatre is painful.
Astonishing to me is the inefficiency and, often, public humiliation of people like sheep having their bags and bodies examined at the security check.
Heathrow Airport has the best system I’ve ever seen.
It’s obvious the trays have to be a conveyor belt. Empty trays are shuttled back to the start on the lower level.
Why don’t all airports buy these?
Departing Heathrow for India. Right now.
PeaceLoveCar
I’ve not owned a vehicle for most of the last 14 years.
But the PeaceLoveCar is tempting.
Sam Salwei lives in a 28-square-foot pod. It was built in 1988, and formerly the car was known as a Ford Festiva.
Salwei, a founding member of the YogaSlackers group and a GearJunkie contributor, calls his highly-modified vehicle the PeaceLoveCar.
A solar panel on the roof gives power. The seats fold down into a bed. Under the hood is an oven. “We bake burritos in there,” Salwei notes. The back seat has a fridge.
408,841 miles grace the odometer. The Guinness World Record for a Festiva, Salwei says, is 640,000 miles. “I might break it.” …
Thanks Dave.
