I am still in Rishikesh , yoga capital of the world, a title well deserved. This is the town the Beatles visited for a few months in the late ’60’s. They wrote most of the White Album here before having a falling out with their guru and got kicked out of the ashram. It’s since been vacated, but a few of us ventured up there a few days ago. It was really cool. I was only planning on staying here for a few days and then heading further north to Massourie, a hill town. I had met a really nice older Spanish lady in Rishikesh who was planning on being in Massourie on the 17th with her Indian husband, one of the former Indian Ambassadors to the US. I was going to try meet them and do a little hiking, but as the days passed, I fell more and more in love with this town. It is located right on the Ganges and completely surrounded by mountains. The weather is perfect, high 70’s/ low 80’s during the day with no humidity and 60’s at night, people are nice and atmosphere unbeatable. I also met tons of other solo travelers. It is amazing the instant community and bond that one forms. We all share stories of where we’ve been, where to stay, how to get around, etc. No one has anywhere to be, so you just end up hanging out all day and night. My day revolves around what yoga class to take and what trail to hike.

I’ve definitely met lots of interesting people here. I didn’t know growing marijuana in California was legal? I met a couple; Kabir and “Breeze” (I also met a girl called “Forest” and continuously got them confused, naturally), who earn a living selling and growing pot in Northern California. A friend of theirs owns over 700 acres of land that they live on and “farm”. They are traveling until the end of the summer, because they NEED to be home in the Fall for the harvest season. They claim it is legal, supposedly they’ve registered with the county, have a permit and file taxes based on their “sales”. Two Dutch guys (of all people, you think would know better), were recruited to go help in the harvest season. Kabir and Breeze need to rush back to Cali before the end of the summer for recruiting season. Vallone, maybe we can get work there? ( seasonal of course).

Other than that, I’ve met some cool Brazilians, lots of Canadians, a few Brits, Dutch, lots of Israelis, Australians and surprisingly a handful of Americans. A group of us went camping a few nights ago. We slept right on the ghats of the Ganges under the full moon. It was beautiful. We all took a nice swim in the Ganges, and my friend Allen from Australia decided he was going to stay in and swim around for a while. We all ventured back to our campsite and tried to collect firewood. Minutes later, I looked around and didn’t see Allen, but didn’t panic. I thought I heard a scream, looked around and still didn’t see him. I was too relaxed from the cold water to be phased or realize that Allen had got caught in the current. After an unexpected bout of human white water rafting, he miracleously appeared down river about 500meters. I heard him calling my name, begging for a towel. The sadhus who hang out by the river were pretty shocked (and probably disgusted) to see a naked handsome Australian screaming for help. Luckily he survived with only a few minor bumps and bruises. Never underestimate the mighty power of a river or ocean. Camping was great. We didn’t really bother collecting firewood before sunset, but luckily a sadhu living nearby saw us struggling. He brought us more than enough wood for the night and food! We got a sick fire going and were fed gourmet food. After we finished eating, I remembered some of the warnings in Lonely Planet about taking food from strangers. Apparently it is common for sadhus to lace your food or chai with god knows what, wait till you pass out and then take all your belongings. We were lucky and woke up the next morning with all of our stuff. Our friend had been living under the stars for the last 7 years. He gets up every day around 4 in the morning, meditates for an hour, does yoga, eats two meals a day and helps the occasional campers like us. His English was decent and knowledge on US policy and politics impressive. Before he fed us, a guy came down to his “house” and was calling down to the river for him. He ran up to meet him and returned back about 30 minutes later. I tried to ask him if that was his friend. He just answered, “tantric yoga, tantric yoga, very good”. I’ll leave the rest up to everyone’s imagination. A few people stay at ashrams because they are dirt cheap, but they pay the price of a 10pm curfew. With a little exploration, we found a way for them to sneak in, so their curfew was no longer a problem.

The town is full of ayurvedic doctors and ayurvedic cooking. I no longer live in fear of malaria or any other strange disease, as I’ve met an amazing doctor who can cure anything with natural herbs. Dr Vishnu and his wife, Dr Anu live right behind my hotel and are an endless wealth of information and knowledge. I eat more or less all my meals with them and am learning how to cook. I met 2 cool Canadian girls (real Canadian) who also hang out there. They collect all their herbs from the forest. I’ve gone with them before, and it just feels like a fairy tale life! They’ve been kind enough to loan me their moped (little do they know…..). I am definitely careful driving and also ride a non motorized bike from time to time. Other than that….life is good. I still can’t get over how funny all the cows are. They hang out on the streets just like dogs. It’s classic. I took some pictures, but each shot takes about 30 minutes to upload (if I am lucky). This town is strictly vegetarian, they don’t sell eggs or any type of meat. We usually hang out at this cute café, the Ganga Beach Café. The owners are awesome and keep the place open till 2 or 3 in the morning for us every night. There are no eggs on the menu, but if enough people want them, we place an order for egg sandwiches and they drive 30 minutes or so to get them for us. They rock! Hope everyone is doing well!