To get to Rishikesh we had to take another long and bumpy bus to Haridwar, and then catch another bus to Rishikesh. Haridwar is a very holy city and fanous for a place in the Ganges where people come to wash away their sins in the river. When we got there it was so hot, dusty and chaotic. We took a rickshaw tot he river, and there were SO many peoiple trying to sell us things to throw in the river or sell us blessings, it was really overwhelming. We were so tired from the bus ride, and really disturbed by the amount of hassel we got from people, so we decided to just take our sins with us and hoped the next bus over to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is called the Gateway to the Himalayas. It is considered the yoga capitol of India and is where the Beatles were inspired to write the White album. It was much hotter than we were expecting it to be, so we hiked up into the mountains and found a waterfall for a day. The city is home to many temples and even more Ashrams. People come from all over to study yoga here, and Indians come from all over India to raft the Ganga. The Ganga is what Americans call the Ganges. It was wonderful to cool off in the Ganga on the hot days and explore the city during the cooler nights. There are cows EVERYWHERE in Rishikesh and Monkeys climbing all over the city. The cows are sweet, like dogs, but the monkeys are mean and scary! No one messes with them! The city of Rishikesh is divided in two, much like Portland, by the Ganga and is connected by two suspension bridges made in the 1920's. At first it was really freaky to cross a shaking bridge filled with dozens of people, cows, and motorcycles, while monkeys climbed all over it. But after a few crosses you get used to the chaos of it and it becomes endearing, which is how pretty much how I feel about India all together.
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