Hey Everyone,
It was Wednesday March 2nd, 2011, I woke up full of anticipation, the time is finally here for my trip to India. I worked half a day, so I got up, got myself ready, I could already tell it was going to be a wonderful morning. I went in and woke Kayla up, it was time to get her ready for daycare. I kissed her and held her so tight, because I wasn't going to see her later, and I was already missing her, and I hadn't even left yet. I had said my good bye's to Ryan and Brianna the night before at dinner, we had a nice time out at one of our favourite restaurants. So once Kevin, myself and Kayla were ready, I dropped her off at daycare, and I had tears in my eyes, I don't think Kayla could understand how long Mommy was going for. I started feeling guilty, but with the support and encouragement from my husband I knew it was the right thing to do, he reassured me and I was comfortable knowing that Kayla was in great hands.
I finished work at 11 am and was getting ready to leave for my incredible journey to India. I said good bye to my co-workers, they offered me well wishes and safe travels. I grabbed my purse and coat and off I went. I walked out the doors and then this feeling came over me, and I knew when I return back to work I will be a different person.
I arrived home, had to get a few items together, weigh my suitcase and then go pick up my husband at work. I don't even remember the drive to my husband's work, I was in in such a daze. So once I picked him up, he hopped in and then drove me to the airport. I got out of the car, grabbed my suitcases and hugged my husband so hard, I thanked him over and over again for his support, and for holding down the fort. He wished me well, and said have a great time, and don't worry about anything. I was so excited I was ready to jump and scream. After 41 years of my life I was going to figure out who I was. Shortly after I arrived at the airport, my friends showed up, and we went through check in, and then security. Once it was all said and done, we had a couple of hours of a wait until our flight.
It was time to board, and I was so excited, they called our rows to board so off I went, I found my seat, nestled in, and got comfortable. It was an 18 hour flight, we had a stopover in Belgium, Brussels at the half way point. It was great we got off, stretched our legs, and headed for the transfer point, but before we loaded back onto the plane, we went by the store at the airport and bought some chocolate. It is now time reboard the plane, and finish the last leg of the flight to Delhi. We flew over so many countries it was very interesting all the countries you fly over. As the time was getting closer, the excitement was about ready to jump out of my chest.
It is now roughly 11:30 pm, Thursday night, we got off the plane, right away I could feel the heat, it was so warm. Quite a few people said I bet when you get off the plane it will smell, so when I got off I wasn't sure what to expect, I didn't smell anything, it was warm, and smoggy, but I didn't smell anything else. If anything, was just the smell of burning wood. We headed towards baggage claims waited for our luggage, once we had all our suitcases, we ventured out to find Amit, he was one of our leaders, he lives in India. Once we located him, it was hugs all around. Before we were going to jump in our taxi, I had to make a trip to the bathroom, so I go running, and what do I do, I ran right into the mens washroom, oh man how embarrassing lol.
The first night we were staying in Delhi, the hotel was older, but it served the purpose, Rita and I shared a room. I tried to sleep but because the sound of all the honking, jet leg, and excitement, I couldn't sleep much, I was able to doze off for a couple of hours. The alarm went off, and I sprung up ready to start the day. We had to be careful at no time can you drink the water, so even when brushing your teeth you have to use bottled or filtered water. We had breakfast, loaded up our tourist van, and then off for a 7 hour drive to Rishikesh. The driving was insane, cars were coming at you at every angle. I was amazed how the Indian drivers could maneuver around cars and obstacles, it was insane.
Throughout the drive I was absorbing, I was taking in everything from the poverty, to the people, to the livelihoods, and the culture. There was so much we seen driving the 7 hours to Rishikesh, but what was common wherever we went was that people were so fascinated by us. They wanted to take our pictures, they were pounding on our van, it was crazy, I felt like a celebrity, that is the only way I could explain it. Although it was a long drive, I really enjoyed it, I could just sit there and observe, I never spoke much to anyone, and no really spoke much to me, and that was perfect I just wanted to be with my thoughts. When we were driving, I was saying to myself, wow one minute I am in Canada and the next minute I am India, I was beginning to live the dream, it all felt surreal.
As we approached Rishikesh, you could see this beautiful bridge called the Lakshman JhulaI. I was in awe of the beauty of the Ganga, and the Himalayan mountains, it was breathtaking, I've never seen anything like that before in my life. I was so excited to have 5 days here, once we past the town, we arrived at our first destination, The Rainforest House just outside of town. Our van pulled up to the path, we jumped out, and I couldn't wait to take a look around. At the top of the path, there were 2 donkeys who were just chilling, it was almost like they were there to greet us. So we started venturing down the path, it was about 100 yards straight down a steep hill. Once we got down to the bottom of the hill you could feel the calming energy of the grounds. I said to myself, I just walked into heaven, it really felt as though all my stress and problems just totally lifted from my shoulders. Once everyone got down the hill, we were escorted to our rooms. When they took me to my room and told me I was going to have my own room I was so ecstatic, the best part of the trip was having the time to myself, I appreciated it more then anything. They showed me where I was staying, and it was amazing, I was literally right beside a waterfall, it was so soothing, I had so many issues sleeping before I left, and once I arrived there, sleeping was never an issue. Here are a few pictures of my room, it was simple it was just perfect for me.
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| The Waterfall Right Beside My Room |
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| The Rainforest House |
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| The path to The Rainforest House |
The 5 days we spent here at the Rainforest House were some of the most amazing times in my life. We swam in the Ganga, we watched beautiful sunsets and sunrises, we went white water rafting, yoga, meditation, hiked the Neer Waterfall Mountain, fed the monks, went to a beautiful aarti celebration, it was all so incredible. Staying at The Rainforest House in Rishikesh was my favourtie. It was amazing right in front of the waterfall was a bench, I sat there each day and journaled, it was perfect for collecting your thoughts. Each morning we started out with Meditation, then Yoga, it was a great way to start the day. As each day passed, I would wake up happy and excited to see what the day would bring me. It was so nice to be taking time out for me. Each day I would reflect on what I have done thus far, and really embraced the changes I was feeling.
Above I mentioned that we climbed the Neer Waterfall Mountain, this was challenging for me for many reasons. I wasn't physically in the best shape but I wanted to experience India in the fullest, so I thought, I am going to give it a go, and take my time. I believe it is around 5000 ft above sea level, so it was quite the hike. At times it was very steep, and a ton of stairs. I was fine initially, but around half way I couldn't do it anymore, I was really struggling. Some of my group stayed back with me, and some of them carried on. I felt as though I was holding my team back, so I chug some water, took a deep breath and said lets go. I was doing okay, and then around 3/4 of the way up, I said I am done. I told my team to go on, and they said are you sure, and I said yes, I can't do it. So after me finally convincing them it was okay to leave me, they carried on. I sat there for about 15 mins, and I was eying the stairs, it was steep, I was so exhausted. I sat there and prayed, and said to myself, I have come so far, and I want to see the waterfall, I am not going to come this far and not see it.
So I took a deep breath, and I pushed myself like I've never done before. I felt as though I was being lifted up by a cloud, I said okay lets kick this into high gear and lets go. Being a life coach, my job is to push my clients so I said to myself, how can I push my clients if I can't push myself. So I climbed and climbed what seemed to be forever, and I see this bridge just ahead, and I was like omg I am almost there. A few more steps, and I see all of my group. I literally dropped to my knees and thanked god for helping me through this difficult task. I shed a few happy tears, I accomplished the hike, and was thrilled. I jumped in to the waterfall, clothes and all, it was so amazing, it really helped cool down for the 36 degree weather we were having.
Later that day, we all decided to go white water rafting, I had the time of my life. I've always wanted to go but never did. How cool is it to say I went white water rafting on the Ganga in India, pretty freakin cool I think. It was almost a 14 km stretch, and it was one of my favourite to do's on the trip. We all had so much fun, and really worked together to get through the 14 km's. There were funny moments, because Amit was at the front paddling, and I was behind him, they are suppose to have the strong paddlers up front. Well Amit was on his own schedule, he wasn't listening to the commands, and then would be off kilter with us...and all you could hear Amit say was PADDLE FORWARD TEAM, but yet you look at him and he is not paddling. It was definitely one of those "You had to be there moments". Either way it was an awesome day, and we all had a blast. We had the times of our lives, but soon it was time to move on.
Once the last day came upon us, I was sad to leave, but yet excited to venture to the next stop on our adventure.
Next stop...Aurovalley Ashram/Hardiwar
I've decided to blog in segments, there is just so much information...To be continued....
A few more pics of my time in Rishikesh
Namaste All <3
Shelley
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| Feeding the Monks in Rishikesh |
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| Aarti celebration on the Ganga in Rishikesh |
