We got the bus from Shimla to Haridwar (10 hours) down the windy mountain roads always drifting close to the edge. The last 2 hours were the worst when the driver was driving like a crack head over the bumpiest road ever in India and we were sat at the back so our bums were heavily battered. When we got to Haridwar, me and Danny were in the negotiation process with the rickshaw drivers to get us to Rishikesh (25km away) but Uncle Daz couldn't hang around. With the stress of the bus journey getting to him, he got us a taxi to Rishikesh. We arrived around 10pm and checked into a fancy hotel (the Great Ganga), which Uncle Daz sorted out but it was definitely out of our budget range.
The next morning, after feasting on the breakfast buffet, we went on a trek to see 2 waterfalls that took up the whole day. From the entrance of the waterfall trek, it was a steep climb to the top, which involved plenty of stops to admire the view and take our pics, but also give Uncle Daz a chance to catch up. The first waterfall we got to was the small one, where Danny climbed in, Smeagol like, and got his head under that freezing water. After seeing this bravery from Daniel, this inspired me and Uncle Daz to swim under the big waterfall, which was freezing. I mean my kahunas were the size of skittles when i got out, which surely aint good for the body lol! We did want to go and see the Beatles Ashram that day but it was late when we got back so we saved it for the next day.
The next morning we got up early to do white water rafting in the river Ganges. We got picked up from our fancy hotel and drove to the starting point. We got briefed really quickly about standard safety, technique etc. before we jumped in. The formation was me and Danny at the front and Uncle Daz ad a weird Australian dude in the middle, with the Chief (guide) at the back. There were 6 rapids on this 18km ride and with me and Danny at the front, we took all the cold water when it came to the rapids. The guide let us jump out of the raft and drift in the River Ganges, which was too cold for comfort. Anyway getting back in was a big problem so they pulled me back up and when they finally did, Danny, my so called compandre pushed me back in. This is when the camera came out and the second attempt of pulling me back was underway. Once i finally got up and with Uncle Daz laughing as Danny filmed me., He stood in front of me contemplating whether to go in but the was little time to choose as Big Maj got this own back by pushing him in, about 10 m from the raft into the river and we had the pleasure of hearing him squeal like a little girl. This is all on video so watch out for it!!
After the white water rafting, we went and visited the Beatles Ashram, which is in ruins but with Uncle Daz being a huge beatles fan and this the main reason for him coming, we offered our support by coming with him. The Ashram is closed down because it is owned by the government but after giving 50 rupees to the guard, he let us in. The Beatles came here in 1968, where they tried out Yoga and George Harrison was a big fan. This is where they wrote most of the songs for the White Album and a few more songs so it had a big connection with their history. Uncle Daz was the one who saw the video with them being there so he should have known what it looked like but it wasn't as simple as that. Every guest house in the grounds looked the same but he was adamant that the last one was the one, until we went the next one and the next one. We heard him saying, " Hey I think this is the one" so many times. So to be on the safe side, he took the same pics at 3 different guest houses just in case, which ended up taking 3 hours. Lets just hope he's got the right one, otherwise we'll be pissing ourselves if he hasn't. No pressure Uncle Daz!!
The next morning, after feasting on the breakfast buffet, we went on a trek to see 2 waterfalls that took up the whole day. From the entrance of the waterfall trek, it was a steep climb to the top, which involved plenty of stops to admire the view and take our pics, but also give Uncle Daz a chance to catch up. The first waterfall we got to was the small one, where Danny climbed in, Smeagol like, and got his head under that freezing water. After seeing this bravery from Daniel, this inspired me and Uncle Daz to swim under the big waterfall, which was freezing. I mean my kahunas were the size of skittles when i got out, which surely aint good for the body lol! We did want to go and see the Beatles Ashram that day but it was late when we got back so we saved it for the next day.
The next morning we got up early to do white water rafting in the river Ganges. We got picked up from our fancy hotel and drove to the starting point. We got briefed really quickly about standard safety, technique etc. before we jumped in. The formation was me and Danny at the front and Uncle Daz ad a weird Australian dude in the middle, with the Chief (guide) at the back. There were 6 rapids on this 18km ride and with me and Danny at the front, we took all the cold water when it came to the rapids. The guide let us jump out of the raft and drift in the River Ganges, which was too cold for comfort. Anyway getting back in was a big problem so they pulled me back up and when they finally did, Danny, my so called compandre pushed me back in. This is when the camera came out and the second attempt of pulling me back was underway. Once i finally got up and with Uncle Daz laughing as Danny filmed me., He stood in front of me contemplating whether to go in but the was little time to choose as Big Maj got this own back by pushing him in, about 10 m from the raft into the river and we had the pleasure of hearing him squeal like a little girl. This is all on video so watch out for it!!
After the white water rafting, we went and visited the Beatles Ashram, which is in ruins but with Uncle Daz being a huge beatles fan and this the main reason for him coming, we offered our support by coming with him. The Ashram is closed down because it is owned by the government but after giving 50 rupees to the guard, he let us in. The Beatles came here in 1968, where they tried out Yoga and George Harrison was a big fan. This is where they wrote most of the songs for the White Album and a few more songs so it had a big connection with their history. Uncle Daz was the one who saw the video with them being there so he should have known what it looked like but it wasn't as simple as that. Every guest house in the grounds looked the same but he was adamant that the last one was the one, until we went the next one and the next one. We heard him saying, " Hey I think this is the one" so many times. So to be on the safe side, he took the same pics at 3 different guest houses just in case, which ended up taking 3 hours. Lets just hope he's got the right one, otherwise we'll be pissing ourselves if he hasn't. No pressure Uncle Daz!!
Rishikesh Photo Link:
http://www3.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2098745011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
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