Driving, Rishikesh, and being dirty

So the first day of classes turned out to be a bust because my teacher was in a car accident. As two of my friends pointed out on facebook. It's actually a very dangerous place to drive. It's not that I didn't already know that, it's more like that Seinfeld sketch where he talks about the cab drivers in Manhatten. I took this video of the cab drive from the airport. Of course he's supposed to be driving on the left side of the street (thanks a lot for that piece of genius, colonial Britain). 

You'll notice if you keep the sound turned up the beeping of the horn in the background. The horn is used rather liberally. I think it's just to let the drivers behind you know that you'r about to do a quadruple blow by. I was having flashbacks from youth group mission trips from high school. Steve Baxter's got nothing on these drivers.

Yesterday we took a tuk-tuk to Rishikesh. It's a "famous" yoga center. I say "famous" because I feel like that term is very relative. Maybe it is famous if you're into Yoga and the spiritualism that goes along with it and not just the wednesday morning class at LA Fitness. But it was nice to get out of the city. It's at a slightly higher elevation so it was just a tiny bit cooler. The Ganges flows through it and you can see people standing in the water. There are a ton of signs in English for white water rafting and kayaking. I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. Rishikesh had a very distinctive smell and I think it was coming from the river.

 Yesterday was the birthday of the God Krishna. I wasn't always sure which God was Krishna. I think this blue god is Vishnu. But I could be wrong about that. I do know that Krishna was born in prison because his evil uncle had locked up Krishna's parents. But there were over thirteen temples in Rishikesh and all the Gods kind of looked the same to me.




Except for the monkey god. He's ripping his chest open for some reason and that makes him very distinctive.

I think this is Shu or something like that. Our tour guide was Nepalese and didn't really speak Hindi. Or English.

 And here's a nice shot of the streets. Nicer than Dehradun but still very dirty.

Speaking of dirt. I was told that the school would provide linens. I took this to mean towels as well as sheets and blankets. It didn't. And I've had a problem finding a place that sells towels. I need to find the Hindi word for it because no one understands the English word. But all that to say that I haven't had a shower since Wednesday morning when I took one at the lounge in the Delhi airport. 

Fortunately, my new Korean friend Songjoo let me borrow one of her towels this morning. Thank you Songjoo!!! I feel much better although only slightly cleaner. I think all of this humidity just makes me feel dirty all the time. Plus I'm constantly covered in bug spray. 

Peace out, ya'll. Catch you on the flip side.