Monkey Brain!

Hello from Northern India, where apparently, it's cool out! ('bout 35 degrees today). I'm having a great time and have met some wonderful people. I will admit to missing a couple of things at home (other than my boys, I look at their pictures daily and they often drift into my meditation).

Speaking of which, I've discovered that I kind of suck at meditation. My brain has been compared to a "drunken monkey with a pointy stick". It's amazing just how accurate that description is...

I'm actually doing quite well with the silence all morning. My biggest challenge, having grown up Scottish, is staying quiet at meals. It's actually quite peaceful.

My yoga is coming along well, and my meditation is at least improving! We do yoga on the roof for both sunrise and sunset overlooking mountains, the garden, lush forrest and the river Ganga. It's stunning to say the least!

every day we've been doing walks which have taken us to beaches, waterfalls and streams -it's all so beautiful up here.Yesterday we hiked to a waterfall that looked like something right out of avatar; I climbed up into the caves behind the falls, the cool water being such a contrast from the heat. I have a feeling this place will be a fav within India. I love the country side, even the small town nearby is all about the pushing and shoving (politely though), I guess that's just the way.

Hope all is well with all of you. I can probably get back on Saturday am, as the ashram is substantially out of town and a bit of a challenge to get to. But today we managed to flag a cab on the country road.

Namaste

ashram

Hey all

Well I have made it to the ashram. It's a lovely place and wonderful to get away from the noise. That seems to be the biggest challenge I'm facing here in India- the sheer noise of the car horns!

The ashram is gorgeous (I'll post photos when I can, this internet cafe doesn't allow you to use the usb) it's in the foothills of the Himalyas next to a river. The people are wonderful and I'm already learning (and we don't start orientation until this afternoon).

Since Tuesday, I have finally had a night of sleep and feeling sooooo much better. It's really hot, the scary part is everyone else is wandering around commenting on how cool it is here... yikes.

I've realized that I should have been training for sitting crossed legged as that's not only meditation pose, but how we sit to eat dinner (yes on the floor, with my tin tray, cup and spoon for the week). It's kind of funky! And my dad will be pleased to know that my bed is 2 inches of foam over plywood - it's sure not the Hilton, but I'm having a great time!

Gotta run, sorry it's short - I'll post more later in the week.

I made it (eventually)

Hey all

Well this adventure started at Pearson, upon my attempt to check in a whole lot of head shaking began. Turns out my flight to Newark was seriously delayed and I was informed there was no way I'd make the connecting flight to Delhi.

The Continental agent managed to put me on stand-by to Frankfurt (why is it I only fly stand by when I'm heading half way around the world?) , a 6 hour layover in Frankfurt and then on to Delhi. I do have to give Frankfurt airport a shout out as the little carts are only used occasionally, most staff are on bicycles. Getting me into Delhi and through customs by 3am. Our driver (who will be with us for a chunk of the India tour) was there to meet me (even with the new times) and took me to my prepaid hotel for a couple of hours before my train was to leave.

Driving in this country is nuts. Whether 3am or mid day the roads are always packed and the horns seem to be connected directly to both the accelerator and brake pedals. Got to the train station and Rakesh even took me to my specific seat before heading out. Talk about a whole lot of people, it seems that as long as it's done gently, pushing is an acceptable behaviour.

The train ride itself was quite lovely. I was sitting with another Canuk, American & Japanese girl. We yacked for the entire ride (getting my talking in now before the ashram!) The American girl had spent extensive time in India and arranged a cab for me. Only challenge the cab driver didn't speak English, didn't know exactly where he was going, and it turns out - can't actually get there from here. After a couple of hours on the road (during which time we nearly missed 2 cows and countless vehicles), we called the ashram they've led us to a foot bridge (bless him, he carried my pack the whole way over) and I'm talking a break to get this to you before I take another cab on this side of the river the last 5K.

Not sure how frequently I'll be able to post this week as I think I need a bit of time away from traffic and I believe this is the closest internet.

But I thought I'd let you know that I'm here safe and looking forward to a bit of yoga and meditation.

I have no doubt that I'm looking pretty glamourous right now : )

Hugs,

Lesley

Ok, I'm packed! It wasn't pretty, but it's done. 24 hours from now, I'll be somewhere over the Atlantic on my way to Delhi (via New Jersey of course, 'cause when you think of India, you think of Jersey!)

I don't think it's a bad job seeing as over half of it is a sleeping bag and hiking boots. And I'm sure it's a heck of a lot better looking than I am right now. So tired... must go to bed.

Special thanks to Dave who's letting Paul off of work to take me to the airport tomorrow. Yeah Dave!

Don't worry... these posts will get more interesting. Just wanted to make sure that I could post easily with the new camera while I still had consistent internet access.

the packing begins

Trying something new on this trip - packing more than 24hrs in advance. Started this afternoon, and got distracted within a couple of hours (45 min of which was spent looking for my swimsuit).

The great debate was deciding which backpack to bring with me. My old standard is starting to show it's wear and looks like it's already spent a month in India. So Paul was kind enough to offer me the use of his pack and after a period of resizing - Paul's pack wins! Now to fill it. That which is currently spread out over the entire floor of the spare room will need to go into a pack that I'll be heaving around for the next two months. Was planning to have everything packed this afternoon, I guess that will have to happen tomorrow.

Many of you having been asking about Paul & Hudson. Without a doubt, being away from them will be the hardest part of this trip for me. No worries, though we have someone making sure that they're fed and watered...

Who, What, Where, When, Why & How

Hey all, thought I should pass along some of the logistics of trip.

Who - me! Also meeting up with my buddy Sandy (many of you know from travels in Africa & South-east Asia) for the majority of the trip. For those of you who don't know him, it tends to "up" the entertainment value for all when we travel together. Sadly, my husband Paul is unable to escape his current work contract, so he and our dog Hudson will be cheering us on from Toronto.

What - travelling around India and Nepal. Most of the time in Nepal will be spent attempting the trek to Everest Base Camp. This will be Sandy's 4th attempt, let's see if I can do it the first time and show him up! (no.... we're not competitive at all....)

Where - planned stops in India are: fly into Delhi, a week at an ashram in Rishikesh at the base of the Himalayas where I'll be studying yoga & meditation, return to Delhi, Pushkar, Jaipur, Rathamborne National Park, Agra (Taj Mahal), Orccha, Varanasi, Mumbai & Goa

Stops in Nepal: Katmandu, trip up & hopefully down Mt. Everest, & Chittwan National Park.

When - I leave Wed. March 24, which means I get to Delhi the night of March 25. I return home the morning of Friday May 21 just in time for the May 24 weekend!

Why - Why not? After all - it's there...

How - you'll have to keep reading to find out; as I really have no idea...