2020 Rishikesh
Last autumn we spent ages deciding where to go on holiday this year. We would like to see more of Africa but as we didn’t want to go on safari (we were spoilt in Botswana) there was nothing much to do for a month except sit on a beach. Much as we loved the beach part of our holidays, we needed something else to break it up. The main problem with Africa seemed to be that there was no tourist circuit and I don’t know why African leaders don’t get together to create one. People tour different countries in circuits like South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Indonesia etc, so why not four or five African countries, ending in Cape Town? Flights between African countries were either non-existent or prohibitively expensive as they involved two or three stops. I always thought we should visit Australia and New Zealand but neither of us had any great desire to do so. When I asked people what they liked about Australia I never got a compelling answer and in most cases they were visiting friends or relatives. Other places we looked at were still in the rainy season or the sea was cold or there was something else putting us off. Much as we fought against it, we kept coming back to the same conclusion, that we enjoyed our last two trips to India so much that we would return for a third time.
3rd Jan 2020
On our way to Heathrow airport, Federika realised she had forgotten her mobile phone which for some couples might have been ok but for us, it was a disaster as we were forever losing each other. It was true that we survived long before mobile phones before, but it is easy to forget how inconvenient it was. Going from property to property trying to find one with a vacancy; not finding out until you get to the airport that there was a problem with your flight; not finding out you have won the lottery until you got home. Fortunately, I always carried a spare phone with me but it was a Samsung so I spent ages on our first day importing Federika’s iPhone data from the cloud.
Our first destination was Rishikesh but we spent a night at the Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Airport in New Delhi to recover from the flight. We had seen all we wanted to see in New Delhi so we stayed near the hotel. There were some shops nearby so in the afternoon we went for a walk but it was horrible. It was an area with all of the dirt and noise of New Delhi but none of the charm. The walk didn’t last long and Federika didn’t say anything at the time but was thinking that maybe this year would be one Indian trip too many.
6th January 2020
Rishikesh was one of India’s main centres for yoga and meditation and also famous for its connection with the Beatles in the 1960’s. We were staying at The Ayali, a small hotel outside town, which was pleasant enough but cold at night. They claimed to have heating but it was only a portable electric bar heater for the bedroom and nothing for the bathroom. We booked these holidays in late summer in Croatia when it was still hot and hard to appreciate how uncomfortable a cold bathroom could be. It wasn’t a big deal as we knew it would warm up considerably during the day.
Breakfast the next morning was in another building just down the road which was inconvenient because it was pouring with rain but they lent us umbrellas and breakfast was good. We walked down the steep hill to the river Ganges and across the long Lakshman Jhula suspension bridge that led across the river to the main town. It was a very narrow bridge which was meant to be only for pedestrians but not only did scooters and bikes use it, but they honked at us to get out their way. 
By now, the rain was only light so we were able to stroll around town without being too uncomfortable. After lunch we went on a Cultural Tour of Rishikesh. It looked fun because we would be touring on electric bicycles. We turned up at the tour office at the agreed time but there was no sign of life. Shortly after, an American couple turned up but still no tour guide. After 15 minutes we made some phone calls and it turned out that the company hadn’t been informed that we had booked a tour. Half an hour later our guide showed up and instructed us on how to use the electric bikes. Mine was ok but Federika pointed out that hers was too big. The guide assured us they were unisex bikes suitable for everyone which was bullshit because the one thing I remember from my cycling proficiency test was that your feet have to be able to touch the ground whilst sitting on the saddle. Federika’s feet were six inches from the ground so she felt unsafe and that was even before she started with the electrics of the bike. We aborted the tour and as far as I was concerned, we were entitled to our money back because the bikes weren’t safe but they didn’t see it like that. We wouldn’t get a refund and for once I couldn’t be bothered to argue.
We had a pleasant afternoon strolling around town and in the evening, went to a Ganges River ceremony. It was much smaller than the one in Varanasi but more intimate and geared towards locals rather than tourists. 
In another area there was a group of musicians sitting in the middle with hundreds of people standing opposite and a large space in between. The music started up, creating the most amazing atmosphere and a thin elderly man dressed in a suit with a woolly hat and bare feet danced like he had just entered the gates of heaven. It was mesmerising to watch the way he waved his hands around in a pirouette as he danced.
The next day we went on a tour of the nearby city of Haridwar. Usually, we enjoy these tours and get caught up in the love that the tour guide has for the subject but in this case, the tour guide was doing it only for the money. I would certainly have recommended him to anyone who has trouble sleeping as I had great difficulty staying awake while he talked. In his defence, there really didn’t seem to be much to see in Haridwar.
On our last day we went to the Beatles Ashram. To be honest I wasn’t that bothered about going but Federika was very keen and thank goodness for that as it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was nothing spectacular but it was definitely a Magical Mystery Tour. We had no trouble finding the ashram as there were signposts everywhere. It was quite a long walk from town and for the last couple of kilometres we strolled down solitary unmade roads in derelict areas. It was certainly not the kind of tourist hotspot we were expecting. The entrance was also the entrance to a tiger reserve although we were assured there was very little chance of us being mauled by a tiger. There was a small entrance fee and as soon as we walked through the gate it was like stepping onto a film set. It was drizzling lightly which all added to the eeriness of it all. The place was completely derelict but every corner told a story.
The Beatles planned to stay at the Ashram for three months in 1968 to do a meditation course with the well-known Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. They cut the trip short when they discovered that Maharishi was less concerned about spiritual enlightenment than the contents of his female followers’ underpants. They were also unhappy about The Beatle’s name being exploited which was evident by the fact that the entire place was a shrine to the Beatles. 
There were quotes from their songs and photos of them everywhere. There were buildings of various sizes including what looked like small round igloos all of which were now derelict and deserted. 
There was a large dining hall and kitchen and it was easy to imagine the amazing atmosphere that the building once contained. I had never been anywhere where the ghosts of the past were so much in the present. The magic was entirely due to the dereliction which will be completely lost when the inevitable day comes when they smarten it all up and make it into a profitable tourist attraction. I was never a big Beatles fan but I always thought Seargent Peppers was one of the best albums of all time and for me, Rishikesh was the epitome of that album.
Rishikesh was not our most successful of visits, mainly because of the weather, but it seemed to me in the nature of India that no matter how dirty, noisy and uncomfortable a place is, there was always something to make a visit worthwhile.
2020 India
