Flight from Chennai to Delhi had a little turbulence. But they fed me masses of biryani, vanilla ice cream, chips, and bottomless black coffee. It was a far cry from the bleakness of Air Asia flight services. I was comfortable and deeply satisfied. Despite the food and listening to the lulling voice of Norah Jones, I was having a bit of flight anxiety. I can’t seem to get over my fear of flying; it’s both exhilarating to go to new places but also downright terrifying. I can’t seem to kick the real fear of spiraling out of control at high speeds, crashing into the Indian Ocean or into a thick forest where no one can find us for days. It’s embarrassing to have this fear when my passport is nearly full of stamps and visas. But of course, we landed safely and I made a mad dash to the nearest taxi. I decided to get to Rishikesh as soon as possible and risked going straight to the ISBT bus station in Old Delhi near Kailaish Gate. I was lucky in that I got a bus, it was no sleeper or Volvo but there lies the fun of it. It was a normal, public bus crammed to the brim with people. I basically reserved a spot for one butt cheek by paying 236.00 rupees. But I was thrilled to be getting to my next destination and out of the city. The bus made the exit out of Delhi much more exciting, there was no AC so all the windows were rolled down, the dusty air and city smells just jumped right in beside us and carried us along, all to the tunes of top Bollywood hits. Men chewed betel juice and spat it off the sides. Children lay on their mother’s laps. And everyone talked, talked long into the night. I love listening to Hindi; it has a calming effect on me. And even though my chair had pretty zero padding, I slept sitting straight up. We stopped halfway through and everyone ate small roadside stalls. I just stood there and watched the hustle and bustle. Freight trucks zipped buy, honking their horns as they narrowly avoided a puttering tuk tuk or motorbike. Close to Rishikesh we passed the giant Shiva statue by the river. They are rebuilding after the last statue fell into the raging floodwaters last year around this time. I remember watching it on the news while I was in Dharamsala last summer. The trip started to feel really long, I think in total it was over seven hours. Which is nothing compared to other bus rides but I had pretty much been traveling all day because of the flight from Chennai. So I was so relieved to arrive, only it was 1:00 am and I had zero knowledge of the area and no hotel booking. When this happens your at the mercy of the tuk tuk driver, who will often take you to where he makes commission and probably won’t take you where you want to go. But at this point I was tired and hungry and irritated so I let him take me to his friends hotel. The shower was hot and the fan worked! What more could you ask for at times like this. I had arrived!

I’ll be here in Rishikesh until June 28. No more buses, flights, or trains until then! Stability is a good change after moving around every few days since March. Today I just kind of meandered around doing a whole lot of nothing. Rishikesh is an interesting place, kind of slow, which I like. Yoga grows off trees here, and it’s almost comical to see how many yoga studios, meditation centers, Ayurveda spas, etc are on every street. Sadhus roam the streets in their orange robes and walking sticks, sometimes asking for money. The river Ganges separates Rishikesh into two parts. I’m currently in the Swarg Ashram area, staying at a place called Krishna Cottage. You can take two different walking bridges to the other side. There are mountains in every direction. I was talking to a couple today and it’s very easy to get a train to the Nepal border, and from there a bus to Kathmandu. I’ll do that after my training is over if I have time. Though I only have two weeks before I need to be back in Delhi for my flight home, so we’ll see if it’s enough. I’m not going to worry about it now, if nothing else I’d love to go to northern India like Leh or Srinagar.