Sunday was our first day off and my new friend Melissa and I decided to explore Rishikesh and do some shopping. Rishikesh is a small town that’s actually quite cute and clean. The houses and buildings are bright and colorful and the town seems to be thriving, there are a lot of new things being built. There are tons of tiny shops that line the streets selling jewelry, trinkets, clothing, incense, books, and CDs for extremely cheap prices. There are also around 200 yoga ashrams around town and we were able to make it to one of them in the evening where we got to watch the sun set while doing a private Hatha yoga class. The locals are very respectful and friendly and I felt very safe walking around, and there were quite a few tourists walking around as well. I hope to walk in the opposite direction next Sunday (up the mountain) to explore the more quiet side of town away from all of the honking, scooters, cows, and people, but it was fun to be a part of the madness for a minute and break away from the daily routine. This certainly making me want to do A LOT more traveling…
