India is so huge and varied that it was really difficult to decide what to do and where to go... Eventually, we settled on one activity that we're both interested in and haven't really explored before - Yoga! Traditional yoga as a path to spiritual enlightenment was born in India and it seemed like a wholesome way to explore Hindu culture (whilst keeping fit). Our decision was made easier when we discovered Rishikesh. Dubbed the 'yoga capital of the world', this little paradise was made famous when The Beatles spent some time hanging out here in the 70's, and it was only a few hours north of Delhi by train!

For the first time since we've left home we realised we were just in time for the peak tourist season. We arrived in the evening and had to try seven or eight hotels before we found one with a room, and it wasn't nearly as cheap as we'd expected for India! Absolutely swarming with both foreign and Indian tourists, this small town was basically a cluster of hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, yoga centres, Ayurvedic healing centres and Ashrams.

Rishikesh wasn't at all the India that we anticipated, although we were still suffering from some Delhi-belly, and took the chance to enjoy the cleanliness, convenience and foreigner-friendly food. We spent a few days gathering our thoughts (and our digestive systems), over a funky little restaurant overlooking the river, and decided the best way to properly learn yoga was in an ashram.

An Ashram is ideally a complex that aims to run self sufficiently with the help of regular donations. In return they offer a chance for travelers and pilgrims to escape from the material world, and share knowledge about healthy living - physically, mentally and spiritually. We checked out a few around Rishikesh but most of them seemed to lack authenticity and we weren't particularly drawn in.

After a bit more searching, we decided we were better off seeking one out near Haridwar, only a short hour away. Haridwar is one of the holiest cities in India and attracts pilgrims from all over. It is considered a more serious spiritual place than Rishikesh with a better air of authenticity, although for some reason is overlooked by most backpackers.

We eventually found an advertisement for Santosh Puri Ashram, cut-off in a quiet setting just outside Haridwar. We discovered a very interesting and unusual history behind the place, and after a few more days amongst the tourists we're on our way. Not knowing much about Hinduism or even Indian culture, we're hoping this Ashram will give us a better understanding of what we've been seeing so far.

One of the most interesting aspects of Rishikesh is all the Sadhu's, or holy men, sitting around in orange robes. Orange is the colour of strict hinduism, and these men have supposedly renounced from society, given away all their worldly possessions and dedicated their lives to meditation and spiritual growth. The idea of this alone is hard to comprehend, however to make things even more complicated, Rishikesh is an extremely touristy place. With such a hard and fast cash flow it seems to attract a variety of characters, some less trustworthy than others... It is often difficult to distinguish between the genuine renounciates and the average beggar. Apparently criminals, kicked out of society for unsavory acts, also flock to these places and drape themselves in orange.

On our last day, a 'sadhu' approached us wanting a chat. We listened to him but it quickly became obvious he just wanted to sell us yoga classes (in the western, asana based, sense of the word). He even showed us a very commercial flyer. We said sorry, and told him we were going to an ashram to study yoga the following day. Quickly he flipped a switch and started yelling abuse and telling us what bad people we were... not very appropriate for a holy man. Hopefully we'll get some answers to this riddle in the ashram.

However this is a bad example. Rishikesh is considered to be very holy and most Sadhu's seemed genuine and well respected by locals. All this extreme Hinduism and Satvic living meant it was impossible to buy ANY meat, eggs or alcohol, and it looks like we'll be dry vegetarians for a while longer still! We also noticed an interesting parallel in the abundance of wildlife living in harmony with the locals. There were much fewer birds and monkeys in other meat-loving parts of Asia, which makes you wonder...

Whilst in Rishikesh, we thought it would be fun to check out the old ashram where The Beatles stayed 40 years ago. Since then, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi went out of business and his ashram was reclaimed by the forces of nature. Now under management of the
government Department of Forestry, it is closed to tourists, although the guards were willing to let us pass for a small fee... We had fun wandering around the derelict and somewhat spooky yoga halls and meditation pods, and tried to imagine life here in the 70's!

The main attraction of Rishikesh, and possibly the reason that The Beatles came in the first place, is that it's were the sacred Ganges River pours out from the base of the Himalayas. It was hard to imagine it was the same river we had seen in Varanasi. The water was a cool turquoise colour, and the sand beaches lining it's banks were just as pleasant as any we've seen. We even went for a swim, although the cold water made it hard to stay in for too long!

Not only did we swim, but we took it a step further and booked ourselves into a white-water rafting trip with a group of Indian city-slickers. We set off 26km upriver from Rishikesh, in an unbelievably clean, unpopulated and naturally beautiful part of the Ganges. There were a few hairy sections, but the landscape was the highlight. Unfortunately, we weren't brave enough to take our camera on board, so you'll have to use your imagination.