The Yoga capitol of the world. This is where the Beatles came in the 60s and wrote the White album. It is also where the Beach Boys came at the same time and learnt Transcendental Meditation. Others just came for the cheap drugs but they all became disillusioned and left eventually. John Lenin even wrote "You made a fool of everyone" about the Maharishi Yogi. It has taken me a 1hr ride on the local bus and 3hr walk to get here. Well Im actually not at Rishikesh any more it is 7km north at the twin cities of Swarg Ashram and Laxman Jhula. It is still called Rishikesh cos they ran out of room to expand the town since the 60s and all the big ashrams are here. The place I was heading for is way up on top of the hill and honestly I was too stuffed to walk that far so I started looking for a hotel. The first couple were full or not suitable but I found one called Taj Guest House that looked OK from the outside. I went in and they had a room and only 150rp per night. It is the cheapest room I have had and one of the cleanest ones so far. The toilet is a combination squatter/*******. There are foot pads where you sit if you want to squat. The thought of someones feet on my ******* is strangely not as bad as their fat smelly ****. I thought Varanasi was full of nutbags but this place beats that hands down. The nutbags and crackpots here more than outdo Varanasi. I have also noticed that orange is THE colour this season, I must freshen up my wardrobe while Im here. Everyone is having seminars, courses or workshops. There is even a bloke called Yogi Vishuketu, having a seminar, who holds a PhD....... in Yoga. They give out PhD's for anything these days. Every kind of Yoga, massage or meditation is available here. Most were invented here to stay ahead of the pack. There is a massage that consists of oil dripping on your forehead. Didn't they used to call that Chinese water torture???? Everywhere there are old white women, in their swarmi gear, scurrying about, carrying yoga mats, going from their laughing yoga to their humming meditation. All searching for that "just right" guru. There are more guru's and swarmi's here per square mile that anywhere else in the world. If you are good you will have people flock to you and make money. They also have courses you can take. They start at beginer, then intermediate and go right up to intensive, some are even authentic. Courses can vary from a few days to as long as a couple of months. There is nothing to see here except the ashrams, some are 13 stories high. They dont build houses here they are all ashrams. If its got a roof its an ashram, usually with a story about the baba who used to live here so it is secred to his followers. Every tumble down old shack has a sign on the door advertising some sort of classes or massage. At night there is a cacophony (hows that for a word, shame I cant spell it) of chanting as the guru's try to out chant each other to prove they are the best. Of course the town is built on the Ganga, in fact where the Ganges emerges from the Himilayas so this makes it an improtant holy city. Yes Yes I know another holy city, but there are soo many up here. Any way yesterday I got my feet in the Holy Ganga and I feel soo blessed. Well my feet are sooo blessed. I wasn't game to put anymore of me in there, it was cold and even up here it is dirty. This morning I walked past a group of gurus who were obviously quite poor cos they were sharing the same smoke. Judging by the smell they were enjoying the complete religious experience. During this trip I have been surprised at the lack of Americans. Well I found them. They are all here doing some intensive training. Can you imagine the money you could make in America with some of the crackpot ideas from here and especially if you were trained in Rishikesh, by some notable guru. You couldn't loose. I have also been surprised by the lack of flies in India. I have not seen many anywhere I have been but here they are in plague proportions. Oh well you cant have everything. Im feeling soooo chilled I'm frigid. Im booked on the overnight train tomorrow to Amritsar. probably be there for only one night then back to Delhi by train to get ready to fly home.