Relaxing in Rishikesh

Rishikesh is so nice and mellow. It is easy and familiar. It is the perfect place to settle in and to get over some jetlag. After rolling out of bed, we grabbed some awesomely hot showers and headed out for some brekie. We landed at the Ganga Beach café where we could eat out in the open area under the Laximan Jula (bridge). Luke had brought a beautiful card and pair of handmade earrings with him from Boulder for me to open. They are beautiful, Indian inspired earrings and I will include a photo for you to see. I also got a card that David left for me before he moved on. He and I shared a great conversation about Arunachala the night before on the train and then the next morning, The Times of India did a cool little story on the mountain for their December 1st edition. He included in with the card and wished Luke and I all the best in visiting the mountain soon.

During breakfast, while we were making plans for the day and laughing at how goofy we are feeling from our jetlag, we are watching the monkeys all over the bridge. I’ve linked to the page about the bridge, and you will see too for our pictures that it is a beautiful, wiry web of a foot/moto/cow/donkey bridge. The monkey are up and down it; climbing the cables and the towers on each end. They play and fight with each other, and they also pirate from the locals and tourists who happen across their bridge with something they want. It is one of my favorite things to do while in Laxman Jula; to get some masala chai and to watch the monkeys work the rest of us over.

After a bit of a sit at the restaurant, there was a big monkey scramble high on the bridge. The big alpha male was hauling down the length of the bridge after another monkey, and all the other monkeys were hot pursuit to check out the action. After a bit of tussle, and horrible monkey screeching, we watched a tiny little monkey falling from the bridge, grasping at the air around him during his long fall into the river below. Whether he fell or was thrown off by the big male, or another monkey, we don’t know. We couldn’t see from our seats. As soon as he popped up, he began swimming determinedly across the rather stiff current of the Ganges and his mother had leapt from the bridge to a tree below and then scrambled down the rocky shoreline. Her huge leap was around 50 feet, from bridge to the tree below! As soon as he arrived at the water’s edge, she plucked him out and latched him safely to her belly before going off in the opposite direction of the big male still on the bridge above. Monkeys are very invested in their babies and this momma was no slouch.

The rest of the day we spent kicking back, going for a walk along the river and napping off that fresh, but weakening jetlag. We visited our friend’s, Abishesk and Kalpana’s parent’s shop, and they recognized us immediately from our time with them back in 2005! Their mom gave Luke and me both big warm hugs and invited us in for chai and cookies. We had brought printed photos to give to them from our last visit. Abishesk had grown about two feet in the last four years and Kalpana had gotten married, moved to Dehradoon and had a baby six months ago. It was a great visit and the first of many over the next few days.

(I am playing some catch-up here, so I realize I am bouncing around a bit. I am just going to rattle off some stories as they come to me.)