Day 560 - A relaxed roam of Rishikesh

Last night we slept so well in the comfort and warmth of our bed, until we woke up in one of those wizard of oz dreams where you've been hurtled up into the sky by a tornado - we were deposited right back home in windy Wellington!! We wish ... but seriously, the wind outside was so strong it was rattling our door to the point where we were convinced someone was trying to break in!

After sitting out the wind reading in bed, we finally got up and found a place to have brekky overlooking the river. We spent some time on our guesthouse rooftop absorbing the view of the hills that shadow this chilled out town perched on either side of the flowing Ganges. With all the looking we'd done, it was clearly time for more food so we found the Little Buddha Cafe recommended to us by some friends, and enjoyed a totally relaxed arvo there.

Later on we walked through town and along the river to the other end of town where the huge temple complex sits. We wandered around looking at shops and absorbing the religious atmosphere created by the many sadhus (holy men) and devotees milling around. A particular special moment was watching a sadhu chatting away to a cow and wiping off the sleep around its eyes- it was really nice to see this holy animal receive such special attention.

Afterwards we made our way to the opposite end of town where we found ourselves walking in a forested area that revealed a track down to the river's edge. Here we walked along the sandy and rocky shore watching rafts pass by and scouting out some beaches for relaxing on tomorrow.

In the evening we went out in search of some good curries - which isn't that hard when you're in India!!

Adlibing it around Rishikesh.