It's our last night in India. We haven't posted anything in a while, partially because there hasn't been much to talk about - that is, that we'd want to post on the blog anyway.
There have been massive highs and lows, and for Adam particularly, there has been a lot of very tough, emotional times. This trip has presented us both with many challenges, in our practice as well as personally. It has not always been easy. It has however presented us both with a chance to learn and grow like never before. I have gained a different perspective on life, and my understanding of what is possible has broadened incredibly.
When I left Canada, I felt as though I was in a rut; working at a job I hated, not pursuing the career path that I had set out for myself in college, and just generally not feeling very fulfilled. My view for so long has been that I'm going to do something I don't want to do - in order to get to a place that I could be happy - later. Never now. Happiness and fulfillment was always a series of undesirable tasks away. I've learned that it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible to make a living doing things that inspire you, give you energy rather than steal it from you. I won't allow myself to forget that lesson. When I get back home, rather than just start looking for a job and doing what I think I "should" do, I'm going to search for the life I want to live, and do everything in my power to make that happen. We're all going to die. Knowing that, the only thing worth doing is that which truly fills you with joy, and everything else is just an obstacle.
I'll be leaving India with mixed emotions. I am happy to be returning home; to see my family and all those I care about, to sleep in my incredibly comfortable bed (and in my nice, quiet neighbourhood!) and to move on with the next phase of my life. I am also sad to go; I have made so many good friends, met so many interesting people from all over the world; there is truly a great sense of community here. I will miss Saraswathi, my beloved teacher, and the beautiful, slow pace of life here; spending hours eating breakfast, just talking with friends, nowhere to be, no pressing issues to be taken care of. I will miss all the wonderful locals I've met, who have made us feel welcomed into their community. I'll miss the palm trees and the weather (even though it is oppressively hot these days) and days spent at the pool at Hotel Regalis. I'll miss the adorable stray dogs on my walk to the shala every morning. And the food! Ah, the food.
This trip has been everything I could have asked for - and a lot I didn't - and more. I can't wait to come back.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Today was a good day
Went to 6:30 led class this morning, which was great. I am finding that I enjoy Mysore style, self-practice actually more than the led classes, as they give you time to work on things, to stay in poses a little longer - specifically right now I am working hard on picking up from the floor and jumping back, which there simply isn't time to do in a led class, at least not at my present level of ability (finally making some real progress there though, which feels great). However led classes are great to remind you of the intended pacing, and are just generally a great workout. Saraswathi seems to delight in pushing us all in uttpluthii, taking her count of ten incredibly slowly, and always slowing down more towards the end. When she gets to 8, it's always "come on, only 8, pickup!". So when it's all over you feel just fantastic to have made it through.
After practice we head, as usual, to the coconut stand to rehydrate and chat with some friends. Then it's off to gather our Austrian friend Christoph, and head back to the coconut stand, where we jump in a rickshaw to head to "Yoga Stops Traffic" an event sponsored by a group called Odanadi, that works against human trafficking and sexual slavery/abuse of all kinds. We each made donations and participated with many of our fellow yoga students in doing 27 sun salutations (suryanamaskara a) in front of Mysore palace. Im told in other parts of the world they were doing 108, but... We're outdoors in Mysore, just as the sun would really be starting to get nasty. So we took it easy. Many children that had been rescued from human trafficking by the organization were there, and our practice was actually led by some of them - which turned out to be quite funny, as one of the girls wasn't quite aware of how much she was projecting her voice, and another seemed in a hurry to get her part over with (which meant we had to work quite hard to keep up with her, and led to many fits of laughter from the students). It was nice to actually be able to see some of the people directly affected by our donations, and they seemed genuinely happy and grateful to us all. Its hard to imagine what some of those children would have been forced to go through. Afterward, there were free coconuts for the participants, and the kids were given powdered paint to throw around, and put on the faces of everyone around - a common way to celebrate religious occasions in India.
From there, we headed back to Gokulam for breakfast at Anokhi, which was delicious as always, and met up with another friend. After an interesting conversation about the Yamas and Niyamas, spirituality/religion, moderation and zealotry, we all decided to spend the rest of the day at the pool. So we contacted Apu, a local rickshaw driver who has endeared himself to many of the yoga students, for his excellent driving, his punctuality in picking up/dropping off, and his all-around friendliness. So the four of us got in his rickshaw and headed off to Silent Shores hotel/resort, which is a good 20-30 minute drive... Only to find that the pool was under maintenance for the weekend. So we had to get Apu to come back (he had just left, thankfully) and take us to Hotel Regaalis, which is the more common pool for yoga students. The rest of the day was spent blissfully in the sun, with the occasional dip in the pool, a brief stop for food in the middle, and a trip to the chocolate man (a local legend amongst yogis who sells home-made, absolutely delicious chocoaltes. My favourite is his dark chocolate coconut bars, though I hear he makes truffles that are better than anything else, but they have to be ordered in somewhat large quantity) once we were back in Gokulam for Adam and I, to get some treats for our day of rest.
After practice we head, as usual, to the coconut stand to rehydrate and chat with some friends. Then it's off to gather our Austrian friend Christoph, and head back to the coconut stand, where we jump in a rickshaw to head to "Yoga Stops Traffic" an event sponsored by a group called Odanadi, that works against human trafficking and sexual slavery/abuse of all kinds. We each made donations and participated with many of our fellow yoga students in doing 27 sun salutations (suryanamaskara a) in front of Mysore palace. Im told in other parts of the world they were doing 108, but... We're outdoors in Mysore, just as the sun would really be starting to get nasty. So we took it easy. Many children that had been rescued from human trafficking by the organization were there, and our practice was actually led by some of them - which turned out to be quite funny, as one of the girls wasn't quite aware of how much she was projecting her voice, and another seemed in a hurry to get her part over with (which meant we had to work quite hard to keep up with her, and led to many fits of laughter from the students). It was nice to actually be able to see some of the people directly affected by our donations, and they seemed genuinely happy and grateful to us all. Its hard to imagine what some of those children would have been forced to go through. Afterward, there were free coconuts for the participants, and the kids were given powdered paint to throw around, and put on the faces of everyone around - a common way to celebrate religious occasions in India.
From there, we headed back to Gokulam for breakfast at Anokhi, which was delicious as always, and met up with another friend. After an interesting conversation about the Yamas and Niyamas, spirituality/religion, moderation and zealotry, we all decided to spend the rest of the day at the pool. So we contacted Apu, a local rickshaw driver who has endeared himself to many of the yoga students, for his excellent driving, his punctuality in picking up/dropping off, and his all-around friendliness. So the four of us got in his rickshaw and headed off to Silent Shores hotel/resort, which is a good 20-30 minute drive... Only to find that the pool was under maintenance for the weekend. So we had to get Apu to come back (he had just left, thankfully) and take us to Hotel Regaalis, which is the more common pool for yoga students. The rest of the day was spent blissfully in the sun, with the occasional dip in the pool, a brief stop for food in the middle, and a trip to the chocolate man (a local legend amongst yogis who sells home-made, absolutely delicious chocoaltes. My favourite is his dark chocolate coconut bars, though I hear he makes truffles that are better than anything else, but they have to be ordered in somewhat large quantity) once we were back in Gokulam for Adam and I, to get some treats for our day of rest.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sinking Hearts
Sorry for the wait, Internet troubles have caused a back-up of posts.
Days continue to pass and our practice is getting better. Aaron is now completing the full primary series and has been given the first two poses of second series. I have finally bound in Marichyasana D (with serious, firm assistance from Saraswathi) and am being given the rest of the primary series day by day. Now I am hoping to be practicing the full primary before we leave.
We both battled a week or so of being sick following our elephant and temple adventure. On top of the sickness, we appear to have run out of things to keep us entertained. Our I-pad games have been far over-played, we've watched every movie and show we brought, more than once, and we've seen the local sites worth seeing.
The days pass much more slowly now. Until recently I had been chatting with my girlfriend back in Canada on Skype for an hour or two almost every day. She's left Canada for a week to vacation with a girlfriend in Mexico. For a week we exchange only small emails and details about our experiences.
Boredom is taking it's toll on us both. There is not much to keep you busy here, unless you opt to take courses in Sanskrit, meditation, Ayurveda, massage etc., or you aware willing/able to spend enough money daily to keep yourself entertained.
We've recently started heading to the pool more often, several times a week, to escape the empty, repetitive days.
With only an hour and a half - the morning practice, to keep us busy each day, the rest of the day drags and seems to take a lifetime. Encountering some troubles back home, boredom coupled with stress and worry - with nothing to take my mind off of it, have taken a serious toll. It has affected even my practice. My calm, meditative practice has been replaced by a practice dominated with thoughts of stress or worry and a desire to be home.
Our Internet situationt took a sudden down-turn, as men showed up to work on and adjust the location of the modem in the building, so residents on the top floor can still access it. After a short while with no internet, we are connected again. However, with the modem farther away, the signal has been weaker, cutting in and out, and with more people using it, the Internet has slowed to a crawl.
Our living situation has also been greatly affected by the arrival of a construction crew. They've set up tents directly next to our apartment, feet away from the window to our bedroom, to build a new building next to ours. At night they play their radios and laugh and joke loudly, until finally around 11:30 it goes silent.
Waking up at 4 after falling asleep at 12 every day for over 2 weeks now, has not been enjoyable.
After practice, when we arrive back at our apartment, the workers are up and shouting, hammering, clanking, and smashing away. Along with the loud traffic, roaring engines and constant honking, day-time naps are just as, if not more difficult than the night-time sleeps. Days of true rest only seem to come when the mind and body are so tired that there is not much to be done to prevent sleep.
My drive and resolve to be here have reached an all time low. I am happy to be making progress, however the thought alone of progressing in my practice is not enough to keep my spirits high.
Now just over 1/2 way finished our trip, I am looking at the coming 6 remaining weeks with distress. I look forward to making progress with my practice, yet all else seems to be disheartening. The reality of 3 months in India, as well as the trouble it can cause back home, have hit us harder than ever as we pass the half way point.
We are hopeful that something will happen, something will come up and lift our spirits once again... Bring back our motivation and allow these final weeks to pass with relative ease. For the moment, the future appears dismal.
Days continue to pass and our practice is getting better. Aaron is now completing the full primary series and has been given the first two poses of second series. I have finally bound in Marichyasana D (with serious, firm assistance from Saraswathi) and am being given the rest of the primary series day by day. Now I am hoping to be practicing the full primary before we leave.
We both battled a week or so of being sick following our elephant and temple adventure. On top of the sickness, we appear to have run out of things to keep us entertained. Our I-pad games have been far over-played, we've watched every movie and show we brought, more than once, and we've seen the local sites worth seeing.
The days pass much more slowly now. Until recently I had been chatting with my girlfriend back in Canada on Skype for an hour or two almost every day. She's left Canada for a week to vacation with a girlfriend in Mexico. For a week we exchange only small emails and details about our experiences.
Boredom is taking it's toll on us both. There is not much to keep you busy here, unless you opt to take courses in Sanskrit, meditation, Ayurveda, massage etc., or you aware willing/able to spend enough money daily to keep yourself entertained.
We've recently started heading to the pool more often, several times a week, to escape the empty, repetitive days.
With only an hour and a half - the morning practice, to keep us busy each day, the rest of the day drags and seems to take a lifetime. Encountering some troubles back home, boredom coupled with stress and worry - with nothing to take my mind off of it, have taken a serious toll. It has affected even my practice. My calm, meditative practice has been replaced by a practice dominated with thoughts of stress or worry and a desire to be home.
Our Internet situationt took a sudden down-turn, as men showed up to work on and adjust the location of the modem in the building, so residents on the top floor can still access it. After a short while with no internet, we are connected again. However, with the modem farther away, the signal has been weaker, cutting in and out, and with more people using it, the Internet has slowed to a crawl.
Our living situation has also been greatly affected by the arrival of a construction crew. They've set up tents directly next to our apartment, feet away from the window to our bedroom, to build a new building next to ours. At night they play their radios and laugh and joke loudly, until finally around 11:30 it goes silent.
Waking up at 4 after falling asleep at 12 every day for over 2 weeks now, has not been enjoyable.
After practice, when we arrive back at our apartment, the workers are up and shouting, hammering, clanking, and smashing away. Along with the loud traffic, roaring engines and constant honking, day-time naps are just as, if not more difficult than the night-time sleeps. Days of true rest only seem to come when the mind and body are so tired that there is not much to be done to prevent sleep.
My drive and resolve to be here have reached an all time low. I am happy to be making progress, however the thought alone of progressing in my practice is not enough to keep my spirits high.
Now just over 1/2 way finished our trip, I am looking at the coming 6 remaining weeks with distress. I look forward to making progress with my practice, yet all else seems to be disheartening. The reality of 3 months in India, as well as the trouble it can cause back home, have hit us harder than ever as we pass the half way point.
We are hopeful that something will happen, something will come up and lift our spirits once again... Bring back our motivation and allow these final weeks to pass with relative ease. For the moment, the future appears dismal.
Wild Elephants!... In chains?
The conservatory is about a 40 minute ride from the temple. When we arrive we jump out of the car and get ourselves organized before heading to find out how we go about finding the elephants. We're standing at the top of a small hill which leads down to a river, about 400 meters across.
None of us had been here before and our drivers didn't seem to offer much help. Nearby there's a building with a restaurant, convenience store and gift shop inside. We head over to speak with someone about what to do. Lorna gets there first and as Aaron and I walk up we hear Lorna saying "So the workers are all on strike?" as their conversation continues, we discover that the typical way to the elephants is to take a boat ride across the river, however, today the ferrymen are on strike. No boat rides.
"So where are the elephants? How do we get to the Elephants?" someone asks. The lady at the desk simply points to the other side of the river, saying "There." So, having a quick chat we decide to head down to the river and see what's up.
Locals are all over the river, splashing and playing, laughing and shouting. We talk with some of them about seeing the elephants and they show us a stone path which spans the entire river. Taking a look at the visible section of the path we see several areas where you are required to walk through knee deep water. The rocks we can walk on look slippery, and the current looks strong enough to make balancing while walking through it difficult.
As the group discusses whether or not to go, one of the girls with us, Michelle, without a word, hikes up her pants and begins to cross. The decision is made! The rest of us take a moment, putting cell phones and wallets where they won't get wet, and begin to cross. The path is largely easily walkable, with occasional slippery stones and a section or two requiring getting our feet wet. With some help and some tactics, we all make it across in one piece, no one having fallen in.
As we reach the other side, we begin walking around to search for the elephants. In the forest, about 1 km in the distance, we spot an elephant hanging out by a tree. Not sure exactly what to do, we start walking towards it. After a moment a man runs out of a nearby building and starts to yell at us, telling us we aren't allowed there. After a quick discussion we find out where we can stay and discover that the elephants can only be seen when they are brought in for food. The next meal-time is about 30 minutes away, so we kick back and wait.
After a while, someone spots an elephant walking up a hill nearby and calls out to rest of us. The guard lets us know where we can go to see it up close, and we head in to an area surrounded with low walls. As the elephant gets closer we see that it's front 2 legs are chained together, like handcuffs, allowing it to only take slow baby steps toward us. Eventually it reaches the wall and we are able to see it up close. It isn't as exciting as we'd hoped. Aaron and I had already rode the back of an elephant at the palace, and were hoping to see some elephants in the wild, rather than chained. We were also hoping to see a much larger group of elephants.
After the 30 minutes passes, we ask and they tell us it'll be about another 30 minutes before the elephants show up... Disappointed and a little restless, the group decides to head back across the river rather than wait and possibly be told to wait some more.
On the way back, just as we are reaching the other side, we look back and see a large group of elephants arriving for their meals at the compound we just left.
Oh well. Unfortunate, but crossing the river and wandering the area on the other side was a fun adventure.
As we reach the other side a bunch of local girls are chatting, pointing at me and giggling. I smile and wave and all of them make a big "Woooooo", acting shy and covering their faces. Neither of us are too sure why, but we keep walking, as they chat and giggle, watching us. We have a seat at the restaurant and drink some water. Eventually a few of the girls come over to get a picture with our group, and several of them huddle around Aaron and I. A photo or two is taken and one of the girls looks at me and says "Could you stand infront?" pointing at a spot infront of her. I step forward and notice that I'm completely blocking her from the picture, so I crouch down so we can all be seen. Again "Woooooo!" from the girls, followed by giggling. Then the group pictures are finished and the girls leave to join their friends.
After a minute or so, a few of the girls come back and ask me to take photos with them. One by one each girl comes and stands next to me while her friend snaps a picture. Each time a "Woooooo!" and giggle from the friends in the distance. After pictures with 4 different ladies and a few with a pair of ladies, they seem to be content and thank me, heading back to their group.
Aaron and I talk about what that was all about, eventually deciding it must have been my beard that was making me so famous. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I decided before coming that I would try to go the entire trip without shaving my head or face. At this point it's over a month in and I'm looking pretty grizzly. Anyway, just as we were leaving a few of the girls from our group headed of to the bathroom. While waiting, the group of locals wooo-ing and taking pictures with me come back to get on a bus. It appears to be some sort of school trip.
I decided I wanted a picture to go with the story, so I walked over to the group to ask. "WoooOOOO!" the loudest one yet from the ladies as they spot me approaching. I asked if it was ok to take a picture and they agreed, all of the girls and guys lining up on either side of me for the shot.
Before the first picture, one by one, 4 or 5 different guys come and stand next to me, measuring their shoulders up to mine until finally, a few guys turn and call for their friend at the back. As he Stands next to me his shoulder is just one inch below mine, and again "Woooooo!" from the ladies, this time I expect, for the other guy. It all made sense now. For some reason they were very excited about my height. I wasn't the tallest in our group, but the unkempt beard may have added to my 'foreign' look, making me the target.
As they finish lining up, the girl standing next to me begins putting her hand against my leg and trying to hold my hand. The next photo taken is of me looking down to see what's rubbing my leg and hand. The girl is maybe 14 or 15, and looks at me with a big smile. Laughing I tried to explain "I'm taken, sorry!" and put my hand in my pocket for the next picture. Still, the girl places her hand again against the side of my leg. One more photo and I move away, thanking them and saying good-bye.
As I leave they ask Aaron to come over, and one of the guys steps infront of the photo to take Aaron's glasses off of his shirt and put them on his face, then he puts on his own glasses and assumes an amazing 'cool guy' pose next to my brother. Another photo or two and we thank the group, heading back to our car.
The ride back is a long one. This time at night, playing chicken with the pair of headlights infront of us, which quickly grow larger. About 4 hours later we arrive back at the coconut stand and say our good-byes to each other. Ending a beautiful day, amazing temple experience and a fun adventure across a river.
None of us had been here before and our drivers didn't seem to offer much help. Nearby there's a building with a restaurant, convenience store and gift shop inside. We head over to speak with someone about what to do. Lorna gets there first and as Aaron and I walk up we hear Lorna saying "So the workers are all on strike?" as their conversation continues, we discover that the typical way to the elephants is to take a boat ride across the river, however, today the ferrymen are on strike. No boat rides.
"So where are the elephants? How do we get to the Elephants?" someone asks. The lady at the desk simply points to the other side of the river, saying "There." So, having a quick chat we decide to head down to the river and see what's up.
Locals are all over the river, splashing and playing, laughing and shouting. We talk with some of them about seeing the elephants and they show us a stone path which spans the entire river. Taking a look at the visible section of the path we see several areas where you are required to walk through knee deep water. The rocks we can walk on look slippery, and the current looks strong enough to make balancing while walking through it difficult.
As the group discusses whether or not to go, one of the girls with us, Michelle, without a word, hikes up her pants and begins to cross. The decision is made! The rest of us take a moment, putting cell phones and wallets where they won't get wet, and begin to cross. The path is largely easily walkable, with occasional slippery stones and a section or two requiring getting our feet wet. With some help and some tactics, we all make it across in one piece, no one having fallen in.
As we reach the other side, we begin walking around to search for the elephants. In the forest, about 1 km in the distance, we spot an elephant hanging out by a tree. Not sure exactly what to do, we start walking towards it. After a moment a man runs out of a nearby building and starts to yell at us, telling us we aren't allowed there. After a quick discussion we find out where we can stay and discover that the elephants can only be seen when they are brought in for food. The next meal-time is about 30 minutes away, so we kick back and wait.
After a while, someone spots an elephant walking up a hill nearby and calls out to rest of us. The guard lets us know where we can go to see it up close, and we head in to an area surrounded with low walls. As the elephant gets closer we see that it's front 2 legs are chained together, like handcuffs, allowing it to only take slow baby steps toward us. Eventually it reaches the wall and we are able to see it up close. It isn't as exciting as we'd hoped. Aaron and I had already rode the back of an elephant at the palace, and were hoping to see some elephants in the wild, rather than chained. We were also hoping to see a much larger group of elephants.
After the 30 minutes passes, we ask and they tell us it'll be about another 30 minutes before the elephants show up... Disappointed and a little restless, the group decides to head back across the river rather than wait and possibly be told to wait some more.
On the way back, just as we are reaching the other side, we look back and see a large group of elephants arriving for their meals at the compound we just left.
Oh well. Unfortunate, but crossing the river and wandering the area on the other side was a fun adventure.
As we reach the other side a bunch of local girls are chatting, pointing at me and giggling. I smile and wave and all of them make a big "Woooooo", acting shy and covering their faces. Neither of us are too sure why, but we keep walking, as they chat and giggle, watching us. We have a seat at the restaurant and drink some water. Eventually a few of the girls come over to get a picture with our group, and several of them huddle around Aaron and I. A photo or two is taken and one of the girls looks at me and says "Could you stand infront?" pointing at a spot infront of her. I step forward and notice that I'm completely blocking her from the picture, so I crouch down so we can all be seen. Again "Woooooo!" from the girls, followed by giggling. Then the group pictures are finished and the girls leave to join their friends.
After a minute or so, a few of the girls come back and ask me to take photos with them. One by one each girl comes and stands next to me while her friend snaps a picture. Each time a "Woooooo!" and giggle from the friends in the distance. After pictures with 4 different ladies and a few with a pair of ladies, they seem to be content and thank me, heading back to their group.
Aaron and I talk about what that was all about, eventually deciding it must have been my beard that was making me so famous. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I decided before coming that I would try to go the entire trip without shaving my head or face. At this point it's over a month in and I'm looking pretty grizzly. Anyway, just as we were leaving a few of the girls from our group headed of to the bathroom. While waiting, the group of locals wooo-ing and taking pictures with me come back to get on a bus. It appears to be some sort of school trip.
I decided I wanted a picture to go with the story, so I walked over to the group to ask. "WoooOOOO!" the loudest one yet from the ladies as they spot me approaching. I asked if it was ok to take a picture and they agreed, all of the girls and guys lining up on either side of me for the shot.
Before the first picture, one by one, 4 or 5 different guys come and stand next to me, measuring their shoulders up to mine until finally, a few guys turn and call for their friend at the back. As he Stands next to me his shoulder is just one inch below mine, and again "Woooooo!" from the ladies, this time I expect, for the other guy. It all made sense now. For some reason they were very excited about my height. I wasn't the tallest in our group, but the unkempt beard may have added to my 'foreign' look, making me the target.
As they finish lining up, the girl standing next to me begins putting her hand against my leg and trying to hold my hand. The next photo taken is of me looking down to see what's rubbing my leg and hand. The girl is maybe 14 or 15, and looks at me with a big smile. Laughing I tried to explain "I'm taken, sorry!" and put my hand in my pocket for the next picture. Still, the girl places her hand again against the side of my leg. One more photo and I move away, thanking them and saying good-bye.
As I leave they ask Aaron to come over, and one of the guys steps infront of the photo to take Aaron's glasses off of his shirt and put them on his face, then he puts on his own glasses and assumes an amazing 'cool guy' pose next to my brother. Another photo or two and we thank the group, heading back to our car.
The ride back is a long one. This time at night, playing chicken with the pair of headlights infront of us, which quickly grow larger. About 4 hours later we arrive back at the coconut stand and say our good-byes to each other. Ending a beautiful day, amazing temple experience and a fun adventure across a river.
The Golden Temple!
Breakfasts at Anokhi's Garden Cafe have become much more regular these days. That Masala Coffee just keeps pulling us back. The staff at Anokhi have come to know us both by name name and have been very friendly.
While having breakfast the other day, Lorna, another student of Saraswathi's came and joined us. We had previously had a conversation about going with her to see some elephants in the wild at the Elephant conservatory. At breakfast she let us know that the trip to the conservatory would also be to a Tibetan monastery and village, which is near the Elephants. So, she gave us the meeting place and time, told us the cost and a few days later we were on our way.
We all met at the coconut stand. There were 16 of us in total, 13 taking two SUV's and another three in a separate car. After everyone was together, we packed into our rides and started along our way. First stop is the temple, but first...
DEATH RIDE 2!!!
Haha, yup.
Another crazy ride - weaving in and out of traffic, playing chicken with oncoming traffic as we try to pass vehicle after vehicle along the way. This time it was a nice, sunny day, clear sky and, with the windows rolled down, lots of fresh air. A bit easier to stay comfortable and relaxed. Still, at one point while going about 90 km/h, our driver cranks the wheel to the right to avoid a speed mound he must not have noticed, and our vehicle flies around the mound barely missing a merchant stand and some people at the side of the road. Our driver, Manju, was also particularly enthusiastic with his horn, honking it non-stop for near the entire ride.
About an hour or two into the ride we pass through Manju's village, where, with a huge smile on his face, he slows down, begins to endlessly honk his horn while waving and shouting to friends and family watching him from the road. A short while later - after some of the ladies in the car with us have a talk with Manju about his horn-use, we reach the edge of the Tibetan village.
The first thing we all notice is how much cleaner it is here. There is still garbage on the street, but far less - and never a pile of it at the side of the road. We pass a sign indicating "Golden Temple - This way" and follow. Then, in the distance, we spot the top of the temple. It towers above the buildings in the village and even the treetops surrounding it. It has an Asian-style tiered roof, with golden shingles. At the top of it is a gigantic golden circle, with life-size statues of men in various poses at the center. All of it plated in gold and shining in the light of the sun. An impressive sight to behold.
Our ride ends as we reach the temple gates and our driver lets us out. We huddle into a group and begin discussing a plan on what to do, where to go and when to meet etc. With our large group splitting up into several small groups and wandering throughout a village and a temple, we choose the best method of organization.... no plan, just wing it.
So we split up into smaller groups, Aaron and I stick with Lorna and the other ladies from our vehicle and begin exploring. The temple grounds are bigger than we expected. Inside are 2 or 3 smaller temples, as well as the main, large temple. We take a slow walk through the grounds, taking time to appreciate the amazingly detailed architecture and paintings, as well as the beautiful clean air and clear sky.
Eventually we head inside the main temple and stand in awe of three 60ft tall golden statues. In the center is a statue of Buddha, sitting in lotus. On either side of him are statues of the guru Padmasambhava and Buddha Amitayus (which are 58ft rather than 60). The temple is huge, with a 90ft ceiling at its center. Every inch of the temple is intricate architecture, all of it meticulously painted and detailed. Tourists are allowed to walk along the outer walls, as the greater portion of the temple is taken up by cushions and tables for praying and mantras.
After taking our time exploring we head out to see the temple gardens. They are quite impressive. At one end are various palm trees and bushes. At the other a large stone arrangement with water flowing through it, surrounded by various exotic plants growing along the rocks. Just as we are about to leave, a gong begins to sound. At first, every minute or so, slowly getting faster and faster.
Leaving the garden we reach the front of the temple and find the source of the gong sound, a monk on the temple steps. With every sound of the gong, more and more monks appear, joining a large group seated at the steps of the temple. Eventually the gong is sounded non-stop for a minute or so, and then silenced. At once all of the monks, at least 100 of them, stand and enter the temple to commence "Puja" or prayers.
After they've all been seated, drumming and horns sound as the one man leads the group into prayer. Eventually all 100 or so monks are sitting in lotus, chanting a mantra in a wonderfully deep tone. For at least 30 minutes we sit and watch, amazed at the ceremony. The massive drums being sounded, softly at first, then slowly louder until they are sounded at full, along with symbols and horns in the background. The sound of it was incredible. After a while we notice one of the monks flipping through his prayer cards as each card is read. 30 minutes in and he is about 1/8 of the way through the stack. With that, we decide to head out and finish our visit to the village with some shopping and lunch.
Eventually the time comes to move on to the elephants. After a little over an hour finding everyone and getting back together, we get back in the cars and head out to the Elephant Conservatory.
While having breakfast the other day, Lorna, another student of Saraswathi's came and joined us. We had previously had a conversation about going with her to see some elephants in the wild at the Elephant conservatory. At breakfast she let us know that the trip to the conservatory would also be to a Tibetan monastery and village, which is near the Elephants. So, she gave us the meeting place and time, told us the cost and a few days later we were on our way.
We all met at the coconut stand. There were 16 of us in total, 13 taking two SUV's and another three in a separate car. After everyone was together, we packed into our rides and started along our way. First stop is the temple, but first...
DEATH RIDE 2!!!
Haha, yup.
Another crazy ride - weaving in and out of traffic, playing chicken with oncoming traffic as we try to pass vehicle after vehicle along the way. This time it was a nice, sunny day, clear sky and, with the windows rolled down, lots of fresh air. A bit easier to stay comfortable and relaxed. Still, at one point while going about 90 km/h, our driver cranks the wheel to the right to avoid a speed mound he must not have noticed, and our vehicle flies around the mound barely missing a merchant stand and some people at the side of the road. Our driver, Manju, was also particularly enthusiastic with his horn, honking it non-stop for near the entire ride.
About an hour or two into the ride we pass through Manju's village, where, with a huge smile on his face, he slows down, begins to endlessly honk his horn while waving and shouting to friends and family watching him from the road. A short while later - after some of the ladies in the car with us have a talk with Manju about his horn-use, we reach the edge of the Tibetan village.
The first thing we all notice is how much cleaner it is here. There is still garbage on the street, but far less - and never a pile of it at the side of the road. We pass a sign indicating "Golden Temple - This way" and follow. Then, in the distance, we spot the top of the temple. It towers above the buildings in the village and even the treetops surrounding it. It has an Asian-style tiered roof, with golden shingles. At the top of it is a gigantic golden circle, with life-size statues of men in various poses at the center. All of it plated in gold and shining in the light of the sun. An impressive sight to behold.
Our ride ends as we reach the temple gates and our driver lets us out. We huddle into a group and begin discussing a plan on what to do, where to go and when to meet etc. With our large group splitting up into several small groups and wandering throughout a village and a temple, we choose the best method of organization.... no plan, just wing it.
So we split up into smaller groups, Aaron and I stick with Lorna and the other ladies from our vehicle and begin exploring. The temple grounds are bigger than we expected. Inside are 2 or 3 smaller temples, as well as the main, large temple. We take a slow walk through the grounds, taking time to appreciate the amazingly detailed architecture and paintings, as well as the beautiful clean air and clear sky.
Eventually we head inside the main temple and stand in awe of three 60ft tall golden statues. In the center is a statue of Buddha, sitting in lotus. On either side of him are statues of the guru Padmasambhava and Buddha Amitayus (which are 58ft rather than 60). The temple is huge, with a 90ft ceiling at its center. Every inch of the temple is intricate architecture, all of it meticulously painted and detailed. Tourists are allowed to walk along the outer walls, as the greater portion of the temple is taken up by cushions and tables for praying and mantras.
After taking our time exploring we head out to see the temple gardens. They are quite impressive. At one end are various palm trees and bushes. At the other a large stone arrangement with water flowing through it, surrounded by various exotic plants growing along the rocks. Just as we are about to leave, a gong begins to sound. At first, every minute or so, slowly getting faster and faster.
Leaving the garden we reach the front of the temple and find the source of the gong sound, a monk on the temple steps. With every sound of the gong, more and more monks appear, joining a large group seated at the steps of the temple. Eventually the gong is sounded non-stop for a minute or so, and then silenced. At once all of the monks, at least 100 of them, stand and enter the temple to commence "Puja" or prayers.
After they've all been seated, drumming and horns sound as the one man leads the group into prayer. Eventually all 100 or so monks are sitting in lotus, chanting a mantra in a wonderfully deep tone. For at least 30 minutes we sit and watch, amazed at the ceremony. The massive drums being sounded, softly at first, then slowly louder until they are sounded at full, along with symbols and horns in the background. The sound of it was incredible. After a while we notice one of the monks flipping through his prayer cards as each card is read. 30 minutes in and he is about 1/8 of the way through the stack. With that, we decide to head out and finish our visit to the village with some shopping and lunch.
Eventually the time comes to move on to the elephants. After a little over an hour finding everyone and getting back together, we get back in the cars and head out to the Elephant Conservatory.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Relaxation
So our practice continues to go well, Aaron has moved on past Supta kurmasana and is now essentially completing the entire primary series. I am still stuck in Marichyasana D, and continue to get closer to binding in the pose. It'll be a while, but I'm hopeful I may bind at least before our time here is up.
After a led class at the end of our week, while drinking some coconuts with other students, we were invited to breakfast at a place called Anokhi Garden Cafe. We'd walked past this place almost every day, but never bothered to go in. Big mistake. This cafe is perfect. It has a French/European style breakfast menu, with amazing fruit salads, oatmeals, crepes, quiche etc. The dining area is in a small garden in the shade, with ground level tables and cushions to sit on.
They serve masala coffee, which I instantly became ridiculously addicted to. It's coffee flavored with cinnamon cardamom and ginger. I highly recommend trying it out. Here's the way it's made at the restaurant.
-Boil 50/50 water and milk in a pot, stirring, on medium - medium-high so the milk doesn't burn.
-Add ground coffee, crushed cardamom pods (about 1 per cup of fluid), a little fresh ginger and half of a cinnamon stick.
-Reduce the heat and stir.
-After about 3-4 minutes, strain and serve.
I've been told it can be made in a coffee machine by simply adding a little ground cinnamon and ground or crushed cardamom, but I'd recommend trying it the real way first.
As well as the coffee they have the best fruit salad I've ever had. Called Flora's fruit salad. It has watermelon, papaya, banana, pineapple, date pieces, raisins, pomegranate seeds, shredded coconut and your choice of mint or basil. Fresh papaya and pomegranate might be hard to find depending on your location, but I believe the papaya could be replaced by a nice mango or peach (maybe both!), and cherries could make due for the pomegranate. If you can find all the ingredients, you HAVE to try this fruit salad out!
So, needless to say we've been forgoing our hotel breakfasts for Anokhi garden on occasion since.
During our first breakfast at Anokhi, an American couple mentioned going to a pool later that day. Having heard about a pool in the area we asked them for details and found out there was a pool at Hotel Regalis, just a few minutes rickshaw ride away. Their description made it sound nice, so we made plans to head down later that day.
A few hours later we arrived at the hotel. This was the nicest area we'd been in India so far. As good if not better than some of the fancier hotels I've been to in Canada. Once inside we speak to a man at the desk, pay the entry fee to the pool (250 rupees each, $5) and make our way downstairs.
Walking into the pool area was one of the most beautiful sights we could have wished for; A nice big blue pool surrounded by reclining chairs in the sunlight, with rows of palm trees as the backdrop.... Heaven. You have to come early (which we weren't) to get one of the reclining chairs. The alternative, almost better yet, is for us to place our towels down on a nice flat grassy area in the sun. Laying out, we start by soaking in the sun before going for a swim. Here it takes only a few seconds before the sun's heat encompasses your body. When feeling too hot, the pool is nice and cool. The perfect temperature to jump in and feel refreshed.
Hours melt away while poolside. Before we know it, 4 hours have passed and we have to make our way back to Gokulam to grab food and get ready to sleep before practice the next day.
After a led class at the end of our week, while drinking some coconuts with other students, we were invited to breakfast at a place called Anokhi Garden Cafe. We'd walked past this place almost every day, but never bothered to go in. Big mistake. This cafe is perfect. It has a French/European style breakfast menu, with amazing fruit salads, oatmeals, crepes, quiche etc. The dining area is in a small garden in the shade, with ground level tables and cushions to sit on.
They serve masala coffee, which I instantly became ridiculously addicted to. It's coffee flavored with cinnamon cardamom and ginger. I highly recommend trying it out. Here's the way it's made at the restaurant.
-Boil 50/50 water and milk in a pot, stirring, on medium - medium-high so the milk doesn't burn.
-Add ground coffee, crushed cardamom pods (about 1 per cup of fluid), a little fresh ginger and half of a cinnamon stick.
-Reduce the heat and stir.
-After about 3-4 minutes, strain and serve.
I've been told it can be made in a coffee machine by simply adding a little ground cinnamon and ground or crushed cardamom, but I'd recommend trying it the real way first.
As well as the coffee they have the best fruit salad I've ever had. Called Flora's fruit salad. It has watermelon, papaya, banana, pineapple, date pieces, raisins, pomegranate seeds, shredded coconut and your choice of mint or basil. Fresh papaya and pomegranate might be hard to find depending on your location, but I believe the papaya could be replaced by a nice mango or peach (maybe both!), and cherries could make due for the pomegranate. If you can find all the ingredients, you HAVE to try this fruit salad out!
So, needless to say we've been forgoing our hotel breakfasts for Anokhi garden on occasion since.
During our first breakfast at Anokhi, an American couple mentioned going to a pool later that day. Having heard about a pool in the area we asked them for details and found out there was a pool at Hotel Regalis, just a few minutes rickshaw ride away. Their description made it sound nice, so we made plans to head down later that day.
A few hours later we arrived at the hotel. This was the nicest area we'd been in India so far. As good if not better than some of the fancier hotels I've been to in Canada. Once inside we speak to a man at the desk, pay the entry fee to the pool (250 rupees each, $5) and make our way downstairs.
Walking into the pool area was one of the most beautiful sights we could have wished for; A nice big blue pool surrounded by reclining chairs in the sunlight, with rows of palm trees as the backdrop.... Heaven. You have to come early (which we weren't) to get one of the reclining chairs. The alternative, almost better yet, is for us to place our towels down on a nice flat grassy area in the sun. Laying out, we start by soaking in the sun before going for a swim. Here it takes only a few seconds before the sun's heat encompasses your body. When feeling too hot, the pool is nice and cool. The perfect temperature to jump in and feel refreshed.
Hours melt away while poolside. Before we know it, 4 hours have passed and we have to make our way back to Gokulam to grab food and get ready to sleep before practice the next day.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Mysore Palace
We finally got out to see the palace! It was pretty incredible. The palace grounds are massive, probably about 3 square kilometers. Inside the grounds are the palace, four very old temples and several large garden areas.
As we got out of the rickshaw, just as we arrived, we were swarmed by street salesman. They held carved wooden fans, jewelry, postcards etc in front of our faces and called out various prices. A simple "No, thank you" is far from enough for these man, as they follow you offering you lower prices and more items. After telling one man "no" about 8 times as we walked, with increasing seriousness, we decided that ignoring them and walking away was the best solution. After a short walk we were at the gates.
Below: the architecture above the entrance to on of the temples.
Paying entry and passing security, we entered the grounds and were stunned by some of the beautiful architecture and gardens. Slowly exploring the grounds before we went in to any temples or the palace, we made our way around taking photos.
Below: Mysore palace seen from across the gardens
The palace is massive. It's a truly amazing building. On sunday nights, once it's dark they turn on the lights and the palace lights up covered in something like 90,000 small bulbs. We were there on a Sunday, but unfortunately couldn't stay until dark as we had to be up for practice at 4am.
As we travelled, we wandered into an area that seemed to have no other tourists (most tourists were gathered by the palace). In the distance, we spotted a group of elephants standing by an enormous tree. We had heard that somewhere in the palace were elephant rides. Some men near the elephants spotted us and called us over.
Below: the enormous tree with elephants underneath.
As we approached they told us to feel free to stand with and pet the elephants. I am a huge fan of elephants, I love them. Getting to stand so close to one has been a life goal of mine. It was an incredible feeling to stand next to a creature who's head is as big as half of my body.
After a moment or so, a man offered to take pictures for us while the handler started to get one of the elephants to bow down. "Come, jump up" he said, pointing to the elephant's leg and back... In complete awe, Aaron was first to jump on. The handler then pointed to me indicating I should get on as well. Also completely amazed and in disbelief, I walked up, stepped up its leg and hopped onto it's back. It was such an amazing, incredible feeling.
Then the elephant stood up. Our minds were blown.
Without anything to hold onto I could do nothing but place my hands on the back of the elephants head, trying to maintain balance as it's body swayed left and right while it walked. The ride didn't last very long, but every second of it was amazing. Before we knew it, the handler had the elephant kneel back down so we could jump off. Once it was over he had it give us 'blessings' (placing its trunk on our heads) while the man with our camera took some more photos.
When it was all over, the guys started telling us that the area we were in was off-limits to tourists. They explained that these elephants were the royal family's personal elephants and we are very lucky guys. We weren't sure if they were telling the truth. It was strange to us that we were the only ones in the area and on our way over we had noticed no signs for prices. The handler and man taking the photos hadn't mentioned anything about payment.
Feeling very happy and grateful, we decided to offer 500 rupees to the guys to thank them. Instead of taking the money, they stressed that elephants belonged to the royal family, that we're lucky etc, and that they wanted 1000 rupees from each of us. We still didn't believe them but we weren't sure what to do. With no one around to talk to, we handed them the money, thanked them for the experience and walked away. We were really confused and felt like we were probably scammed, but weren't sure. After a minute or two we decided that paying $20 each to stand with, pet, and ride elephants was well worth it. In the end, we hope those guys have as much fun with the money as we did spending it.
After leaving the area with elephants, we came across a cow with painted horns walking out front of a temple. It stopped for a moment, so I pulled out my camera and moved in to get a picture.
Right after I snapped the photo the cow quickly turned around, lowered it's head, horns out, and charged towards me. Luckily it only wanted to scare me, so it took a few quick steps and stopped. Caught completely off guard, by the time it stopped I was just starting to move away. Had it kept coming it would have got me for sure! That would have made for a bad day.
Anyway, after seeing the last of the palace grounds we checked out on of the temples, where photos were not usually allowed. Each temple inside the palace has it's own temple grounds, as well as the temple itself. Entering inside the temple itself is only allowed occasionally on special days.
As we walked in, the man at the door said that we could feel free to take pictures, shutting and locking the door behind us. The only ones inside the temple grounds, we were free to explore and snap photos. It was very surreal being inside the grounds. Outside traffic could be heard from the road, honking cars and buses, bustling tourists, guides and merchants shouting to passers-by.
Once inside the grounds it was like passing through an invisible sound barrier. Wind through the trees and the chirping of birds were the only sounds as we walked about examining the statues and architecture of the buildings. After we'd had our fill, we started to make our way out. The man at the door stopped us and brought us to a statue of Ganesha where he said a prayer and dotted our foreheads with a little red paint from the statue. After, he took us to the front door of the temple where he offered to take our photo.
Thanking him we left a tip and made our way out. Once outside we deliberated about going inside the palace (the line-up was massive) or making our way out. Instead of going to the palace we made our way to the last area we hadn't seen which had incredible trees covered in vines. As we passed them we spotted the area that had the "real" elephant and camel rides. Still impressive, these rides didn't seem quite as cool as you had to sit in a large seating area strapped to the elephants back. Rather than getting another ride we snapped a few more photos and moved on. Finally we headed to the gift shop, picked up a few souvenirs and decided to call it a day.
The memories of this day will last a lifetime.
As we got out of the rickshaw, just as we arrived, we were swarmed by street salesman. They held carved wooden fans, jewelry, postcards etc in front of our faces and called out various prices. A simple "No, thank you" is far from enough for these man, as they follow you offering you lower prices and more items. After telling one man "no" about 8 times as we walked, with increasing seriousness, we decided that ignoring them and walking away was the best solution. After a short walk we were at the gates.
Below: the architecture above the entrance to on of the temples.
Paying entry and passing security, we entered the grounds and were stunned by some of the beautiful architecture and gardens. Slowly exploring the grounds before we went in to any temples or the palace, we made our way around taking photos.
Below: Mysore palace seen from across the gardens
The palace is massive. It's a truly amazing building. On sunday nights, once it's dark they turn on the lights and the palace lights up covered in something like 90,000 small bulbs. We were there on a Sunday, but unfortunately couldn't stay until dark as we had to be up for practice at 4am.
As we travelled, we wandered into an area that seemed to have no other tourists (most tourists were gathered by the palace). In the distance, we spotted a group of elephants standing by an enormous tree. We had heard that somewhere in the palace were elephant rides. Some men near the elephants spotted us and called us over.
Below: the enormous tree with elephants underneath.
As we approached they told us to feel free to stand with and pet the elephants. I am a huge fan of elephants, I love them. Getting to stand so close to one has been a life goal of mine. It was an incredible feeling to stand next to a creature who's head is as big as half of my body.
After a moment or so, a man offered to take pictures for us while the handler started to get one of the elephants to bow down. "Come, jump up" he said, pointing to the elephant's leg and back... In complete awe, Aaron was first to jump on. The handler then pointed to me indicating I should get on as well. Also completely amazed and in disbelief, I walked up, stepped up its leg and hopped onto it's back. It was such an amazing, incredible feeling.
Then the elephant stood up. Our minds were blown.
Without anything to hold onto I could do nothing but place my hands on the back of the elephants head, trying to maintain balance as it's body swayed left and right while it walked. The ride didn't last very long, but every second of it was amazing. Before we knew it, the handler had the elephant kneel back down so we could jump off. Once it was over he had it give us 'blessings' (placing its trunk on our heads) while the man with our camera took some more photos.
When it was all over, the guys started telling us that the area we were in was off-limits to tourists. They explained that these elephants were the royal family's personal elephants and we are very lucky guys. We weren't sure if they were telling the truth. It was strange to us that we were the only ones in the area and on our way over we had noticed no signs for prices. The handler and man taking the photos hadn't mentioned anything about payment.
Feeling very happy and grateful, we decided to offer 500 rupees to the guys to thank them. Instead of taking the money, they stressed that elephants belonged to the royal family, that we're lucky etc, and that they wanted 1000 rupees from each of us. We still didn't believe them but we weren't sure what to do. With no one around to talk to, we handed them the money, thanked them for the experience and walked away. We were really confused and felt like we were probably scammed, but weren't sure. After a minute or two we decided that paying $20 each to stand with, pet, and ride elephants was well worth it. In the end, we hope those guys have as much fun with the money as we did spending it.
After leaving the area with elephants, we came across a cow with painted horns walking out front of a temple. It stopped for a moment, so I pulled out my camera and moved in to get a picture.
Right after I snapped the photo the cow quickly turned around, lowered it's head, horns out, and charged towards me. Luckily it only wanted to scare me, so it took a few quick steps and stopped. Caught completely off guard, by the time it stopped I was just starting to move away. Had it kept coming it would have got me for sure! That would have made for a bad day.
Anyway, after seeing the last of the palace grounds we checked out on of the temples, where photos were not usually allowed. Each temple inside the palace has it's own temple grounds, as well as the temple itself. Entering inside the temple itself is only allowed occasionally on special days.
As we walked in, the man at the door said that we could feel free to take pictures, shutting and locking the door behind us. The only ones inside the temple grounds, we were free to explore and snap photos. It was very surreal being inside the grounds. Outside traffic could be heard from the road, honking cars and buses, bustling tourists, guides and merchants shouting to passers-by.
Once inside the grounds it was like passing through an invisible sound barrier. Wind through the trees and the chirping of birds were the only sounds as we walked about examining the statues and architecture of the buildings. After we'd had our fill, we started to make our way out. The man at the door stopped us and brought us to a statue of Ganesha where he said a prayer and dotted our foreheads with a little red paint from the statue. After, he took us to the front door of the temple where he offered to take our photo.
Thanking him we left a tip and made our way out. Once outside we deliberated about going inside the palace (the line-up was massive) or making our way out. Instead of going to the palace we made our way to the last area we hadn't seen which had incredible trees covered in vines. As we passed them we spotted the area that had the "real" elephant and camel rides. Still impressive, these rides didn't seem quite as cool as you had to sit in a large seating area strapped to the elephants back. Rather than getting another ride we snapped a few more photos and moved on. Finally we headed to the gift shop, picked up a few souvenirs and decided to call it a day.
The memories of this day will last a lifetime.
New Apartment!
On February 2nd, we made the move from the hotel (Urban Oasis) into an apartment building called the "Royal House". The apartment will cost us 18,000 rupees a month, plus gas, electricity and Internet. We spoke with the manager and he estimates that all of that combined might come to somewhere around 20,000 rupees, or $400 a month.
Below: the new apartment building, with it's brain fryer antennas up top
The apartment is great. It's just a few buildings down from the hotel, so we're still in the same area. It has a kitchen area, a living room with tv and chairs, a large bedroom with 2 beds!!! (FINALLY!) and a patio. Also a nice big bathroom with a large shower area. The windows and doors are all constructed slightly better than at the hotel, so there is a decent amount of noise reduction throughout the apartment, which makes for great sleeps.
Below: inside the apartment
Hoping to still have a rooftop for tanning and doing light stretches etc outdoors, we decided to check out the rooftop of our new building. On top of the stairwell exit are 3 huge antennas (antennae?). The minute we stepped outside of the stairwell, we felt something like a fuzziness building in our heads, until after a minute or so, it was developing into a slightly swimmy head - so, no more rooftop visits. We'd like to avoid the high frequency radio-waves radiating our brains.
When we made the arrangements to move in, the building didn't have internet. This was pretty disappointing as I've been using Skype to talk to my girlfriend back in Canada, after I've finished my morning practice every day (international voice/video calls and IMS? For free?! Thank you, creators of Skype!). Knowing I would soon lose my connection, I'd found some internet cafe's that served breakfast. Unfortunately they are all western styled breakfasts and are a fair bit more expensive than I prefer. Just as the day of our move arrived, we received an email telling us that internet was being installed in the building! Problem solved! It didn't work right away, but a repair guy came by after a day or two and got it fixed for us.
Another disappointment was that moving was going to bring an end to our wonderful rooftop breakfasts. Then, the day before we moved, the breakfast server, Jai, explained that if we would like to continue having breakfast there every morning, he could speak with the manager and arrange for us to be able to come. They worked out a price of 55 rupees each, which is 1/4 what we'd be spending elsewhere.
So, all in all the new apartment couldn't have worked out better. We've got everything we need and are still nice and close to everywhere we need to go. At the end of the week we've decided it's time to see a few of the sights, so next week we plan on getting out and touring around!
Below: the new apartment building, with it's brain fryer antennas up top
The apartment is great. It's just a few buildings down from the hotel, so we're still in the same area. It has a kitchen area, a living room with tv and chairs, a large bedroom with 2 beds!!! (FINALLY!) and a patio. Also a nice big bathroom with a large shower area. The windows and doors are all constructed slightly better than at the hotel, so there is a decent amount of noise reduction throughout the apartment, which makes for great sleeps.
Below: inside the apartment
Hoping to still have a rooftop for tanning and doing light stretches etc outdoors, we decided to check out the rooftop of our new building. On top of the stairwell exit are 3 huge antennas (antennae?). The minute we stepped outside of the stairwell, we felt something like a fuzziness building in our heads, until after a minute or so, it was developing into a slightly swimmy head - so, no more rooftop visits. We'd like to avoid the high frequency radio-waves radiating our brains.
When we made the arrangements to move in, the building didn't have internet. This was pretty disappointing as I've been using Skype to talk to my girlfriend back in Canada, after I've finished my morning practice every day (international voice/video calls and IMS? For free?! Thank you, creators of Skype!). Knowing I would soon lose my connection, I'd found some internet cafe's that served breakfast. Unfortunately they are all western styled breakfasts and are a fair bit more expensive than I prefer. Just as the day of our move arrived, we received an email telling us that internet was being installed in the building! Problem solved! It didn't work right away, but a repair guy came by after a day or two and got it fixed for us.
Another disappointment was that moving was going to bring an end to our wonderful rooftop breakfasts. Then, the day before we moved, the breakfast server, Jai, explained that if we would like to continue having breakfast there every morning, he could speak with the manager and arrange for us to be able to come. They worked out a price of 55 rupees each, which is 1/4 what we'd be spending elsewhere.
So, all in all the new apartment couldn't have worked out better. We've got everything we need and are still nice and close to everywhere we need to go. At the end of the week we've decided it's time to see a few of the sights, so next week we plan on getting out and touring around!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Adam - Another week passes
Yet another of our deleted/missing posts...
Thanks to a suggestion from a fellow student at KPJAYI, Christoph, we've downloaded the blogger app, after a day or so messing around with layouts and the HTML text in our blog, we've managed to get pictures where we want them, edit previous posts without losing them and changed the layout and look of the blog!
So, here's the post for week 3 of our trip!
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Our practice is always improving. The pains we had both been experiencing in our low backs have gone away and we've become stronger and more flexible. I've progressed past Marichyasana B to Marichyasana D!! Haha, it's not much, but I am getting closer every day and improving in all the other poses. Aaron is being stopped in supta kurmasana and also gets closer by the day. The both of us are hopeful that we'll be practicing the full series, perhaps moving into the second, by the time we are finished here. Moving past our injuries, we've started to do occasional light stretches and extra work on difficult poses. Also, trying to build our core and abdominal strength, we've started doing P90X's ab-ripper X video (an ab-focused workout video) a few times a week as well.
We've fully settled in to the area and begun a little exploration in our free time. The main strip in Gokulam district is called 1st main. It hosts a variety of cafes, fruit vendors, general stores, clothing stores etc. Almost every day we've come to the strip and checked out some new shops in search of clothes, souvenirs, supplies etc. The stores are amazingly disorganized, yet, if you ask the salesman for something he'll quickly dig through some things and bring you what you need.
We still have yet to really get out and explore all Mysore has to offer, but knowing we have 3 months, we're taking it slow and making sure we aren't doing all of the fun stuff there is to do in the first few weeks.
Trying to find some new restaurants, we decided to search for one that was recommended by a server at 6th main, another restaurant we'd recently tried.
In our search to find this other restaurant (I don't recall the name), we stumbled across Authana, another restaurant we'd seen advertisements for and wanted to check. Hungry and still unsure where the restaurant we were searching for was, we have up and headed into Authana.
Best decision we've made so far.
Authana is a large vegetarian restaurant with a beautiful interior. The main area is standard, filled with tables and chairs, however, the upper level has an open ceiling letting in the air and sunlight. In the center of the upper level, under the open ceiling, is a garden area with small bushes surrounding a small palm-bush centerpiece. The walls surrounding are made of lines of a type of bamboo, growing in rows along the outside of the room. For our first meal we ordered Aloo Gobi (aloo is potato, Gobi is cauliflower, served in a spicy cilantro and chili curry) and Mushroom Masala, with a bunch of naan and some pineapple lassis.
Below: The upper level of Authana
We've been several times now and the food is spectacular every time. This restaurant is by far the nicest we've seen and serves the best food we've tasted so far.Later in the week, we planned on going back to Authana for another meal.
After smashing my toes on a bad jump forward during morning practice, we decided to take a rickshaw to Authana, to save me the walk. Our driver didn't know where the restaurant was and wound up taking us on a bit of a journey through an area of Mysore we hadn't seen before. We drove along a street which had some high-end stores, as well as some buildings with interesting architecture.
Making sure to remember the location, we headed back the next day. Here, we got some photos of interesting buildings and I finally found a shop (Bata) which had a pair of sandals that I loved, so I picked them up for $30 or 1,500 rupees. After some exploring, we stopped in at one of the many stores selling Indian sweets and tried a few different snacks/candies. Along the strip we also spotted a pizza hut and domino's pizza, which we may allow ourselves to have on a weekend at some point.
Below: Domino's Pizza, Mysore! Check out all those delivery bikes!
It's been great to do a little exploring. The "newness" of the everything had begun to wear off and the reality of the length of our stay was setting in. The exploration has helped to freshen things up and add some excitement to our days.
There have been some bumps and bruises along the way, a few bad decisions, disappointments and unfortunate happenings here and there. Still, so far this trip is proving to be exactly what we had hoped for. It's been amazing to experience the culture and lifestyle of the area and has been a fantastic learning experience.
We've learned more about several new locations to check out, Mysore Zoo, Mysore Palace, various gardens, the bird sanctuary, and a wildlife reserve with lots of elephants etc.
We plan on checking a few out in the coming week or so.
Thanks to a suggestion from a fellow student at KPJAYI, Christoph, we've downloaded the blogger app, after a day or so messing around with layouts and the HTML text in our blog, we've managed to get pictures where we want them, edit previous posts without losing them and changed the layout and look of the blog!
So, here's the post for week 3 of our trip!
----------------------------------
Our practice is always improving. The pains we had both been experiencing in our low backs have gone away and we've become stronger and more flexible. I've progressed past Marichyasana B to Marichyasana D!! Haha, it's not much, but I am getting closer every day and improving in all the other poses. Aaron is being stopped in supta kurmasana and also gets closer by the day. The both of us are hopeful that we'll be practicing the full series, perhaps moving into the second, by the time we are finished here. Moving past our injuries, we've started to do occasional light stretches and extra work on difficult poses. Also, trying to build our core and abdominal strength, we've started doing P90X's ab-ripper X video (an ab-focused workout video) a few times a week as well.
We've fully settled in to the area and begun a little exploration in our free time. The main strip in Gokulam district is called 1st main. It hosts a variety of cafes, fruit vendors, general stores, clothing stores etc. Almost every day we've come to the strip and checked out some new shops in search of clothes, souvenirs, supplies etc. The stores are amazingly disorganized, yet, if you ask the salesman for something he'll quickly dig through some things and bring you what you need.
We still have yet to really get out and explore all Mysore has to offer, but knowing we have 3 months, we're taking it slow and making sure we aren't doing all of the fun stuff there is to do in the first few weeks.
Trying to find some new restaurants, we decided to search for one that was recommended by a server at 6th main, another restaurant we'd recently tried.
In our search to find this other restaurant (I don't recall the name), we stumbled across Authana, another restaurant we'd seen advertisements for and wanted to check. Hungry and still unsure where the restaurant we were searching for was, we have up and headed into Authana.
Best decision we've made so far.
Authana is a large vegetarian restaurant with a beautiful interior. The main area is standard, filled with tables and chairs, however, the upper level has an open ceiling letting in the air and sunlight. In the center of the upper level, under the open ceiling, is a garden area with small bushes surrounding a small palm-bush centerpiece. The walls surrounding are made of lines of a type of bamboo, growing in rows along the outside of the room. For our first meal we ordered Aloo Gobi (aloo is potato, Gobi is cauliflower, served in a spicy cilantro and chili curry) and Mushroom Masala, with a bunch of naan and some pineapple lassis.
Below: The upper level of Authana
We've been several times now and the food is spectacular every time. This restaurant is by far the nicest we've seen and serves the best food we've tasted so far.Later in the week, we planned on going back to Authana for another meal.
After smashing my toes on a bad jump forward during morning practice, we decided to take a rickshaw to Authana, to save me the walk. Our driver didn't know where the restaurant was and wound up taking us on a bit of a journey through an area of Mysore we hadn't seen before. We drove along a street which had some high-end stores, as well as some buildings with interesting architecture.
Making sure to remember the location, we headed back the next day. Here, we got some photos of interesting buildings and I finally found a shop (Bata) which had a pair of sandals that I loved, so I picked them up for $30 or 1,500 rupees. After some exploring, we stopped in at one of the many stores selling Indian sweets and tried a few different snacks/candies. Along the strip we also spotted a pizza hut and domino's pizza, which we may allow ourselves to have on a weekend at some point.
Below: Domino's Pizza, Mysore! Check out all those delivery bikes!
It's been great to do a little exploring. The "newness" of the everything had begun to wear off and the reality of the length of our stay was setting in. The exploration has helped to freshen things up and add some excitement to our days.
There have been some bumps and bruises along the way, a few bad decisions, disappointments and unfortunate happenings here and there. Still, so far this trip is proving to be exactly what we had hoped for. It's been amazing to experience the culture and lifestyle of the area and has been a fantastic learning experience.
We've learned more about several new locations to check out, Mysore Zoo, Mysore Palace, various gardens, the bird sanctuary, and a wildlife reserve with lots of elephants etc.
We plan on checking a few out in the coming week or so.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Adam - Week 2
So this is a re-post of one of our posts which was lost while re-configuring the blog:
As we move into our second week, so do we move into our 4:30 timing.
Actually, the 4:30 timing is not that bad. Little has changed in our daily routine. Now we wake up at 3:50 instead of 5:00 and after practice we have more time to shower, change and relax a little before breakfast. We had previously been getting to bed around 8-9pm, now we try to be in bed around 7. It can be a little difficult getting to sleep while the traffic is heavier, but it really doesn't slow down much until 10pm anyway.
Below: Saraswathi's place at 6am after practice.
Our practice hit a bit of a wall this week as we both found ourselves having some issues with our lower backs. We had planned on picking up the intensity for week 2, adding in extra workouts, runs and a little extra yoga here and there, instead, we are nursing our tender backs. Still, the experience of taking it a little easy on ourselves in class has been good. We'd both been very eager to push our limits and make a lot of progress while we are here and wound up pushing ourselves too far. We've since decided to take it easy, let the progress come, take the practice day by day and really feel where our bodies will allow us to go. When we recover, we'll slowly start to increase our intensity and feel out how much extra work we can put in each day.
The mistake we'd made in booking the first apartment we saw turned out to be a larger mistake than we'd thought.
We'd only taken a brief look at the apartment. We saw that it was an ok size, it was clean, it had an attached bathroom, had two beds and lockers large enough for our needs. It basically met all of our immediate criteria. So, midway through the week we moved in. Having already payed a 14,000 rupee downpayment (a months rent), we were surprised when the building manager asked us for another 14,000... We'd already packed our bags and moved, so with few other options, after making certain that we'd get our deposit back at the end of our term, we payed the additional money and prepared ourselves to spend the night.
After unpacking our bags, settling in and going out for dinner, we arrive back to our apartment. As the night progresses we begin to notice the details we'd overlooked.
The room had windows, however, we discovered that these windows did not close, allowing all of the sounds and insects from the outside, in. Also, the room had windows into the hallway of the building as well, covered by drapes which appeared, while the lights are ON in the room, to be thick. However with the lights OFF in the room, and on in the hallyway, people could be seen and heard walking past, looking in, as we lay in our beds. Also, We had seen the toilet, but for some reason neither of us had noticed that it had no seat. Just the bowl. These were the small problems.
Below: Santrupthi Apartment (our room's window is at the bottom on the left)
Our room was on the bottom floor, first room on the left. Directly beside the front entrance of the building. The front entrance of the building was a fence-door with wooden strips through the fence loops. Above the door, rather than a wall, there was a barred metal design built into the building, open to the outside noise and air. Coupled with our street side window which doesn't close, every sound from the street, just feet from our room, was let in. As a motorcycle drove by it sounded as though the motorcycle was inside our room, next to our beds, revving it's engine while people walked past our room, trying to look in through the curtains, entering and exiting the building through the clanking front door and gate.
We didn't get the best of sleeps that night.
Thinking it over, we decided that sleep was more valuable than saving a little money, and packed our bags to move out. We made arrangements to move into the nicer apartment as soon as it was available, and upon inspecting it with our new list of criteria, we were satisfied. For the time in-between, we moved back into our previous hotel. When we spoke with the building manager of the apartment we had moved out of, he informed us that they cannot refund us for the month we'd payed for, but that we could get our deposit back. Disappointed, we decided to bite the bullet and accept the loss.
Saying goodbye to weeks of sleepless nights, we came back to our hotel and enjoyed a very pleasant night's sleep.
As we move into our second week, so do we move into our 4:30 timing.
Actually, the 4:30 timing is not that bad. Little has changed in our daily routine. Now we wake up at 3:50 instead of 5:00 and after practice we have more time to shower, change and relax a little before breakfast. We had previously been getting to bed around 8-9pm, now we try to be in bed around 7. It can be a little difficult getting to sleep while the traffic is heavier, but it really doesn't slow down much until 10pm anyway.
Below: Saraswathi's place at 6am after practice.
Our practice hit a bit of a wall this week as we both found ourselves having some issues with our lower backs. We had planned on picking up the intensity for week 2, adding in extra workouts, runs and a little extra yoga here and there, instead, we are nursing our tender backs. Still, the experience of taking it a little easy on ourselves in class has been good. We'd both been very eager to push our limits and make a lot of progress while we are here and wound up pushing ourselves too far. We've since decided to take it easy, let the progress come, take the practice day by day and really feel where our bodies will allow us to go. When we recover, we'll slowly start to increase our intensity and feel out how much extra work we can put in each day.
The mistake we'd made in booking the first apartment we saw turned out to be a larger mistake than we'd thought.
We'd only taken a brief look at the apartment. We saw that it was an ok size, it was clean, it had an attached bathroom, had two beds and lockers large enough for our needs. It basically met all of our immediate criteria. So, midway through the week we moved in. Having already payed a 14,000 rupee downpayment (a months rent), we were surprised when the building manager asked us for another 14,000... We'd already packed our bags and moved, so with few other options, after making certain that we'd get our deposit back at the end of our term, we payed the additional money and prepared ourselves to spend the night.
After unpacking our bags, settling in and going out for dinner, we arrive back to our apartment. As the night progresses we begin to notice the details we'd overlooked.
The room had windows, however, we discovered that these windows did not close, allowing all of the sounds and insects from the outside, in. Also, the room had windows into the hallway of the building as well, covered by drapes which appeared, while the lights are ON in the room, to be thick. However with the lights OFF in the room, and on in the hallyway, people could be seen and heard walking past, looking in, as we lay in our beds. Also, We had seen the toilet, but for some reason neither of us had noticed that it had no seat. Just the bowl. These were the small problems.
Below: Santrupthi Apartment (our room's window is at the bottom on the left)
Our room was on the bottom floor, first room on the left. Directly beside the front entrance of the building. The front entrance of the building was a fence-door with wooden strips through the fence loops. Above the door, rather than a wall, there was a barred metal design built into the building, open to the outside noise and air. Coupled with our street side window which doesn't close, every sound from the street, just feet from our room, was let in. As a motorcycle drove by it sounded as though the motorcycle was inside our room, next to our beds, revving it's engine while people walked past our room, trying to look in through the curtains, entering and exiting the building through the clanking front door and gate.
We didn't get the best of sleeps that night.
Thinking it over, we decided that sleep was more valuable than saving a little money, and packed our bags to move out. We made arrangements to move into the nicer apartment as soon as it was available, and upon inspecting it with our new list of criteria, we were satisfied. For the time in-between, we moved back into our previous hotel. When we spoke with the building manager of the apartment we had moved out of, he informed us that they cannot refund us for the month we'd payed for, but that we could get our deposit back. Disappointed, we decided to bite the bullet and accept the loss.
Saying goodbye to weeks of sleepless nights, we came back to our hotel and enjoyed a very pleasant night's sleep.
Technical difficulties
So, after some research and playing around, we've managed to edit our posts and arrange paragraphs as we had originally intended. Also, we've managed to add some pictures!!! We haven't figured out how to size the pictures to the page, or edit the location of the pictures in the text, but I'm sure with more research and playing around that will get sorted out. Unfortunately, in the process a few posts were deleted, our sidebar seems to have moved to the bottom of the page, this blogging thing seems more complicated than we had thought... Please browse the new layout, post edits and pics! We're working on sorting out the rest of the issues, and will have to re-write deleted posts.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Aaron - Thoughts on the practice
We're about a month in now, and I feel like we're at a point where we've got a good handle on the practice and can make some objective comments.
I will say that this has unequivocally improved my practice.
The focus and dedication of our teacher is inspiring, the six day a week practice is incredible and the energy present in the room is powerful.
I can also say that there is a little disappointment in terms of the method of instruction. In our YTT at the Yoga Sanctuary, we were constantly reinforced the idea of safety in your practice. If we were unable to do a certain pose, we were given prep poses that emulated the results of a given pose, that would prepare us for the eventual full expression of the pose.
Here, they teach that you cannot proceed in the series unless you have mastered each successive pose, at least to a certain level - the goal of which is typically, as we have heard Saraswathi say so many times "you are catching"? That is to say, you are reaching your feet in the forward folds, binding in Marichyasana's, and so on. I understand the principle behind this method - that is, to build strength and capability gradually, however, as it is employed here, there seems to be little attention paid to a western sense of "safe" or "healthy" alignment.
We were taught flat backs and hinged hips for forward folding; here all that is important is that "you are catching". Student are often encouraged to do whatever they can to reach their feet, or bind in a pose, regardless of the shape of their back. Even gasps of pain and expressions of extreme discomfort are not enough to stop attempted assists at times, which is contrary to everything we learned in the west.
To be clear, I don't want to paint Saraswathi as a cruel woman making her way around the room yanking terrified, crying students into poses they simply can't do... There is clearly levels of ability she is looking for that tell her that a person is able to begin attempting certain postures - and she is a caring, gentle woman who clearly loves seeing people progress and embrace the practice.
We simply cannot help but look around at times and notice students clearly feeling pain and discomfort as they attempt to force themselves into a pose. The counter to this is, and the philosophy of the teaching here, is the discipline of swadhyaya, or "self-study" - the fact is, we are responsible for our own practice and it is our own imperative to listen to our bodies, to know when to push further and when to back off. A teacher can talk about correct alignment and safety all they want, but in the end these things need to be experienced and understood by the student directly, or there can be no hope of true development in ones practice. This is a valuable lesson to learn, the importance of which cannot be stressed enough. Unfortunately, this is something that remains largely unsaid; there is little to no formal "teaching" here, more a monitoring of progression and assistance with the more complicated poses.
I think in the end there are great benefits to this system, things that western yoga teaching and particularly students could benefit greatly from, yet there are also things that could be learned from the west as well.
I don't regret a second of the time I've spent here, and I look forward to the progression in my practice that will take place over the coming months (I am finishing the primary series right now and will likely be receiving second series poses in next couple of weeks) as well as potentially many return trips.
I will say that this has unequivocally improved my practice.
The focus and dedication of our teacher is inspiring, the six day a week practice is incredible and the energy present in the room is powerful.
I can also say that there is a little disappointment in terms of the method of instruction. In our YTT at the Yoga Sanctuary, we were constantly reinforced the idea of safety in your practice. If we were unable to do a certain pose, we were given prep poses that emulated the results of a given pose, that would prepare us for the eventual full expression of the pose.
Here, they teach that you cannot proceed in the series unless you have mastered each successive pose, at least to a certain level - the goal of which is typically, as we have heard Saraswathi say so many times "you are catching"? That is to say, you are reaching your feet in the forward folds, binding in Marichyasana's, and so on. I understand the principle behind this method - that is, to build strength and capability gradually, however, as it is employed here, there seems to be little attention paid to a western sense of "safe" or "healthy" alignment.
We were taught flat backs and hinged hips for forward folding; here all that is important is that "you are catching". Student are often encouraged to do whatever they can to reach their feet, or bind in a pose, regardless of the shape of their back. Even gasps of pain and expressions of extreme discomfort are not enough to stop attempted assists at times, which is contrary to everything we learned in the west.
To be clear, I don't want to paint Saraswathi as a cruel woman making her way around the room yanking terrified, crying students into poses they simply can't do... There is clearly levels of ability she is looking for that tell her that a person is able to begin attempting certain postures - and she is a caring, gentle woman who clearly loves seeing people progress and embrace the practice.
We simply cannot help but look around at times and notice students clearly feeling pain and discomfort as they attempt to force themselves into a pose. The counter to this is, and the philosophy of the teaching here, is the discipline of swadhyaya, or "self-study" - the fact is, we are responsible for our own practice and it is our own imperative to listen to our bodies, to know when to push further and when to back off. A teacher can talk about correct alignment and safety all they want, but in the end these things need to be experienced and understood by the student directly, or there can be no hope of true development in ones practice. This is a valuable lesson to learn, the importance of which cannot be stressed enough. Unfortunately, this is something that remains largely unsaid; there is little to no formal "teaching" here, more a monitoring of progression and assistance with the more complicated poses.
I think in the end there are great benefits to this system, things that western yoga teaching and particularly students could benefit greatly from, yet there are also things that could be learned from the west as well.
I don't regret a second of the time I've spent here, and I look forward to the progression in my practice that will take place over the coming months (I am finishing the primary series right now and will likely be receiving second series poses in next couple of weeks) as well as potentially many return trips.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Aaron - Back Troubles
As I was coming out of Urdhva Dhanurasana (also known as Wheel, a backbending posture) the other day, I rolled up to take Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) and felt a strange discomfort in my lower back. Saraswathi noticed my expression and asked what was up. I told her my back was uncomfortable and she said I should take Paschimottanasana and that she'd help.
So, I leaned forward and wrapped my hands around my feet as she gently pressed on my back to bring me further into the posture. I felt better afterwards and chalked it up to a little random muscle pain.
When I woke up the next day, my back and hips were extremely stiff and I had a nagging pain in my lower back. That was the day of our first led class.
In practice I took much longer to get warmed up than usual and could feel that something was wrong the whole time... In a led class, you proceed as far in the series as you can (I couldn't get past Marichyasana D that day) and then you wait for those who can proceed to finish, to join back in for backbending and the finishing postures. As I came out of Urdhva Dhanurasana once more, there was that pain again. It nagged me through the finishing postures so much that I could barely put my feet on the floor in Halasana (Plow), which has become relatively easy for me lately. I finished practice feeling very much "off" and was beginning to become concerned.
I took the rest of the day very easy and pretty much just lied around hoping to feel better. When I woke the next morning though, the pain had become more than just nagging. I couldn't take Balasana (Childs Pose) without experiencing pain. Lying down was uncomfortable; sitting up, worse. The only thing I could do that didn't give me pain was some gentle reclining twists that I had read about from Yoga Journal online. As the pain did not go away, I became more and more concerned. "Is this going to be the end of my trip?" Was all I kept thinking.
Trying not to panic, I e-mailed one of my teachers from the Yoga Sanctuary, who I knew had a background in Yoga Therapy. She gave me some helpful advice, but primarily suggested that I speak with Saraswathi, as she was my primary teacher for the moment. As I came to class the next day, I explained to Saraswathi what had happened; she smiled knowingly, and said "you take it slow for a couple of days, only do what you can, and no backbending until Saturday."
My practice that day was slow and sloppy. I was stopped after Purvottanasana (Reverse Plank), the counter-pose to Paschimottanasana, the two of which are the first two postures of the Primary series. As I warmed up I began to feel a little better, but not much. In finishing and going home, I found myself in much the same position as I was the day before. I was trying to stay positive, but seemed to be fighting a losing battle at that time. Not wanting to just give up, I continued to go to practice.
After about the third day, I began to feel some genuine relief. It's been two days since then and while I'm not exactly right back where I was, the pain is gone and I'm feeling much, much better.
The whole ordeal seems to have left my hips and hamstrings a little tighter than they were, but that's okay; I'm putting in daily work to open them up again and have learned some valuable lessons.
First, though it's said regularly in yoga, sometimes we need a little reminder; listen to your body! If you're feeling pain or discomfort, particularly in any of the sensitive areas like the lower back, knees, neck and so on, you should probably back off and take it easy until you are no longer experiencing that pain.
Second, it can be a good thing to slow down your practice. Ashtanga is a fast-paced system, where we attempt to co-ordinate breath and movement. It can be tempting to hurry some of the movements to keep up with our breath, especially once we've really warmed up. It is always important however to be mindful of the posture - to work at creating awareness of your body the whole way through, and to not sacrifice that awareness for anything.
One of the best things about Ashtanga is that it is a fixed series. We do the same poses in the same order every time - this allows us to have a clear sense of progression, as well as creating a meditative state through repetition. This repetition-induced meditation can also be dangerous however, as it can lull a less experienced practitioner into complacency; just going through the motions without first creating that all-important awareness.
Since this experience, I find myself slowing down, taking an extra breath here and there if I need it and making that little bit of extra effort to be sure that I am always listening to my body. It has allowed me to bring a new level of enjoyment to my practice.
-Aaron
So, I leaned forward and wrapped my hands around my feet as she gently pressed on my back to bring me further into the posture. I felt better afterwards and chalked it up to a little random muscle pain.
When I woke up the next day, my back and hips were extremely stiff and I had a nagging pain in my lower back. That was the day of our first led class.
In practice I took much longer to get warmed up than usual and could feel that something was wrong the whole time... In a led class, you proceed as far in the series as you can (I couldn't get past Marichyasana D that day) and then you wait for those who can proceed to finish, to join back in for backbending and the finishing postures. As I came out of Urdhva Dhanurasana once more, there was that pain again. It nagged me through the finishing postures so much that I could barely put my feet on the floor in Halasana (Plow), which has become relatively easy for me lately. I finished practice feeling very much "off" and was beginning to become concerned.
I took the rest of the day very easy and pretty much just lied around hoping to feel better. When I woke the next morning though, the pain had become more than just nagging. I couldn't take Balasana (Childs Pose) without experiencing pain. Lying down was uncomfortable; sitting up, worse. The only thing I could do that didn't give me pain was some gentle reclining twists that I had read about from Yoga Journal online. As the pain did not go away, I became more and more concerned. "Is this going to be the end of my trip?" Was all I kept thinking.
Trying not to panic, I e-mailed one of my teachers from the Yoga Sanctuary, who I knew had a background in Yoga Therapy. She gave me some helpful advice, but primarily suggested that I speak with Saraswathi, as she was my primary teacher for the moment. As I came to class the next day, I explained to Saraswathi what had happened; she smiled knowingly, and said "you take it slow for a couple of days, only do what you can, and no backbending until Saturday."
My practice that day was slow and sloppy. I was stopped after Purvottanasana (Reverse Plank), the counter-pose to Paschimottanasana, the two of which are the first two postures of the Primary series. As I warmed up I began to feel a little better, but not much. In finishing and going home, I found myself in much the same position as I was the day before. I was trying to stay positive, but seemed to be fighting a losing battle at that time. Not wanting to just give up, I continued to go to practice.
After about the third day, I began to feel some genuine relief. It's been two days since then and while I'm not exactly right back where I was, the pain is gone and I'm feeling much, much better.
The whole ordeal seems to have left my hips and hamstrings a little tighter than they were, but that's okay; I'm putting in daily work to open them up again and have learned some valuable lessons.
First, though it's said regularly in yoga, sometimes we need a little reminder; listen to your body! If you're feeling pain or discomfort, particularly in any of the sensitive areas like the lower back, knees, neck and so on, you should probably back off and take it easy until you are no longer experiencing that pain.
Second, it can be a good thing to slow down your practice. Ashtanga is a fast-paced system, where we attempt to co-ordinate breath and movement. It can be tempting to hurry some of the movements to keep up with our breath, especially once we've really warmed up. It is always important however to be mindful of the posture - to work at creating awareness of your body the whole way through, and to not sacrifice that awareness for anything.
One of the best things about Ashtanga is that it is a fixed series. We do the same poses in the same order every time - this allows us to have a clear sense of progression, as well as creating a meditative state through repetition. This repetition-induced meditation can also be dangerous however, as it can lull a less experienced practitioner into complacency; just going through the motions without first creating that all-important awareness.
Since this experience, I find myself slowing down, taking an extra breath here and there if I need it and making that little bit of extra effort to be sure that I am always listening to my body. It has allowed me to bring a new level of enjoyment to my practice.
-Aaron
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Adam - Week 1 - Food, Friends and Fun
One week into our trip and we've settled into our hotel and are becoming familiar with the area.
Just about everything we need (restaurants, pharmacy, fruit vendors, the shala, coconut vendors etc.) is within a 5 minute walk from Urban Oasis. The farthest we've had to travel is to Saraswathi's house, which is about 10 minutes away. There are some locations we've heard about that are slightly farther, but rickshaw drivers are all over and are very cheap.
Below: Drinking some fresh coconut water!
Our daily routine couldn't be easier. Every morning we wake up at 5am, get ourselves ready and make our way to the shala for 6. We practice as much of the primary series as we can (you are stopped and told to start the finishing series if you can't get into certain "gateway" poses). I (Adam) am stuck at Marichyasana B and Aaron is stuck at Supta Kurmasana. Each day we get just a little closer to acheiving the poses. After practice, we head to the coconut vendor to have some extremely refreshing coconut water, then return to our hotel to shower, change and have breakfast. From then on, the rest of the day is ours to do with as we please.
Usually that involves light stretches, eating, getting some more coconuts and chatting with some other student from around the world and walking around to explore the city. As our days come to an end, we watch TED talks, documentaries and movies etc back at the hotel.
Below: hanging out at the coconut stand
Everything here is relatively inexpensive. To lower our cost of living, we'll be leaving the hotel and moving to an apartment, which will cost around $300 for our first month, then we move to a nicer place for about $400 a month.
We made the mistake of accepting abd booking the first apartment we found. Shortly after we came across far nicer places to stay, for just a small amount extra per month. So, on the 20th we are moving to a decent apartment about the size of our hotel room for one month. After that we will move to a very nice apartment, with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom.
The food has been fantastic. So far we've been eating all vegetarian meals. Many if not most of the locals are vegetarian, and have been their whole lives. The vegetarian dishes more than satisfy, all for just a few dollars.
Below: one of the great vegetarian meals we've been indulging in. Aloo Gobi, Mushroom Masala, Naan and a pineapple lassi
Every morning we have our free breakfast on the roof, tasting various Indian dishes and fresh fruits like banana, watermelon and papaya. It's very quiet and calm, with an amazing view; a great way to start each day.
At the end of our first week our mind-set has completed changed. We're loving our trip and thrilled we made the decision to come.
Our practice is going great, we've already started to get stronger and make improvements. We're meeting interesting people from all over the world and happily soaking in the amazing weather and great food.
At the end of the week Saraswathi tells us "new time start monday, you come 4:30". So, starting on Monday (the 17th) we begin practice at 4:30.
We aren't sure what this means, but with fewer people there, we'll have more room to practice and I'm sure she'll be able to give us a little more attention.
The shala closes for a few months after April 6th, so after some discussing we've decided to cut our trip down from 5 months to 3. After all, with the money we save, we'll be able to come back again sooner! ;)
Just about everything we need (restaurants, pharmacy, fruit vendors, the shala, coconut vendors etc.) is within a 5 minute walk from Urban Oasis. The farthest we've had to travel is to Saraswathi's house, which is about 10 minutes away. There are some locations we've heard about that are slightly farther, but rickshaw drivers are all over and are very cheap.
Below: Drinking some fresh coconut water!
Our daily routine couldn't be easier. Every morning we wake up at 5am, get ourselves ready and make our way to the shala for 6. We practice as much of the primary series as we can (you are stopped and told to start the finishing series if you can't get into certain "gateway" poses). I (Adam) am stuck at Marichyasana B and Aaron is stuck at Supta Kurmasana. Each day we get just a little closer to acheiving the poses. After practice, we head to the coconut vendor to have some extremely refreshing coconut water, then return to our hotel to shower, change and have breakfast. From then on, the rest of the day is ours to do with as we please.
Usually that involves light stretches, eating, getting some more coconuts and chatting with some other student from around the world and walking around to explore the city. As our days come to an end, we watch TED talks, documentaries and movies etc back at the hotel.
Below: hanging out at the coconut stand
Everything here is relatively inexpensive. To lower our cost of living, we'll be leaving the hotel and moving to an apartment, which will cost around $300 for our first month, then we move to a nicer place for about $400 a month.
We made the mistake of accepting abd booking the first apartment we found. Shortly after we came across far nicer places to stay, for just a small amount extra per month. So, on the 20th we are moving to a decent apartment about the size of our hotel room for one month. After that we will move to a very nice apartment, with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom.
The food has been fantastic. So far we've been eating all vegetarian meals. Many if not most of the locals are vegetarian, and have been their whole lives. The vegetarian dishes more than satisfy, all for just a few dollars.
Below: one of the great vegetarian meals we've been indulging in. Aloo Gobi, Mushroom Masala, Naan and a pineapple lassi
Every morning we have our free breakfast on the roof, tasting various Indian dishes and fresh fruits like banana, watermelon and papaya. It's very quiet and calm, with an amazing view; a great way to start each day.
At the end of our first week our mind-set has completed changed. We're loving our trip and thrilled we made the decision to come.
Our practice is going great, we've already started to get stronger and make improvements. We're meeting interesting people from all over the world and happily soaking in the amazing weather and great food.
At the end of the week Saraswathi tells us "new time start monday, you come 4:30". So, starting on Monday (the 17th) we begin practice at 4:30.
We aren't sure what this means, but with fewer people there, we'll have more room to practice and I'm sure she'll be able to give us a little more attention.
The shala closes for a few months after April 6th, so after some discussing we've decided to cut our trip down from 5 months to 3. After all, with the money we save, we'll be able to come back again sooner! ;)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Aaron - Downs and Ups
To say the first week here has been a roller coaster ride is a bit of an understatement.
After our death-journey getting to our hotel, we were greeted by the hotel security guard who didn't know about reservations, didn't have the room we had booked ready and spoke only minimal English. Still, he did his best to accommodate us, and gave us a room with a single bed. He told us the manager would be in soon, and we should check back in a few hours.
Below: our bed for nearly our entire first month!
Exhaustion taking over, we made do with what we had, jumped in bed beside one another and attempted to sleep... finally!
Unfortunately, it was already approaching 6am and the traffic starts good and early here. We spent the next couple of hours desperately attempting to sleep amidst an endless barrage of loud, backfiring engines, honking horns, and street vendors announcing their wares. All the excitement of beginning the journey that we had felt as we boarded our first flight had disappeared, replaced by the reality of being in a foreign land, far away from family, friends and almost anything familiar or comforting.
An hour or two later, not having been able to sleep, we went downstairs and spoke with the manager. He helped to sort out the situation, and explained that they didn't have any rooms with 2 beds left. We decided we could deal with 1 bed for the moment and asked him to let us know when a room with 2 beds opened up.
With a step in the right direction, we're finally able to relax a little and sleep... Which we proceeded to do for the entire rest of the day (off and on for almost 19 hours!), finally rising again around 5am on Tuesday.
Needing to fill our empty bellies, we went out and had a wonderful, cheap (though apparently rather expensive for the area) meal at nearby restaurant called "Sai Guru" or "Veg Family Restaurant", and felt our spirits lift. Leaving the restaurant we decided to walk and discover our surroundings.
As we travelled we noticed the area we were in is actually rather wealthy; beautiful, large houses, hotels and businesses lined the streets; each one unique in its architecture and many sporting bright, beautiful colours.
Rested, hydrated and with a good meal in us, we were in much better moods, as we approached the coconut stand, we decided to stop to get some fresh coconut water and maybe meet some of the students with some experience in the area. While we were there we were approached by a friendly student of the institute, named Rolf. As we got ourselves acquainted, we told him we were here to study with Sharath.
He responded by saying "I was with Sharath for one day. In the middle of practice he came over and started shouting at me 'Beginner! Beginner! Get out! Go to Saraswathi!'."
This is how we found out that Sharath teaches only to advanced students.
Needless to say, the news was very disappointing. Still, Saraswathi has decades of experience practicing and teaching Ashtanga. So, we went to the shala to register.
We'd read on the Internet that the price of classes was about 200-300$ a month. When we reached the Shala and spoke with a manager, we were told the price (which is not listed on the KPJAYI website, and when asked for in email, was not responded to) for the first month was 27800 rupees, which comes out to about $540 Canadian.
Our hearts sank slightly... Not only could we not study with the teacher we had intended to, the price was nearly double what was expected. Feeling dejected, we returned to our hotel.
Upon registering we were told our practice begins at 6am the next day. With that in mind, we both decided to do a small practice/stretch in the hotel. Keep in mind, we had been in transit for about a full day and a half prior to this. Then, spent another half day sleeping... We were a little stiff.
It was a hot day, and we both found ourselves unable to catch our breath, and almost completely immobile. Yet another kick in the teeth. We finished our practice thinking "what are we doing here?". The build up of disappointment, pressure and anxiety had finally overwhelmed us. Calling it quits, we headed out for dinner.
After another great meal and another nights sleep, we arose slightly refreshed, ready for our first day of practice. Saraswathi teaches not out of the main shala, but out of her home, just like her father (Pattabhi Jois) had done, once upon a time.
As we arrive, we take our sandals off and step into the practice area. The room is dimly lit with a soft orange glow and has a subtle smell of a nice incense. Quiet except for the sound of deep, full, ujjayi breathing (breathing with sound), and Saraswathi quietly calling instructions to students learning the primary series for the first time. She makes her way around the room, giving adjustments and making sure everyone knows and follows the proper sequence.. As we stepped inside we felt the warmth of the room, heated by the mass of students, all practicing various poses of the Ashtanga primary series. We begin to weave our way through the mass of shoulder to shoulder students, searching for a spot to begin our own practice.
Finding our spots, we roll out our mats and stand for a moment, preparing for the practice. Something about the room is deeply relaxing. For a moment, we breathe, and relax. All of our negative thoughts, our doubts, our disappointments - are swept away as our inner voice leads us into the practice... "Inhale..... Exhale".
Each pose in the series prepares you for the next. A certain level of proficiency is required in each pose in order to proceed. If you cannot continue, Saraswathi will tell you "you take back bending now, tomorrow try again". She's a wonderful woman who projects a real sense of compassion and care in her teaching. We each received multiple adjustments in the class. After our practice was finished, she took some time to get to know us, asking where we were from and who we had studied under.
We returned to the hotel, where they serve a free breakfast on the roof every morning. Enjoying our first breakfast, fresh papaya, idlys (steamed rice cakes), sambar (spicy chili soup), and coconut chutney (Sooo good). The food is excellent. After breakfast we enjoy a few cups of chai and look out at a beautiful view from te rooftop. As we relax, relief washes our stress way.
Below: our first breakfast in Mysore!
A good sleep, great practice, tasty food, and a beautiful view... all is well.
I think we could get used to this.
Below: a portion f the view from he rooftop of our hotel.
After our death-journey getting to our hotel, we were greeted by the hotel security guard who didn't know about reservations, didn't have the room we had booked ready and spoke only minimal English. Still, he did his best to accommodate us, and gave us a room with a single bed. He told us the manager would be in soon, and we should check back in a few hours.
Below: our bed for nearly our entire first month!
Exhaustion taking over, we made do with what we had, jumped in bed beside one another and attempted to sleep... finally!
Unfortunately, it was already approaching 6am and the traffic starts good and early here. We spent the next couple of hours desperately attempting to sleep amidst an endless barrage of loud, backfiring engines, honking horns, and street vendors announcing their wares. All the excitement of beginning the journey that we had felt as we boarded our first flight had disappeared, replaced by the reality of being in a foreign land, far away from family, friends and almost anything familiar or comforting.
An hour or two later, not having been able to sleep, we went downstairs and spoke with the manager. He helped to sort out the situation, and explained that they didn't have any rooms with 2 beds left. We decided we could deal with 1 bed for the moment and asked him to let us know when a room with 2 beds opened up.
With a step in the right direction, we're finally able to relax a little and sleep... Which we proceeded to do for the entire rest of the day (off and on for almost 19 hours!), finally rising again around 5am on Tuesday.
Needing to fill our empty bellies, we went out and had a wonderful, cheap (though apparently rather expensive for the area) meal at nearby restaurant called "Sai Guru" or "Veg Family Restaurant", and felt our spirits lift. Leaving the restaurant we decided to walk and discover our surroundings.
As we travelled we noticed the area we were in is actually rather wealthy; beautiful, large houses, hotels and businesses lined the streets; each one unique in its architecture and many sporting bright, beautiful colours.
Rested, hydrated and with a good meal in us, we were in much better moods, as we approached the coconut stand, we decided to stop to get some fresh coconut water and maybe meet some of the students with some experience in the area. While we were there we were approached by a friendly student of the institute, named Rolf. As we got ourselves acquainted, we told him we were here to study with Sharath.
He responded by saying "I was with Sharath for one day. In the middle of practice he came over and started shouting at me 'Beginner! Beginner! Get out! Go to Saraswathi!'."
This is how we found out that Sharath teaches only to advanced students.
Needless to say, the news was very disappointing. Still, Saraswathi has decades of experience practicing and teaching Ashtanga. So, we went to the shala to register.
We'd read on the Internet that the price of classes was about 200-300$ a month. When we reached the Shala and spoke with a manager, we were told the price (which is not listed on the KPJAYI website, and when asked for in email, was not responded to) for the first month was 27800 rupees, which comes out to about $540 Canadian.
Our hearts sank slightly... Not only could we not study with the teacher we had intended to, the price was nearly double what was expected. Feeling dejected, we returned to our hotel.
Upon registering we were told our practice begins at 6am the next day. With that in mind, we both decided to do a small practice/stretch in the hotel. Keep in mind, we had been in transit for about a full day and a half prior to this. Then, spent another half day sleeping... We were a little stiff.
It was a hot day, and we both found ourselves unable to catch our breath, and almost completely immobile. Yet another kick in the teeth. We finished our practice thinking "what are we doing here?". The build up of disappointment, pressure and anxiety had finally overwhelmed us. Calling it quits, we headed out for dinner.
After another great meal and another nights sleep, we arose slightly refreshed, ready for our first day of practice. Saraswathi teaches not out of the main shala, but out of her home, just like her father (Pattabhi Jois) had done, once upon a time.
As we arrive, we take our sandals off and step into the practice area. The room is dimly lit with a soft orange glow and has a subtle smell of a nice incense. Quiet except for the sound of deep, full, ujjayi breathing (breathing with sound), and Saraswathi quietly calling instructions to students learning the primary series for the first time. She makes her way around the room, giving adjustments and making sure everyone knows and follows the proper sequence.. As we stepped inside we felt the warmth of the room, heated by the mass of students, all practicing various poses of the Ashtanga primary series. We begin to weave our way through the mass of shoulder to shoulder students, searching for a spot to begin our own practice.
Finding our spots, we roll out our mats and stand for a moment, preparing for the practice. Something about the room is deeply relaxing. For a moment, we breathe, and relax. All of our negative thoughts, our doubts, our disappointments - are swept away as our inner voice leads us into the practice... "Inhale..... Exhale".
Each pose in the series prepares you for the next. A certain level of proficiency is required in each pose in order to proceed. If you cannot continue, Saraswathi will tell you "you take back bending now, tomorrow try again". She's a wonderful woman who projects a real sense of compassion and care in her teaching. We each received multiple adjustments in the class. After our practice was finished, she took some time to get to know us, asking where we were from and who we had studied under.
We returned to the hotel, where they serve a free breakfast on the roof every morning. Enjoying our first breakfast, fresh papaya, idlys (steamed rice cakes), sambar (spicy chili soup), and coconut chutney (Sooo good). The food is excellent. After breakfast we enjoy a few cups of chai and look out at a beautiful view from te rooftop. As we relax, relief washes our stress way.
Below: our first breakfast in Mysore!
A good sleep, great practice, tasty food, and a beautiful view... all is well.
I think we could get used to this.
Below: a portion f the view from he rooftop of our hotel.
Adam - Death Ride - part 3
For a while I had noticed our driver's head had begun occasionally bobbing slightly. Paying more attention, I realize that he is fighting a losing battle trying to stay awake at the wheel. We approach a curve in the road, only our vehicle makes no sign of taking the turn. Looking at the driver I get ready to say something, when suddenly, just as we are about to drive off of the road, the vehicle jerks to the right and we round the bend.
A moment or two passes, I try to tide my growing anger, then suddenly "Do you live in Gokulam?" (the district of Mysore we were traveling to) Aaron asks him. "Ya, Gokulam" the driver says. "So... when you drop us off you're gonna get some sleep?... You seem pretty tired...".
Laughing and agreeing, the driver finally opens up a little (his english is better than he let on...) and tells us his story. He wasn't supposed to be the one to pick us up. The man scheduled for us wasn't able to come and even though our driver had driven all day and night the previous day, he was called to pick us up as they had no one else.
Realizing our driver was a decent guy who had just got the short end of the stick and was extremely tired, we were able to have some sympathy for the man who had taken us on this terrifying death ride.
Still, an hour left in our trip we continue our ride with a driver who, like us, hadn't slept in 2 days. The final hour is the worst of the journey.
Still on the highway, our driver bobs and weaves through traffic, now occasionally nodding off at the wheel. Several more times we almost drive off the road, every time the driver wakes at the very last moment and swerves back onto the highway. Through the window I see a sign indicating a speed mound is ahead. For a brief moment I wonder if our driver had seen it, or would be conscious enough to notice the mound as we approached... WHAM... Nope.
Luckily that mound was smaller than the rest and we didn't become airborne or loose control. Later, as we approach another collection of cars on the highway, barely conscious, the driver decides to ride the bumpers of, and pass several vehicles. The car next to us a foot or so away, he nods off again and slowly the gap between our vehicles closes... Once again, just inches before collision, he stirs and the gap grows.
Finally, we pass a sign welcoming us to Mysore. After a few minutes we're off the highway, moving through the city. The driver takes the time to point out a few key locations for us in the district and describes to us the path we take to get from our hotel to the Shala. A moment or so later, we reach our destination. We get out and are handed our bags. In the email confirming our ride, we were told the price for our 4 hour (death) ride would come to 2,200 rupees, or about $44 ($44?!? We could hardly believe it). We ask the driver and he confirms. Having finally chatted with him a little and feeling grateful that he came to pick us up (had he not we'd likely still be at the airport, or have had to pick some other random driver to take us to Mysore... Mind you, that may have been a better journey...) we give him a generous tip, all things considered, and make our way into our hotel.
A moment or two passes, I try to tide my growing anger, then suddenly "Do you live in Gokulam?" (the district of Mysore we were traveling to) Aaron asks him. "Ya, Gokulam" the driver says. "So... when you drop us off you're gonna get some sleep?... You seem pretty tired...".
Laughing and agreeing, the driver finally opens up a little (his english is better than he let on...) and tells us his story. He wasn't supposed to be the one to pick us up. The man scheduled for us wasn't able to come and even though our driver had driven all day and night the previous day, he was called to pick us up as they had no one else.
Realizing our driver was a decent guy who had just got the short end of the stick and was extremely tired, we were able to have some sympathy for the man who had taken us on this terrifying death ride.
Still, an hour left in our trip we continue our ride with a driver who, like us, hadn't slept in 2 days. The final hour is the worst of the journey.
Still on the highway, our driver bobs and weaves through traffic, now occasionally nodding off at the wheel. Several more times we almost drive off the road, every time the driver wakes at the very last moment and swerves back onto the highway. Through the window I see a sign indicating a speed mound is ahead. For a brief moment I wonder if our driver had seen it, or would be conscious enough to notice the mound as we approached... WHAM... Nope.
Luckily that mound was smaller than the rest and we didn't become airborne or loose control. Later, as we approach another collection of cars on the highway, barely conscious, the driver decides to ride the bumpers of, and pass several vehicles. The car next to us a foot or so away, he nods off again and slowly the gap between our vehicles closes... Once again, just inches before collision, he stirs and the gap grows.
Finally, we pass a sign welcoming us to Mysore. After a few minutes we're off the highway, moving through the city. The driver takes the time to point out a few key locations for us in the district and describes to us the path we take to get from our hotel to the Shala. A moment or so later, we reach our destination. We get out and are handed our bags. In the email confirming our ride, we were told the price for our 4 hour (death) ride would come to 2,200 rupees, or about $44 ($44?!? We could hardly believe it). We ask the driver and he confirms. Having finally chatted with him a little and feeling grateful that he came to pick us up (had he not we'd likely still be at the airport, or have had to pick some other random driver to take us to Mysore... Mind you, that may have been a better journey...) we give him a generous tip, all things considered, and make our way into our hotel.
Below: Urban Oasis, Gokulam
Adam - Death Ride - part 2
Eventually we get back onto a highway, this time without any painted lanes! Not that they made a difference.
Once again bobbing and weaving through traffic, honking and flashing his lights, our driver stares silently ahead occasionally rubbing his eyes or quickly shaking his head... He seems very tired. As we continue, the frequency of his eye rubs increases and all of a sudden, he pulls off the highway and parks on the side of the road, near some other trucks. My fear kicks in again... What is going on?
Below: a night-time shot of the main drag in Gokulam
He looks at us both and says "Ten minutes... I need ten minutes.". Confused we say "okay...?", and the driver looks forward, places his forehead on the steering wheel and appears to go to sleep... A very awkward, silent minute or so passes. Suddenly the driver gets up, opens his door and gets out. Looking at us he says "I get Chai.", staring back at him we give him the same confused answer "Okay...", he shuts the door and walks away. Looking around we discover that we had stopped at some sort of road side coffee/tea stand. There are several people standing near a small hut behind us, which by our guess was where our driver had gone to get his tea. 'Is he going back there to arrange our robbery?' I wondered to myself, feeling far too vulnerable for comfort or rationality. With the driver gone, Aaron and I have a moment to discuss our thoughts. I discover that he was having the exact same thoughts as me throughout the drive. As we chat, a group of men begins to walk towards our car. I watch them intently again sizing them up. As they continue to approach, my stare intensifies, until... they pass us by. A short distance ahead they get in a vehicle and drive off. I take a moment to let Aaron know how little I am enjoying this random roadside stop (that's a polite way of putting it...). My feelings are reciprocated. After another minute or so our driver comes back to the car, opens the door, steps inside and without a word, starts up the car and continues driving.
Initially, the chai appears to have woken him up slightly, but as we drive on the eye rubbing, head shaking and face wiping continues...
Now two and a half hours into the journey, I ask the driver how much farther he thinks it will be. "Hour and half" he says, looking at me with eyes barely open. As we drive on the roads degrade to dirt paths filled with potholes and the occasional speed-mound. The sights are no more pleasant as we pass impoverished shanty towns, immediately followed by nice villa homes and shops, and again followed by more shanty towns.
Once again bobbing and weaving through traffic, honking and flashing his lights, our driver stares silently ahead occasionally rubbing his eyes or quickly shaking his head... He seems very tired. As we continue, the frequency of his eye rubs increases and all of a sudden, he pulls off the highway and parks on the side of the road, near some other trucks. My fear kicks in again... What is going on?
Below: a night-time shot of the main drag in Gokulam
He looks at us both and says "Ten minutes... I need ten minutes.". Confused we say "okay...?", and the driver looks forward, places his forehead on the steering wheel and appears to go to sleep... A very awkward, silent minute or so passes. Suddenly the driver gets up, opens his door and gets out. Looking at us he says "I get Chai.", staring back at him we give him the same confused answer "Okay...", he shuts the door and walks away. Looking around we discover that we had stopped at some sort of road side coffee/tea stand. There are several people standing near a small hut behind us, which by our guess was where our driver had gone to get his tea. 'Is he going back there to arrange our robbery?' I wondered to myself, feeling far too vulnerable for comfort or rationality. With the driver gone, Aaron and I have a moment to discuss our thoughts. I discover that he was having the exact same thoughts as me throughout the drive. As we chat, a group of men begins to walk towards our car. I watch them intently again sizing them up. As they continue to approach, my stare intensifies, until... they pass us by. A short distance ahead they get in a vehicle and drive off. I take a moment to let Aaron know how little I am enjoying this random roadside stop (that's a polite way of putting it...). My feelings are reciprocated. After another minute or so our driver comes back to the car, opens the door, steps inside and without a word, starts up the car and continues driving.
Initially, the chai appears to have woken him up slightly, but as we drive on the eye rubbing, head shaking and face wiping continues...
Now two and a half hours into the journey, I ask the driver how much farther he thinks it will be. "Hour and half" he says, looking at me with eyes barely open. As we drive on the roads degrade to dirt paths filled with potholes and the occasional speed-mound. The sights are no more pleasant as we pass impoverished shanty towns, immediately followed by nice villa homes and shops, and again followed by more shanty towns.
Adam - Death Ride - part 1
Saying our good-byes to friends, family and loved ones, we get on our first of two flights, at 6pm. Our eyes are glowing as the excitement of our journey truly sets in.
It's actually happening.
We arrive at Bangalore Intl. At 1:00am, following our two (very uncomfortable) 9 hour flights, with a 2 hour layover in Paris. Unable to sleep on the planes, it's been almost 2 days now since we've slept.
The airport is very quiet and empty, only a few security guards and customs attendants are inside the building. After making our way past a very grumpy and unwelcoming customs clerk (it's 1am, he's probably very tired, we can forgive him) we grab our luggage and head outside.
Reaching the exterior we encounter a wall of taxi drivers, 3 men deep, lined up along a fence, calling out to us and holding up signs. After a few minutes of searching, we spot our names and make our way to our drivers car.
After introducing ourselves and attempting a brief conversation, we discover that our driver doesn't fully understand English. For the most part he answers questions with 1 word, otherwise remaining silent.
As we drive, through the darkness of night we are able to see silhouettes of palm trees and mountains in the distance. We drive along a nice stretch of well paved roads near the airport and take in some of the pleasant sights India has to offer. The calm, pleasant drive quickly transforms as we approach the highway.
Our driver increases speed and "merges" onto the highway, coming within inches of several vehicles. We bob and weave through traffic, the driver honking and flashing his high-beams as we pass car after car. There are lanes painted on the highway, but no one seems to care. I take a moment to look around and notice that we are moving faster than most others. The thought vanishes, replaced by shock, as our vehicle moves to within a foot of the vehicle in front of us. Honking and flashing his lights, our silent driver moves to pass the car just as the driver behind us moves to pass as well, for a moment we are between the two cars, inches away from both, traveling at about 130 km/h. As we overtake the first car, the second speeds past us, cutting infront at the very first moment it is able and racing away. It takes little time before we reach the next vehicle, a large truck, which we are temporarily unable to pass. We follow the truck, within a foot's distance until the opportunity to pass arises.
Aaron looks back and we exchange a brief, knowing glance. "These people are insane and we will die on this ride." - was the message communicated in our raised eyebrows and slight smiles. The ride continues as described, for the next thirty-or-so minutes, until we approach the exit into the city.
Getting off of the highway, we slow down to navigate the winding roads of Bangalore. For a brief moment, we're relieved. Street lamps and large glowing signs light up the city as we drive. The windows down, an array of scents pass through as we travel; incense, indian cuisine, garbage, exhaust fumes, the smell of burning... something. Looking closer we see sidewalks and curbs covered in garbage in all directions, as though the residents of the city emptied their waste bins onto the streets. For every nice-looking building we see, we pass 5 broken down ones. Massive piles of dirt and stones, bricks and rebar (spreading right out onto the roads) mark buildings under construction. Weaving around them, we pass by dozens of stray dogs digging through the trash, the odd one occasionally chases our car. Every other side street we look down hosts more scrap-shacks, out front of them small fires burn in the darkness. We pass by an inevitable sight, a stray dog dead on the streets (likely hit by some crazy driver), the first of several.
Below: Some examples of roadside garbage, these are both in Mysore, nothing compared to the streets of Bangalore. Imagine the dark side roads of downtown Toronto or New York at night, with twice as much garbage covering the sidewalks and curbs while stray dogs bark and chase your car... Not a happy place.
As dark thoughts fill our tired minds, I can't help but wonder if our driver is actually taking us to our destination. We'd heard of scam drivers, supposedly somewhat common here, who take you to the middle of nowhere and demand more money or just plain rob you and leave you behind. I had used google maps to see the route and get an estimate of our travel time, at no point did the route wind through the city as we had. The fear of being stranded and robbed on the streets of India enters my mind. Sizing up the driver I look about the car considering my options in a worst case scenario. I think back to when we had left the parking lot. The driver had asked for money to pay for parking, 60 rupees ($1.20), searching my wallet I told him my smallest bill was 500. Had he seen my money? Was my fear reality?
I look at Aaron, sitting in the passenger seat, calmly staring ahead. I know he's faking calm, as I am, and after a moment I decide to brush the bad thoughts away. We have no choice but to trust our silent driver. What are we going to do? Tell him to let us out in the slums of Bangalore, luggage and all?
We pass a mat of fur pressed into the road, likely very old remains of another stray dog, our moods had turned, happy thoughts nowhere to be found...
Finally, like a shining beacon of light in the darkness, we round a corner and a large sign reads Mysore, amongst other names, with an arrow pointing in it's direction. Our driver follows. Confidence growing, our frightening adventure continues.
-Adam
It's actually happening.
We arrive at Bangalore Intl. At 1:00am, following our two (very uncomfortable) 9 hour flights, with a 2 hour layover in Paris. Unable to sleep on the planes, it's been almost 2 days now since we've slept.
The airport is very quiet and empty, only a few security guards and customs attendants are inside the building. After making our way past a very grumpy and unwelcoming customs clerk (it's 1am, he's probably very tired, we can forgive him) we grab our luggage and head outside.
Reaching the exterior we encounter a wall of taxi drivers, 3 men deep, lined up along a fence, calling out to us and holding up signs. After a few minutes of searching, we spot our names and make our way to our drivers car.
After introducing ourselves and attempting a brief conversation, we discover that our driver doesn't fully understand English. For the most part he answers questions with 1 word, otherwise remaining silent.
As we drive, through the darkness of night we are able to see silhouettes of palm trees and mountains in the distance. We drive along a nice stretch of well paved roads near the airport and take in some of the pleasant sights India has to offer. The calm, pleasant drive quickly transforms as we approach the highway.
Our driver increases speed and "merges" onto the highway, coming within inches of several vehicles. We bob and weave through traffic, the driver honking and flashing his high-beams as we pass car after car. There are lanes painted on the highway, but no one seems to care. I take a moment to look around and notice that we are moving faster than most others. The thought vanishes, replaced by shock, as our vehicle moves to within a foot of the vehicle in front of us. Honking and flashing his lights, our silent driver moves to pass the car just as the driver behind us moves to pass as well, for a moment we are between the two cars, inches away from both, traveling at about 130 km/h. As we overtake the first car, the second speeds past us, cutting infront at the very first moment it is able and racing away. It takes little time before we reach the next vehicle, a large truck, which we are temporarily unable to pass. We follow the truck, within a foot's distance until the opportunity to pass arises.
Aaron looks back and we exchange a brief, knowing glance. "These people are insane and we will die on this ride." - was the message communicated in our raised eyebrows and slight smiles. The ride continues as described, for the next thirty-or-so minutes, until we approach the exit into the city.
Getting off of the highway, we slow down to navigate the winding roads of Bangalore. For a brief moment, we're relieved. Street lamps and large glowing signs light up the city as we drive. The windows down, an array of scents pass through as we travel; incense, indian cuisine, garbage, exhaust fumes, the smell of burning... something. Looking closer we see sidewalks and curbs covered in garbage in all directions, as though the residents of the city emptied their waste bins onto the streets. For every nice-looking building we see, we pass 5 broken down ones. Massive piles of dirt and stones, bricks and rebar (spreading right out onto the roads) mark buildings under construction. Weaving around them, we pass by dozens of stray dogs digging through the trash, the odd one occasionally chases our car. Every other side street we look down hosts more scrap-shacks, out front of them small fires burn in the darkness. We pass by an inevitable sight, a stray dog dead on the streets (likely hit by some crazy driver), the first of several.
Below: Some examples of roadside garbage, these are both in Mysore, nothing compared to the streets of Bangalore. Imagine the dark side roads of downtown Toronto or New York at night, with twice as much garbage covering the sidewalks and curbs while stray dogs bark and chase your car... Not a happy place.
As dark thoughts fill our tired minds, I can't help but wonder if our driver is actually taking us to our destination. We'd heard of scam drivers, supposedly somewhat common here, who take you to the middle of nowhere and demand more money or just plain rob you and leave you behind. I had used google maps to see the route and get an estimate of our travel time, at no point did the route wind through the city as we had. The fear of being stranded and robbed on the streets of India enters my mind. Sizing up the driver I look about the car considering my options in a worst case scenario. I think back to when we had left the parking lot. The driver had asked for money to pay for parking, 60 rupees ($1.20), searching my wallet I told him my smallest bill was 500. Had he seen my money? Was my fear reality?
I look at Aaron, sitting in the passenger seat, calmly staring ahead. I know he's faking calm, as I am, and after a moment I decide to brush the bad thoughts away. We have no choice but to trust our silent driver. What are we going to do? Tell him to let us out in the slums of Bangalore, luggage and all?
We pass a mat of fur pressed into the road, likely very old remains of another stray dog, our moods had turned, happy thoughts nowhere to be found...
Finally, like a shining beacon of light in the darkness, we round a corner and a large sign reads Mysore, amongst other names, with an arrow pointing in it's direction. Our driver follows. Confidence growing, our frightening adventure continues.
-Adam
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