Dehli to Dehradun to Rishikesh

Aside from cutting the boarding a bit fine due to having to take a shuttle train to the C gates at Heathrow within terminal 5, all went smoothly with the 8 hour flight (some lovely paneer meals and good film selection). Landed in a misty / perhaps smoggy Dehli just before 1am. Managed to verify visas and clear border control without issue…. It was a bit tricky working out the shuttle bus coupon system, but with some helpful prompts from someone else on our flight we made it and spent some time relaxing before our 8am flight to Dehradun.

We enjoyed some rice curd (cold rice mixed with yogurt with lime pickle) and Medu Vada (breakfast doughnuts drizzled with spicy sauce) then landed in Dehradun after about 35 minutes.

A bit of confusion but our taxi driver was waiting. Definitely a communication barrier as we waited at a posh hotel for a while to pick someone else up, before continuing the hair raising ride to Rishikesh. The taxi wove around cows, dodged scooters, and beeped incessantly at other vehicles/obstacles, as we laughed at the roadside monkeys. We were tired but still able to enjoy darting through the chaos.

We arrived at World Peace Yoga school, enjoyed some ginger tea on check in, unpacked and familiarised with the building, and it’s vandal visitors 😂🐒
After a nap, we went on a little orientation walk around the bustling town with another student from Denmark. Rishikesh is wildly different to anywhere in the UK… more on this to come.

We were approached by a red robe-clad lady wanting to bless us and I wondered if it was ok/ appropriate.
Google said “Yes, it is generally considered okay and often welcomed for tourists to be blessed with a bindi or tilak (a similar forehead mark) when visiting temples, attending cultural ceremonies, or being welcomed as guests in India. This gesture is usually interpreted as a sign of respect, inclusion, and cultural appreciation rather than cultural appropriation”

So we have officially been welcomed to India, and made our way back for a lovely dinner of corn soup, dahl, rice, veggies and chapatti, and an early night!Read more