The beach and a monkey attack!

Halfway along this path, we descended some steps between two shacks to reach Rishikesh Beach. I was surprised by how soft the sand between the boulders was, and by how many people were enjoying the beach. Many had brought picnics, and some were swimming in the Ganges. I must admit, it did look nice and clean at this point. I had the obligatory paddle, and can confirm that the water was extremely cold! We are only 249 kilometres from its source in the Himalayas here. It has over 2300 kilometres to go until it empties into the Bay of Bengal.

I took advantage of the break on the beach to check my blood sugar and was pleased to see that it had dropped to 8.8.

From the beach, we made our way to the Ram Jhula Bridge. Nivan suggested that I walk across it and back while he waited for me. He told me that there were lots of monkeys, but not to worry as they were used to people and were very friendly. He was wrong! I was about to sustain my second injury of the day. A very large male monkey jumped on my back from a great height. The impact completely winded me and I know I'll be bruised by tomorrow! When I told Nivan, he seemed amused!

Seeing as my blood sugar was down, I felt able to have some lunch. Nivan suggested we went to Chotiwala, the oldest and most famous restaurant in Rishikesh, which conveniently, was just around the corner. There is a human who's job is to be dressed up like the restaurant's mascot, sit on a throne, and ring a bell every time someone enters. Despite the gimmick, the mushroom masala, jeera rice, and garlic naan I shared with Nivan were all very good.Read more