Rishikesh

From the mountains of the Kumaon, we now moved on to the Garhwal hills, to the holy city of Rishikesh. Rishikesh always fascinated me since childhood. There was always a thrill to it. The rapidly flowing Ganges with rafting in full swing, the hippie culture, the iconic Laxman Jhula bridge, the association with the legendary Beatles, it had everything to be intrigued about. After the Kumaon leg of our trip, we arrived at the swanky new Dehradun airport. After spending five days in the remote locations, we were now in a proper city. We were booked at the Aloha Apartments close to the Laxman Jhula bridge, which was in the same complex as the famous Aloha by the Ganges Hotel.

Aloha Apartments

We were put up in the apartments and not the hotel. We received a call from the manager who checked us in and handed over the keys and explained the rules to us. Like, some of the areas which we should avoid going to, as it was marked only for hotel residents. We had access to the buffet for breakfast, lunch dinner but there was no room service available. We were both famished and desperately needed something to eat. Our good old friend Swiggy was the answer, as suggested by the manager. Order there, they will drop it at the gate following which either the manager or someone from his team would get it to our room. Fair enough, I thought. We did not pay the gigantic tariff of the hotel but got the benefit of the amazing location with a blockbuster view of the flowing Ganges. The first sight was truly a one to behold. The entire complex was extremely lively and provides a great vibe. Every floor had a sitting area overlooking the Ganges and even in the hot month of May, a cool breeze would always blow from that side. There was a swimming pool and on the pool-side they had an evening aarti at sunset. It felt truly blissful to watch that with the Ganges flowing in the background.  We were energized after a burger meal delivered by Swiggy and were ready to hit the town. Before that we paid a visit to the Neem beach on the riverside which could be viewed from our hotel. It was a longish walk but worth it as we dipped our feet in the cold waters of the divine Ganges. We relished the evening breeze as well.

Around Laxman Jhula And Its Cafes

There was a huge rush of pilgrims from all over India for the Char Dhaam pilgrimage, which resumed two years after the pandemic and  hence it was next to impossible to get an auto or taxi to drive us around. One could hire a scooty but I was not too keen on that. Our first destination was the Beatles 60s Café and after a bit of walk we soon found it.  It was a lovely themed café, with multiple sections, most of them quite full. The relatively smaller AC section was full so we settled for the outside, sitting on a cosy dewan. There were quite a few groups of foreigner groups interacting with their Indian counterparts and it made up for a great atmosphere. We realized that the menu was vegetarian. It was a surprise considering the nature of the place and customers from western countries. However, we learnt that it is the norm in Rishikesh as it is a holy city for Hindus. Of course, there were the normal ‘dhaba’ type places which would serve us our favourite chicken but that is not what we have come here for. We had a pizza dinner and walked back.

We had some much-needed sleep to catch up on and we duly did so. We woke up afresh and were all set to hit the town center of Laxman Jhula. The summer heat was not going to deter us. First target was to go to the iconic bridge or jhula, as the name of the place suggested. We walked on the same path as we did the evening before and then took a left which would take us towards the bridge. It was a narrow lane only enough for pedestrians and two wheelers. It was a great walk. The walls were adorned by some brilliant graffiti, had the occasional café, the occasional hello from a stranger. It was a travelers delight that we live for. We reached a main road with a bend taking us further down the slope on to the buzzing market place. A further walk down and we could view the majestic bridge. The dampener however would be that the bridge was closed for pedestrians. Perhaps it was due to the rush. Which meant that in order to go to the other side of the river, we needed to take the boat. we moved down the slope through the markets on to the banks of the river. A quick ticket purchase and we could take the boat that would ferry us to the other side of the river. The Beatles ashram was also on this side of the river. However due to the lack of transport, we were just not able to visit that as it was a longish distance on foot. We walked through some of the beautiful cafes – Freedom Café and Little Buddha Café. All were open-air cafes and would be an absolute hit on an autumn or winter day but not on a summer day like this. We settled for Royal Café and did not regret. It was a spacious café with colourful wall-art and comfortable dewans to sit on the balcony with the view of the river. The heat was somewhat taken care of by the coolers provided. And goes without saying, the food was delicious. We visited another prominent café – The Ganga View Café. We were of the knowledge that a gorgeous sunset can be viewed from here. Whatever space we had in our stomach, we filled that up fast and realized that there would be no sunset that can viewed here as the sun would go behind the hills. Perhaps one can view the sunset in winter, we thought.

The plan for the evening was to visit another Beatles Café which was close to the Laxman Jhula bridge. The map told us that it would be a fifteen-minute walk. Sounded easy but became a bit frustrating as we walked. We took the same route as in the morning, through the narrow lanes until we reached that bend which would take us down. We reached the location but no café was to be seen. Google maps only take us till here, they could not guide us as far as the height was concerned. We followed the old-fashioned way of asking the shop-keepers and they guided us. We had to take the steps up the market place and right on top would be our café. We passed a number of shops which under normal circumstances during the day would intrigue us but at the moment only the café mattered. We found it and after a bit of difficulty found a table. The café provided us a great view of the lit-up Ram Jhula which was the ‘brother’ bridge of the more famous Laxman Jhula. We had another satisfying meal and now the painful thought of walking all the way back. We exited and took the steps further up where we were led to another road. Finally, after two days we could hail an auto which would happily drop us to our apartments.

River Rafting On The Ganges

This morning I was all set to do the most thrilling activity in Rishikesh which is river rafting. The rafting on the Ganges here is famous and have been seen in many a photograph or a film. I have been watching it from our apartment and it sure was thrilling. At almost every 50 meters or so, there was an agency which was providing the service and once could spot many SUVs carrying the rafts on the way to the starting point. I booked from one of the agencies on the lane our apartment was located. I would be going alone as Asmi was not keen on doing it.  I planned to do 12 Km starting from Shivpuri to the Neem beach close to our hotel. There were ten of us attached to one raft. We all boarded the same SUV and were on our way to Shivpuri at around 9 AM in the morning. There was no traffic on the way in the northward direction so we reached in no time. We were provided our life jackets and most importantly given loads of instructions as to what to do and when. There would be five rapids which would be major part of our thrill. Looking at the rapids, I wondered how we are going to stay put in the raft with nothing to tie ourselves with. I realized that the trick was to balance the weight of ten people optimally to make sure that no one would be thrown out. The best part of the ride was when the instructor shouted out JUMP! As in, just let go and jump into the water. We knew he would and we can jump but still the feeling was surreal. This was no swimming pool, this was THE Ganges, our Ganga Maiya in full flow in its upper course. We all took the plunge with strict instructions to hold the rope tightly. The water was ice-cold and at one instant, we were transported from May to December. It was a surreal feeling which lasted for a few minutes after which we boarded back, or rather pulled back by our instructor. Each rapid had a name which the instructor duly explained. He asked if any of us would like to take the plunge in the rapids. I relented this time. However, a couple of guys obliged and ended up having some fun. This was not all. After crossing a couple of more rapids, he asked us to jump again. Initially, I hesitated and stayed back when seeing all others, I could not stop myself and took the plunge a second time. The experience would not have been complete without this second plunge. Thank God that I did it. We could soon see the Aloha by the Ganges hotel which meant that we were nearing the end of the amazing experience. We got off at the Neem beach and then walked over the agency to exchange photos and transfer the video of the experience captured by the instructor on a Go-Pro camera. It is proudly uploaded on my youtube channel and at the time of writing has had around thousand views. I rounded off the experience with a well-earned Maggi at the small restaurant opposite.

(Click on the picture below to catch the video on our Youtube channel)