The Bongs in Rishikesh

Idiots on the Lakshman Jhula

In the rather boring lifestyle that I have now; the week leading up to the New Year and the week after that have been, to say the least, INCREDIBLE.

Ram Jhula as seen from Budha Cafe

Rishikesh is a place I have been to, many times, but it never fails to leave me satisfied and with a calm head, despite the ruckus we make there. And not even a freezing Ganga can deter me from jumping into the water at least once. My mother has a flat of her own there. Kind of what people call a ‘retirement plan’. For us it is just somewhere with free crashing and cooking facilities. But then with a bunch of 20 year olds who really
wants to cook. So all our money was spent, rather unintelligently, or not, on food from the various ‘Cafés’ around Lakshman Jhula. Our primary interest being a place called ‘THE GERMAN CAFÉ’- Chilly bean Burrito, spinach pastas, apple crumble pie amongst other delicious things.

Niloy finger broken...

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We reached there at around 10 in the evening and got a power cut, which is rare to be honest. But well there it was, a cold windy night, as dark as it can be, the moon having already set. The only light was that of the stars, and millions and millions of them just sprinkled all around, almost like someone spilled over a can of sugar on a granite floor. and Niloy was hardly looking at the road, just walking with his head pointed upwards… A bottle of Old monk and a few candles later, it was just the kind of chitchat we all like once in a while. Without any real worry of what we have left behind.

This is beginning to sound more preachy than I wanted it to be. Anyway…

one of the innumerabe cups of tea 

Most of the people visiting there at this time of the year (that being the last week of December, we left on 27^th of December) are ‘Bangalis’ (just cant get rid of them anywhere) and whites (not being racist, just stating a fact- Europeans or Israelites). Everyone goes there to find their kind of ‘Peace of Mind’. Well maybe the place does have the magic that everyone wishes for in the city. It’s not awfully quiet, mind, but it is amazingly calm. With the crazy walking we did every day, With the food (vegetarian, but no one really minds) we ate. The hours we talked about nothing. And living a life without Computers and internet, not even a Radio, honestly. We had our phones, yes, but I don’t think any of us used it beyond an occasional message.

Budget trip = Rishikesh. Well sometimes a lot of money wasted on good food wouldn’t be too bad either. Average per person cost (without lodging cost) Rs. 1500 for 2 days.