Natalia

Blogger and superb photographer from eastern russia. I had just taken this photo on her camera, for her blog, when I thought it's also a good blip...Oddly there's a photo of me in varanasi at holi on her latest one. We seem to keep meeting in odd places..chai stop at daybreak etc and she reminds me very much of isabella who I think I've mentioned..in return I remind her of her father...

And so to tales of rishikesh..which is certainly a place to stay awhile...I think that this year backpacker numbers are fallen and so not too busy...it's a gorgeous place..
But I have two days to write up...
Do this day started the night before when curfew bit me on the Arse...we were wandering back when Kate, kiwi, mentioned that tariks friend, Alice was from wien...and so a viennese accent and the chance to talk about the place...I kind of lost track of time...and when I got to my hotel it was locked down as if for siege...a half hour walk to Jens place offered a similar sight...it was certain, I was locked out in rishikesh at midnight...and the friendly street dogs of the daylight hours were transforming before my eyes into loose packs of flesh tearing terrors...what to do...
I had noticed wooly hatted baba had a double mattress in his shelter and thought of asking but decided that it could be a last resort as he is indeed quite mad...further up the hill another baba had commandeered an atm...at the top of the hill as the temperature dropped in the wind chill, I found another atm...good enough for the baba I thought...and laid me down to rest....
Daylight come I found my room and that my landlord was trying to screw me for 50 rupees a day over the agreed price...time to leave and so I got another room...both Alice and Kate were leaving and so two rooms were available at surya, over the river, with wifi, curfew free...ish...and so I had my discussion about being ripped off in front of someone moving in, seriously passed off the hotelier and got the place I'd been hoping for on arrival....sleeping rough in India, another new experience....
And another sunset over the ganges and the growing restlessness and desire for the hills...further, as the bus said...