Cherai Beach

Cherai Beach Resort is located outside Kochi on a small island! I reached it yesterday after a one hour cab ride and a three hour train ride! I was so happy to come to a nice place! Actually it is beautiful here and for the first time I have a clean toilet! The shower is still cold but in this heat it does not matter anymore. To reach my tiny hut, i have to cross a lovely bamboo bridge! My hut is standing in the water and at night I can hear the fishes jump and it almost seams that they want to come to bed with me.
I started my day with a yoga practice just outside my front door surrounded by water! I went to breakfast and after that I treated myself to an Ayurvedic massage which ended with a steam bath, shower and then a face massage! This was truly heavenly and most amazing and I enjoyed every minute of it! The rest of the day I laid on the beach, did my meditation and then created a Mandala! What a day and how I needed that after all the traveling and being sick for a while. It is good for me to build up my strength again before I make my journey home!
After laying on the beach for one day I had to venture out again. I decided to go to Ernakulam the big city from where I arrived with the train. I did some shopping then took a ferry to Fort Kochi, the next island. I had a wonderful time to watch the fisherman bringing in the big beautiful nets full of fish. Walking along the shore, who was lined with beautiful little restaurants, got me contemplating about my journey! I examined my path in every possible angle. I will write new blog about thoughts and contemplation on the way home, for now I want to finish writing about Cherai Beach first! Today I visited an Elephant rescue camp and helped to wash the elephants in the river! They all layed down so that I could comfortably reach and scrub them with my brush. One of them played with me with his trunk. That was truly wonderful and it was a fantastic experience! The elephants where so grateful to get cooled off! Then they had to go back to their camp and got tied up, which made me very sad. I could not understand why they could not walk around freely, because I saw that their was a big fenced aerea! Today is the day that I also will pack my bags and say goodby to India. My journey home starts when you have Saturday evening and I will arrive in Richmond Monday night!
Thank you for listening, all your prayers and comments!
Namaste

Amritapuri Ashram

I arrived at the Ashram after traveling for 22 hours totally exhausted. When they asked me if I liked a shared room or single I opted for single! I do like my privacy especially with so many people here! Right now the Ashram is not as crowded, because Amma is not here. This Ashram is a big village with several high rise buildings, a big Temple and huge dinning hall.  The Ashram is able to host 5000 people and  there will thousands more, when Amma is in the Ashram, here for eating.  It is a well organized and very busy place!Like a big village crowded into a small place. There are whole families who give up their lives in their country's, to live here forever! Everybody who stays here has to work, do Seva, and help for several hours a day. I was gluing on address labels yesterday and today I had to sew little hearts filled with flowers. I think I am lucky not to be in the kitchen and prepare food early in the morning or wash dishes, clean toilets or floors! Meditation starts early in the morning and then chanting until breakfast. There is another meditation session from six in the evening until dinner time which is at 8pm.  I feel the amazing energy, which gets created with so many people meditating together. Then I had to teach two yoga classes and I felt a bit out of practice. Nonetheless the classes were lovely and the people liked them! There were people from all over the world in my class!

It is very, very hot here in the south and the proper  Ashram clothing's are long sleeves and long pants. Needless to say everybody sweats all day and night. There is no air condition either and Amma forbid for us to go to the beach right now, where we could get cooled of. She is concerned about another tsunami! Well I do long for the beach and so decided to go back to Kochi for my last 3 days in India and spent it in an nice Resort and let myself spoil with Ayurvedic Massages! So again I will be on the move tomorrow as I travel four hours north to Cherai Beach!

Namaste

More from Arambol

The next day I walked to the village and found a yoga teacher then I  practiced with him every day.Along the shore are a lot of little Restaurants where I got fabulous Indian food and lots of different kind of  fruit drinks.I decided to rent a motorbike to explore a bit the near area in  north Goa. Daria a Woman from Russia joined me. We went south along the coast over little mountains. We ended up in  Chapora.a small village by the Chapora river.We climed up a mountain to an old Fort and could enjoy the most beautiful view to the ocean and on the other side we saw the inland and where the river met the ocean! The land in Goa is very green with coconut plantations and other fresh produce!
The next day I climbed another small mountain near Arambol to an old Bajan tree. It is there where Baba, an enlightened being lives! People go visit him and bring small tokens of  fruits or tobacco. Everybody sits around a circle smokes and talks to him. When he saw me he started shouted out loud and opened his arms and said "Mama oh Mama you com here finally, finally i see you, oh Mama sit with me!" so i went to sit next to him and he kissed my cheeks. Then he was holding my hand and said you I will  be healed. He said my legs will be better soon.Well, I really look forward to that! After going back I went to lay on the beach and rest. But there is no rest at Arambols beaches , because there are a lot of woman in beautiful Saris walking around to sell their goods. Every two minutes one of them stands in front of you and says:"Madam want to see my things, give good price , make me happy , you bye!"  And if I say no they never will never go away and start unpacking all they have, put it on your leg. I made the mistake to bye something after one day being harassed and  that makes it all worse., because then everyone is coming to say: " Why you by not from me, me have better price better things!" and you have to know they are all friends, it is just a endless game! one day I made the mistake of giving a begging child some money! It took him only five minutes to bring back the whole village! At the same time a boy on a bike came by to sell ice cream and so i decided to by them each one. Now the crowd got even bigger and even the woman in the saris came by and said they are children too. It was a real spectacle at the beach. In India everybody makes their own prices, so I had to barter with the ice cream boy and still ended up with a big bill! As they all still where eating their ice a boy pushed a big wagon along the beach with a grill on it and he made corn on the cob! Now the children came to ask me if I would bye them dinner too! It is never enough no matter what I do.  Smiling I left the beach!
Arambol has a lot of tourists, especially from end of November to beginning of April! So the season comes to an end now! I still met a lot of people from all over the world. Daria from Russia and I became friends and I talked to people from Germany, Israel, Nepal, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, France, Spain, Belgium, Australia and Austria!  Amazing isn't it?
I considered the five days I spent in Arambol as resting days and did not so much sightseeing. My train  15 hour train ride leaves tonight to go to Kochin  south India!
Please forgive me if I make mistakes, the time is always short to be on the CP and I do not have time to read and correct the blog!

Goa ~ Arambole

After a long traveling day I arrived in Panaji, the capitol city of Goa. Goa is a small state of India and isstrongly influenced by the Portuguese who invaded Goa in 1510. They took control of the many harbors to bring spices and other goods to other places in the world.! They also brought Christianity to Goa and one can see catholic churches in all the villages. Goa's coast is lined with palm trees, rocky mountains and a lot of greens. This was a true welcome to my eyes after all the cities I visited.
From the airport I took a bus to Panaji and then got a cab to Arambole a very small village north  of Goa. The cabdriver unloaded me in the village and from there I had to walk about 15 minutes along the shore to my room. I got a little hut directly on the beach. At night I could open the bacony door and listen to the sound of the ocean. True music to my ears, really lovely! I had to share the room with a family of rats, lizards, roaches and ants and it got very cosy at times! The cows, dogs, pigs, coats, and roosters had to stay outside!
To be continued!!!!!

Agra

I truly have to appologize that the blogs are so delayed, but it is not always easy to find a internet cafe and if I have time to write the computers are are often occupied!

My 15 hour train ride was completely in the dark.  I only could get a sleeper train and my bed was upstairs without any windows and the curtains had to be drawn for privacy. I boarded the train at 5:45 in the morning and arrived in Agra at 8:30 at night. It cought me by surprise that I was not able to see any daylight  and so I considered this day as a resting day in bed! I was not feeling well and had an Indian belly, so I slept drank tea and read. I did the hotel booking for Agra  through the American Embassy and they also organized a driver to pick me up at the trainstaition. For once I felt safe and he drove me to a first class Hotel. I had a real shower and even some warm water. There was a towel and most important toilet paper!I only stayed for one day in Agra and allowed myself a guide to take me arround to all the different sites. First I went to see the Taj Mahal. I was so impressed by this enormes and beautiful monument! My guide Bahir was excellent and I learned the very sad  love story about the King and his wife! The whole Monument is made out of white marble and is engraved with precious stone flower patterns. Some of this stones glow in the dark  when the moon shines its light on it. My next stop was the Agra Fort where the King, who build the Taj Mahal for his late wife, lived! Then I visited the Ruins or better the foundation of the Black Taj. The Black Taj never got finished because the Kings son did not pursue this project. I also had the chance to observe a small family bussines and how they  created and inlayed the beautiful precious stones in the white marble. This was very interesting to me, as it is such a precise art technique. As we left there i needed some chai and i made the guide stop along the road where you really get the best tea! He was very surrprised and happy  that I wanted to do that. In the later afternoon we made our way to Fatepur Sikri  to see the the abandoned Fortand City.   This fort looked similar to the Agra Fort. It was build mostly in red clay stones and had a lot of carvings, wonderful doors and alcoves. The last visit was the Baby Taj from where I could see the Taj Mahal in the evening light. The Baby Taj consisted of several Tombs where Princesses where laid to rest. This was a long day with a lot of impressions and so I went back to the Hotel, ate something and had to go to sleep. The next morning I had to wake up by 4am to catch a train back to New Delhi and from where I had  a  flight to Goa.

Thank you for reading and listening to me as I walk on my path through India. I will talk to you soon again to tell the stories about Arambole, a very small village north of Goa!

Namaste

Bodhgaya

From Varanasi I arrived in Bodhgaya late at night after a six hour train ride and an eventful cab drive. The cab driver was drunk! The whole town was asleep when I arrived at eleven pm. I got up very early the next morning to change my Hotel and found a nice Guesthouse just a half a mile away.The townspeople are still recovering from the festival Holi, where cleaning up and preparing for a new day to sell their ware along the streets. One can find almost everything in those little huts, like belts, suitcases, jewelry, pryer flags, gemstones, postcards, beads, rice and vegetables. I made my way through all the stands to the entrance of Buddha's Temple. It is a beautiful in craved stone Temple with a high pointed Dom and two smaller ones beside it. Buddha's head is all around the building carved into the stone. Behind the building is the Buddha tree where he got enlightened! I sat there in stillness for a long time and was at the center of my being. My personal path brought me there and I was in a state of joy and happiness! Many Monks where sitting there too and also collecting fallen leaves from the Buddha Tree. As I walked out of the temple two Boys approached me" Madam where are you from? You nice, can you give rupees? We need rupees for school, you donate for school good Karma!" I explained that I do not give money but if and I did not want to come to the school! "Madam we need book for school to study can you give rupees pleaaaase!" I examined this situation in every possible angel and after some more conversation I offered them to by the book. "Ok come come" so we all stated walking for about twenty minutes and I was really already wondering where they would take me. Finally we did end up a book store or better hut. They told the owner what they need and out came the biggest dictionary I have ever seen. The cost 1000 rupees. After I opened and closed my mouth for several times I asked for a discount, ten percent I got. I bought the book and we started walking again. " you nice lady come to my house please now!" I decided though that this was not a good idea and we walked back along a main road this time as all of a sudden an angry tourist approached me and said,"you know those two boys are scamers do not give them money!" I explained what I did and he said with disgust that I already fell into the trap. The boys did not run away but they knew that they where in trouble. I told them that it is bad karma if they sell the book and get the money! I went back to the Guesthouse to rest for a while and then go for dinner. As I walked to find a Restaurant a friendly voice came from behind, "hello madam can you give some rupees for school, I need book to study!" I turned around and saw a handsome well dressed boy behind me. I explained that I already bought a book today for the school. Then he proceeded that he is hungry and if I could give him some rupees! Then he said,"Can you take me to Restaurant?" finally I ended up taking him with me and I found that I had nice company for dinner!
The next day Wednesday March 23 I had a 14 hour train ride to Agra Fort!
Love to all! Namaste!
Sonja

Varanasi Continued

The view is incredibly beautiful along the Holy River and the colorful Ghats.Some Ghats are used to burn dead bodies in public. Varanasi offers Moksha for the people who come here to die and be cremated. Liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The leftover bones and ashes are given back to the sacred waters of the Ganges!The Ganges is used for all of life, literately! Indians drink out of it, wash themselves, use it as toilets, to wash clothes, cows are taking their bath too and standing in the water for hours, bones and ashes are thrown in their. Monkeys, dogs, coats, are among other animals who find the water cooling too. The Ganges is also used for transporting goods from one Ghat to another. fishing boats are there ealy in the morning and so are the tourists. As I walked one day I saw a crows eating off a dead cow who was laying in the water. At night when Puja, prayer of the Ganges or also called Gangarie, is celebrated one can get tiny little flower arrangements to put in the River and make offering or send prayers to loved ones. Often my walks along the River where disturbed by touts and this was very overwhelming at times. I learned fast to not give them any attention and just walk on! Lots of children always beg for money or chocolate. I am actually sorry I did not bring chocolate on the other hand it would melt away in this heat! Varanasi is indeed a town of many colors, it is magical spiritual, crazy, corrupt, chaotic and most of all inpatient! One day I also visited Sarnath a small town close to Varanasi. It is there that Buddha gave his first speech after he got enlightened! There are a few temples  are lining up along the streets where visitors are allowed to pray and bring offerings or make a donation.
Today in the evening I will board the train to go to Bodhgaya. It is a five hour train ride to Gaya and then either with bus or cab to Bodhgaya!

With lots of love 
Sonja

Varanasi

I arrived in Varanasi mid day on March17. I learned it is better to get a prepaid taxi at the airport and let the people at the stand know where to go, rather then just get a cab of the street. The non prepaid cab drivers will not drive you to the desired destination or Hotel, rather tell you that this Hotel is not good and bring you to a Hotel or Guesthouse where they will make profit. for my first outing that afternoon i took a guide from the hotel. Together we took a Rickshaw and went to see a silk factory. Varanasi is famous for its beautiful silk fabrics! this was very interesting and the owner told me how they create the patterns, how long it takes to thread the loom and how many hours it takes to weave a bedspread. After this i took a Rickshaw to drop me of close to the Ghats. I walked through tiny little ally ways and finally found the Ganges where the Ghats are. It is so confusing to walk from the main street to the Ghats and it took me three days to not get lost anymore. There are about 80 Ghats are lined up along the Ganges river bank. Some where built in the early 1500 and others have been renovated in the 1900. Most houses and temples are high up on the riverbank and one can find Guesthouses with roof top Restaurants!
to be continued!

Rishikesh!

>I arrived by train in Haridwar, a town on the bottom of a mountain 6 ours away north east from Delhi. There I took a cab,together with two woman from Israel to visit Rishikesh. They got unloaded at a very expensive hotel, the only one in town, and the cab driver brought me to the bridge to walk over to the village. He gave me a tip for a nice guesthouse. Unfortunately this was full so I started walking with all my luggage and found another guesthouse where I left again and found the tour guide whom I got to know just an hour before. He took me on his motorbike and found me another place. Shiva Guesthouse was also a dump but I had no chance then to stay there because everything seemed to be full. In the bathroom I found two buckets and a toilet. There is never any paper, so I am glad I brought my own with me. Nearby is a tiny restaurant where I eat every day, and it is delicious! Rishikesh is a small town on the Ganges, where this beautiful river is about a little less then a mile wide. It has a lot of Ashrahms here where people find yoga classes, meditation, and pranayama! I visited the abandoned Ashram from the Beatles and saw the little hut where John wrote "Revolution 9"! It must have been very beautiful there at that time. Unfortunately nobody seems to take care of this place and it is in very bad shape! The first night here in Rishikesh I attended the Gangarie which is the prayer of the Ganges. Children and youth who are dressed in beautiful yellow clothes are chanting and singing and there are a lot of tourists who sit listen or meditate. The energy is amazing together with the scenery. For the first time I found love for this country and their people. I smiled with joy! Meanwhile I know my way around this town and I found a wonderful yoga class today. Just in case you all wonder why I don't stay in a Ashram! The minimum required stay is two weeks. Yesterday I moved out of the Shiva and found a nicer room just up the street.Clean and it has actually a shower and then I found a store to bye toilet paper! Today we had a fire in the hotel! The room next to mine is completely burned out and my room was full of smoke, so that I did not want to enter or be there for hours. I decided then to go and take a bath in the Ganges! I went with Norbert and Carol who staying in the same guesthouse. It was freezing cold but I did it. Tomorrow morning I will take the train back to Delhi and so wish I could stay a little longer here in Rishikesh. I made new friends, learned to drink fresh sugarcane juice on along the side of the road (from Edgar a nice Swiss man), found a good yoga class, I had a nice room and good food!
Namaste to all of you and I will talk to you again from Varanasi!
Love Sonja






So sorry about the unfinished post from Delhi but I had no power anymore that night!
Love Sonja
P.s. Thank you all for your comments!

Delhi the next days.

I did write a new blog about Delhi and some how it did not get posted. As I have to learn patients with everything here I guess you will have too! I went to see national monuments like the Indian Gate, the Red Fort, Humyans Tomb and the Lodi Garden.It is very interesting to see their history, but not all monuments are well preserved. I guess that is the Indian mentality! I am surprised or maybe amazed how dirty everything is here. kaput also drove me to old Delhi. There I took a rikshaw ride along with the crazy traffic. The man who drove this bike had to work very hard and it is not easy for them to paddle along with all those cars. Old Delhi exist with hundreds of stores and again all man are vendors. I learned meanwhile why there are so many men are in the stores! It is a hierarchy, one of them is just sitting there and overseeing the business, because it is his, then the next down is taking the money, the next is writing the bill and another is packing your goods. Yet another is making sure that one byes something. They crabbed me to go into a store to bye a blouse and I sai I don't want some thing, " just looking madam just you looking" ok a gave in. I did not like anything so I wanted to but he run after me with that blouse, went down with the prize, and shouted at me just 200 rp. Behind him was the man who had the bag to pack the blouse. all this happened two or three stores away from there store. Finally I gave them the money and got away as fast as I could, just so that I could be bothered by the next one.

Flight to India

My flight to New Delhi was long but with no surprises! Everything went smooth and I had two seats for myself to stretch my legs. Always more than enough to eat or drink. I arrived in New Delhi at 2am early Wednesday morning. The taxi ride was an adventure and really crazy. There seams to be no rules at all on those streets. Everybody ignores the white marked lanes and out of two lanes the cars form four. At one point my taxi driver squeezed himself between two trucks as they got closer to each other. We just made it with me in the backseat holding my breath! There is no police on the roads, nobody to check speed or cars crossing over three lanes. Also I believe all the cars have defected turning signals!
Today was a short day for me because I slept until 11am, then I got a cab to go to one of the oldest markets in town. Kahn Market, where I found some Indian clothes to wear to be appropriately dressed. Men are staring at all the tourists woman and there are hundreds of men sitting or standing everywhere I went today. In each little tiny store,even woman's clothing stores,I could see four to five men. All of them have a cell phone wherever they are. The woman are very nice and helpful. It was a bit difficult for me to find my cabdriver Kapur again, because all the little roads on the market look the same. One can easily get lost.
The embassy is like a fort with beautiful green grass, trees and flowers. The only green i saw today. It is a true sanctuary! The school is amazing and it looks similar to Stuart school in Richmond! They have about one thousand seven hundred students from all over the world here! Just outside of the walls are the slumps starting and I can see them when I stand on the balcony! Two completely different worlds next to each other.

Countdown to my journey to India

 " The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware"

~Henry Miller~

The Map drawn by Stephanie

I learned very early on in my life, that if I want something I have to work for it and keep my focus and faith. Going to India was a dream or rather a wish for thirty years. A good friend of mine traveled to India. This sparked a flame, as she came home and told me all her stories and adventures. Thirty years is a long time to dream and keep your focus though I got sidetracked many times. I had to learn many life lessons and most of all to believe in myself and the divine. Life is a big exercise and the messages which are presented are divine gifts. It is those challenges and the opportunities they present that help us to grow! After being married and having two beautiful children who have both gone on to fulfill their destiny, the opportunity came for me to go on my adventure and fulfill my dream.

The Countdown from Mimi

As I prepared for this journey many emotions were flooding through me, like joy and excitement, uncertainty, happiness, sadness, love and fear! I let it all in and then allowed myself to become still and have faith. I read intensely, learned from the internet, studied and continued to gain knowledge about the amazing country of India. The countdown to step on this journey has almost ended and there is only 1 day left before I leave. The backpack is packed, today I have taught my last class and said goodbye to my family and friends.

A big thank you to my husband, children, friends, yogis and yoginies, teachers, for all of your support, cards, gifts, posters, balloons, hugs, kisses and endless tips and advises! You are all wonderful. I will miss you all and send you always love and light!

Jennifer made an Indian flag!

Paula hang up balloons!



Sticky notes by Marck and sweet Caroline!



De



Barbara made a good luck charm poster!



Debbie and Tim stuck Flamingos in the yard!







The Mandala journey from Beverly!