Rishikesh

The Wikipedia entry is a little clearer, so here it is:Rishikesh is a holy city for Hindus located in the foothills of the Himalaya in northern India. The place gets its name after Lord Vishnu who appeared to 'Raibhya Rishi',[3] as a result of his tapasya (austerities), as Lord Hrishikesh [4]. In Skanda Purana, this area is known as 'Kubjamrak' as Lord Vishnu appeared, under a mango tree.[2]Historically, Rishikesh, has been a part of the legendary 'Kedarkhand' (the present day Garhwal).[5] Legends state that Lord Rama did penance here for killing Ravana, the demon king of Lanka; and Lakshmana, his younger brother, crossed the river Ganga, at a point, where the present 'Lakshman Jhula' (लक्ष्मण झूला) bridge stands today, using a jute rope bridge. The 'Kedar Khand' of Skanda Purana, also mentions the existence of Indrakund at this very point. The jute-rope bridge was replaced by iron-rod bridge in 1889, and after it was washed away in the 1924 floods, it was replaced by a stronger one.

This is a picture from a 'boat' we took over the Ganges (also called Ganga). There's an ashram over there called Gita Bhawan and some later pictures will be from that.

I thought it was rude to take pictures of people bathing in the waters (sans vetements) but this guy has shorts on, so I took his picture - bad timing I'll grant you. I have seen steps like this before on NatGeo, so I wanted to take a picture of them also.

The last picture I took for Connor - life size statues of Ram and his fav buddy Hanuman.

Yesterday, I watched most of a cartoon movie of the Ramayan. It was in Hindi of course, which I do not speak nor understand, but I got alot of the story anyway. I'm looking for in online so that Ms. Bierl's class can see it. Also, while touring the museum of the man who started Indian Film, Dada Saheb Falke, I understand he also produced the Ramayan back in the 30's or 40's. Interesting still shots from it are in this museum here in Nashik.

Near the Falke museum is a beautiful Buddhist temple and the deity is all gold and is about 3 stories tall. Very hypnotic.