Monday the 12 of October, hostel room in Rishikesh, 08.14
I've literally just stepped in the hostel room after a morning meditation class here in Rishikesh. It's a very spiritual place in the north of India, just by the fot of the Himalayas, where you can find hundreds of yoga and meditation classes a day. Compared to other cities I've been too so far you could say that this is a quiet city. But that's in comparison to Indian quiet, not Swedish quiet. It's at least a different atmosphere. And I like it :)
Ganges
And so far this is why I love India. I already feel like I've been to several different countries with different cultures , foods and beliefs. It's amazing actually . But then again it's a huge country so it's not strange at all really, if you think about it. Just amazing!
Apparently this (Rishikesh) is where the Beatles went during the 60's for some
inspiration and had their 'most productive period' of song writing. And I could see that. It's a very open minded and this is probably the place to broaden your mind.
So yesterday we mainly chilled out along the streets and markets here for some shopping. It's fun how you actually try to bargain the prices even if it's only like a pounds difference. Haha, but hey, Let's do it the Indian way.
Then we met up with another guy we met here called Joe, and he showed us a very nice little sweet spot a few km away from the town where we could go down to Ganges and have a swim in the water whilst it's still 'clean'. It's gonna be so different when we arrive in Varanasi where they throw burnt people and ashes in the holy river, so we took our chance to cleanse ourselves with the holy water here.
So far I could not ask for more India. It's such a treat. And tonight we're leaving on a 16 hours train to Varanasi!! Super excited to get to the most holy city in the world, I believe they say.
Lots of love,
Victor ❤️

4 October, train from Panchkula to Amritsar, 10.20am
I've been here for about 5 days and I do not know where or what to start with.... Hahah, I feel like whatever I write it is gonna be just a tiny white piece of a huge colorful puzzle. But I'll try...
The first day I took it fairly easy just trying to melt what happened the night before and trying to adjust to the heat. So I spent some time in their flat with Bikram and had some nice chats. Took a walk in the neighborhood and in the evening we all went for a flying yoga/stretching class at their gym! Very nice!
The second day I tried to concur Delhi a bit by myself, easing into all the people and the tempo. If you think London has a tempo.... Visit Delhi. Hahah.. But it all went well and I got to see some beautiful places.
On the 2nd of October they celebrate Gandhis birthday and they told me they were taking the car and going up to Panchkula, where Bikrams parents live, over the long weekend and asked me to come! So we drove up in the evening of the 1st Oct and I think it took more than 2 hours just to get out of Delhi... Hahah, the traffic was crazy because everyone was obviously traveling the day before the holiday and I think we arrived around 3am in the morning.
Had the best weekend there with crazy amount of food. And I mean crazy amount... Road tripping up the mountains and staying over. Road tripping down the mountains. Card games like Skitgubbe and Finns i sjön! Food. Sweets. Food. Drinks. Yeah,
Today they're going down to Delhi again and I decided to continue my journey north/west to Amritsar. I doubt I could have a better first weekend here. It's been everything above amazing. Of course it's a huge applause to Charchit and Bikram who let me in with open arms like a family member and helped me out with my phone and just teaching me the basics of the Indian ways. Couldn't thank them more!
And YES India is crazy for sure. And YES India is terrifying to say the least. And YES India is so different in the best ways you could ever imagine and I can't wait to explore it!
