Update from Rishikesh

Hello friends,
I've been in Rishikesh for 3 days now...
The 20+ hour journey here was intense...
mad local bus ride down from Dharamsala...
three people per seat...
armpits in my face...
listening to the whistle blower...
people coughing on the back of my head...
Even wilder and worse was the train ride...
13 hours packed with people
sweating, sleeping, snoring, spitting, smoking...
trying to rest amidst the smells of dirty feet
and urine...
Felt more like a moving prison cell
than a train...
Rishikesh does have some cool charm...
There are ceremonies in the mornings and evenings by the banks
of the Ganges,
devotees float candle offerings down the river to the singing of
bhajans...
I've done some yoga,
studied and jammed some sitar and tablas with an accomplished
teacher...
But with Indian tourists and monsoon heat and rain
it's just NOT the time to be here...
So I'm leavin' by night train to Varanasi -
said to be one of the MOST wild, insane, and holy places in
India.
Oh, man, here comes another train ride... 18 hours...
One thing about my e-mails, folks,
I tell it like I experience it...
the serene, the nasty,
the spiritual, the filthy...
It's all India.
By the way, e-mail is extremely slow here...
Thanks so much for the messages everyone
but I can't really respond right now.
Hope you all are well.
Sending blessings,
Ari