Rishikesh, Uttar Pradesh

We arrived to Rishikesh and went to Lakshman jhula to the New Swiss Bandary Cottage. Iris had stayed there six years ago and liked the place. We had a great time there, relaxing, reading books, strolling along the banks of the Ganga river and to the near waterfalls. We saw the Puga ceremony on the bank of the ganag river – a holy Hindu ceremony held every evening. In the evenings we used to meet with other people at Mama G’s, a little guest house that was firmly run by an old lady we all called mama. We ate thali and had great banufi cakes for disserts (a banana cake with bisquits and dulce de leche (ribat halav)). We spent 12 wonderful days before we went on to Varanasi.

Iris having lunch in the New Swiss Bandary Cottage after we arrived from Amritsar

The Ganga river coming from the Himalayan mountains


Iris at the banks of the ganga in Ram jhula

Tasty butter cakes in ram jhula street

A man meditating on the bank of the ganga

We are dipping in the snow cold ganga

The evening puga at ram jhula

We are having a banufi cake at mama g's

A baby monkey and its mother

at one of the waterfalls near Lakshman jhula

Sunset on the ganga

Iris and a VERY big cow...

Even HABAD send people to Rishikesh :)

Amritsar, Punjab

From Dharamsala we took a jeep with four other Israelis to Amritsar to visit the golden temple of the Sikh, and then we went to see the daily ceremony of closing the gates between India and Pakistan, which is done every evening. Unfortunately we missed the ceremony by 10 minutes! but it was very funny to see all the Indian people get so excited. They wanted to take pictures with Iris and with me because we were tourists :). After that we went to the railroad station and took a night train to Haridwar which is a city near Rishikash, both cities are located in the banks of the Ganges and considered holy to the Hindus. In the train, we took a sleeping-car with beds in it. It was okay, the train took 12 hours to get to our station, and then another hour with a rickshaw (a three wheeled taxi) to reach our hotel, the whole journey took us 30 hours.

The Sikh golden temple

A Sikh guard in traditional uniform in the temple

The Sikh golden temple

And again...

Last picture :)

Iris with an Indian soldier at the border with Pakistan

The border gate with Pakistan

Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh

From Manali we took a night bus to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. We arrived to McLeodganj which is located in the upper part of the city at 4AM. We had to wait for two hours until guest houses started to open and then took a rickshaw to a small village called Bhagsu just 2 km from there. It’s a small and peaceful place. The weather was hot and sunny during the days but cold and rainy during the nights. Many Israelis stayed in it during the time we spent there. We went to see the place where the Dalai Lama lives and the temple near it. We also found a nice book shop and couldn’t resist the chance to buy some books, so our bags became little heavy afterwards…. In In Bhagsu we ate at a nice restaurant called “Haifa”, it had nice food at a reasonable price, and it also had the famous Bhagsu cake (cold biscuit with dulce de leche (ribat halav) and chocolate).
Many people took lessons in jewelry, knitting, yoga, and other stuff, so Iris decided to take a crush course in knitting too. We’ll see how she does….

Budhist monks in McLoedganj near the Dalai Lama residence

Buddhist Mani paryer wheels

Tuval eating momo (Tibetian vegtable dumpling)

Outside Bhagsu village

The view from upper Bhagsu

Our flag in front of a common shop in Bhagsu :)

A falafel stand in Bhagsu with all the Israeli products to feel like home