After many hours of air travel and road travel, we arrived at this lovely oasis about half way from Delhi to Rishikesh. It was quite a welcome site and our first lovely meal in India. Most of what happened before this moment falls into the category of "rude awakening for the foreign tourist". All of it shocking and new, but none of it threatening or hurtful.

We came to India to study the Sri Yantra and Saundarya Lahari. Pictured here is Swami Veda Bharati who is speaking in the main tent where all the lectures took place.

Lovely Sri Yantra composed of colored rice!

Scott playing Master of Ceremonies in his new Korta!

This is where I bought my tailored Indian clothing. This is the tailor of Swami Rama of the Himalayas and it was quite an honor. The cow only added to the attraction!

This is where we ate most of our meals that were not served at the ashram. The Sikh cook would take time for prayer during meal preparation, which was lovely to see.

This statue of Krisha and Arjuna is quite large and very high up. It is on the main pedestrian way in Rishikesh along the Ganges. At night, this makes an impressive sight as it is lit against a deep blue sky.

Our new friends. It was quite refreshing to see them and speak with them each day on their way to and from school. They all spoke English fast and knew details like who our President was, etc. The young man with hands in namaste has two black backpack straps on his shoulders - that's our backpack, which he wanted to put on. Tammy held on to the back of the backpack thinking "I've seen this happen in a movie.... where the children run off....". But, no fear, he may have been testing us as he was the son of the gardener at the ashram! He returned the backpack and they all ran off! India is full of lovely life tests!

As we rounded a corner in the Rishikesh market, a CD vendor was selling CD's and playing Ravi Shankar's Chant CD quite loudly. The music made for a lovely, etherial moment.

We were in Rishikesh during a minor Kumbamela. So, a temporary pontoon bridge was set up to allow easy crossing of the Ganges. Each day our adventure began here and each night they day set into a lovely wash of memory as we crossed back toward home. Scott wrote a song about this topic "We Cross This Bridge Every Day". Lovely!

We were in Rishikesh on the days leading up to Holi (and in Delhi on Holi). On Holi, citizens, well, they party and also throw brightly colored water and powder on each other in celebration. Fortunately, or unfortunately, my new white outfit received no color.

This view is from a balcony at the ashram looking down into the garden and the tent where the lectures and celebrations were held. The man in the photo was the gardener who took loving care of the grounds (his son was one of the young man with our backpack).

Pandit Hari Shankar Dabral is buying sweets for our adventure to the temple to recite the 1,000 names of the Devine Mother in honor of his recent nuptials.

The drive up to the temple in the foothills of the Himalayas took an hour or more along winding roads. Then, of course, the obligatory stairs to help center and focus your mind for the temple ahead.

We will never forget this view or this time at the temple.

What a panorama! On a clear day, you can see the Himalayas in the distance.

We visited Haridware for an Aarti celebration and as we were making the procession to the Aarti site, we were greeted by this scene of pure peace.

Tammy made fast friends with the woman next to her at the Aarti celebration and learned much etiquette from all of the mistakes she made (like smelling the flowers, which you should never do because they are meant for the gods). Aart is a wonderful fire celebration where flower floatillas of all shapes and sizes (like the one Tammy is holding), which contain little candles, are lit and gently floated down the Ganges. It is a lovely time - so stunningly visual and blissful!

A group of Shiva Sadhus (see the trident) on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh.

Back in Delhi, we bought many pieces of small, lovely art and jewelry from this kind man who has a shop at the Oberoi in Delhi. By the way, we each lost about 10 pounds on our trip and have not been that thin since!

Visiting the park with eternal shrines to Mahatma Gandhi (other important Indian leaders are also memorialized here). It was quite a moving experience that renderned one speechless for some time after.

We love the food at Gaylord's Indian restaurants worldwide and it was a true joy for us to dine here in Delhi. Though, we haven't been to Bombay or London, but enjoyed our meals in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

View from the Red Fort looking toward the Taj Mahal in the distance.

Tammy in front of the Parliment building in India.

Scott at the Taj Mahal in India.

A close up of the Taj Mahal at sunset.

We shall never forget our dear friend Sanjay who knew so much for a young man. He spoke fast and clear, he had goals and most importantly, the wisdom his parents taught him he practiced and preached! Where are you now Sanjay? All the best to you dear friend!