Himalayan foothills and the Ganges river

Hello all!
This past weekend we visited Rishikesh and Haridwar. This was our first excursion north(east) and our first glimpse of the Himalayas and the Ganges river. We were accompanied on our trip by the other Dan who came from Lincolnshire at the same time Dan and I did, 3 guys who work at Hewitt in Gurgaon, and one of their friends. Saurabh, Kunal, Varun, and Sumit were a blast to travel with. We spent a lot of time learning about each other's cultures and learning each other's language. You really know you are in a different culture when you are asked the question, "was your marriage a love marriage or was it arranged?"
We hired a driver who drove us about 6 hours through the night up to Rishikesh. We drove about 30 kilometers up and down winding mountain roads overlooking the Ganges until we arrived at our destination. We got out of the car, walked down a trail to the banks of the Ganges and awaited our ride to the other side of the river. We were picked up in a raft and crossed the Ganges to a stretch of sandy river bank spotted with canvas tents. This is where we stayed and it was breathtaking. We were surrounded by green, tree-covered, mountains and the rushing Ganges. It smelled so good and so clean! However, the night before we arrived brought huge thunderstorms so the camp was drenched and their were periods of rain and cloudy skies. Our plan was to fall asleep for a couple hours, eat some breakfast and then go white water rafting. They brought out 5 rubber pads (there were 7 of us) to lay on top of the drenched beds. So some of us attempted sleep, but none of us were very well rested for the day. But when we did get up and moving the sun was out and we were ready to raft.
This was by far the highlight of the trip, and it isn't white water rafting until someone falls out of the boat. Well that someone was me and it happened on the most intense rapids we encountered. It was only a level 3 for those of you who know what that means, so it wasn't that dangerous and it was actually kind of fun! Everything was great until a huge wave caught us just right and knocked me right over the side of the raft. Luckily I immediately grabbed the rope on the side of the boat and remained calm until our guide came and pulled me out. It was awesome. On the sections of river where there were no rapids we got out and swam in the surprisingly deep, and extremely cold water. It felt so good to escape the 100 degree heat! There was one section of rapids that we got to get out and body surf down, it was so much fun! Yes moms we were wearing helmets and life jackets, we were very safe! It was so beautiful also to enjoy the scenery of the Himalayan foothills and the wildlife from the river. Our rafting experience, however only lasted one hour, 12 kilometers as opposed to the usual 2 hours. 24 kms. This is because India is heading into the summer months and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas are starting to melt. So the river is getting deeper, faster, and more dangerous. But we definitely had a great time and enjoyed the part of the Ganges that was safe for beginners.
After rafting we checked out a place where the guys did a little bit of rock climbing. It was not anything all that spectacular. It was pretty much a large rock that you can climb up, but they got all harnessed up and did climbing and repelling. They had a good time, but I was way too exhausted to deal with all that. After rock climbing we headed back to camp, slept some more, woke up, took a dip in the FREEZING Ganges, and hung out on the beach playing frisbee and waiting for dinner. Dinner was awesome, they served us about 4 plates of appetizer before serving us a huge meal of chicken curry, rice, vegetables, and bread.
The next morning we packed up, left camp, and headed into the town of Rishikesh. Here we walked through an open market area, over a suspension bridge and over to a huge temple. The guys we were with payed a visit to the temple while the Dans and I walked around the market. Rishikesh is quite a spiritual place and is the yoga capital of the world. The town is really beautifully located right on the banks of the Ganges and nestled into the hillside. Very quaint, but lots of people.
After we left Rishikesh we headed to Haridwar which was about an hour drive right on our way back to Delhi. Haridwar is like Varanasi. It is a spiritual place were many Hindus come to bathe in the Ganges river. Bathing here is believed to free you of your sins. So the guys we were with took a dip, and the other Dan could not resist, after watching some kids, jumping off a bridge into the water. This place was really neat, but being the only white people there we were harassed a lot. Our least favorite was a teenage girl with a cobra in a basket that she kept thrusting in our faces. It was kind of scary and she wouldn't leave us alone. But other than that and the heat, it was a really neat place to visit. Dan and I would have dipped, but we had a 6 hour car ride ahead of us and it would have been miserable being wet. If you check out the pics, the huge statue is of Shiva the Hindu god.
Well that about concludes our weekend, and we had a great time. We were a little tired due to the extreme lack of sleep, but being in the mountains and on the river more than made up for it. The Ganges river is believed to be a God in the Hindu religion and to be near and in such an important spiritual symbol was really an amazing thing. And to be in it where it is fresh and clean was great! We had our taste of the Himalayan foothills and they were breathtaking, now we are really itching to get up in the mountains. But this coming weekend, Bangkok, Thailand!!!! Love you all!
-Courtney