Years before I was born my parents left the United States and joined an Ashram in Mumbai India. That’s right, my parents were hippies...Vietnam War protesting, love promoting, Vedanta studying hippies.

I have heard stories of my parent’s experiences in Bombay my whole life. They lived in separate dorms since they weren’t married, studied for hours and hours each day, everyone but my mother got dysentery and my father lost 50 pounds and shaved his head in order to force himself to stay in India knowing that if he went home with a shaved head his mother wouldn’t let him in the house.

My parents were there to study Vedanta under the brilliant guidance of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Vedanta “makes available the ageless wisdom of Advaita Vedanta, the knowledge of Universal Oneness, and provides the tools to realize the wisdom in one's life. "To give maximum happiness to the maximum number for the maximum time" is the tenet that drives Mission workers to uplift humanity beyond selfish and sectarian attitudes and activities. Each person's gain is manifold: personal growth, heightened efficiency, contentment, and the ability to live with others in peace and harmony.” according to the website of the Chinmayananda Ashram as it is called now.

During the summers my family would pile into our Toyota Previa van and head to Southern California to attend the summer Ashram sessions taught by the same Swami that taught my parents in India. I have the fondest memories of those days; playing in the pool with the other kids, learning sanskrit verses and sneaking meat into the vegetarian complex (don’t tell).

I have always been floored by my parent’s ability to connect to people and to the depth of beauty that the world offers and I greatly attribute this to their studies of Vedanta.

So understandably I was more than excited to visit the Ashram that my parents had studied in 30 years before. We were met by a wonderful man at the Ashram who showed us around; the study rooms, the temple, the dormitories...he even took us up to the roof where my father said he would go for a peaceful moment to himself.

I kept imagining my parents there, studying, sleeping on metal cots for a year. My parents were tough, man; boiling their water before they drank it, living in small quarters in the sweltering Indian heat without any form of air conditioning and waking up before the sun to start their studies.

It was a phenomenal experience to walk the paths and picture my parents walking there when they were the same age I am right now. Ofer and I had some great talks with our guide and were both so intrigued by what he had told us that we wanted to start looking for Vedanta classes for ourselves.


The inner city of Mumbai was built up like any other major city but the further we got from the center of the city the differences between this city and others we had seen and lived in were right in our faces. We saw people sleeping on cardboard in the streets wearing ornate saris as trucks and cars rode right by their heads. Families lived in shacks right next to the road and children ran around in groups under freeway passes together. We also saw the most concentrated amount of people urinating on the streets. The first time we saw that we were shocked but then we saw that it was in fact a very common thing to see in and out of the city.

Unfortunately I was still sick. We tried taking a Tuk Tuk around the city, I was so angry that I was in India and not able to explore it in the way that I was wanting to. Sitting in the back of the Tuk Tuk was torture and showed me just how sick I was. The fumes, the honking, the smells...everything made my headaches worse and made me feel incredibly overwhelmed and exhausted. So just like in New Delhi, Ofer and I spent a lot of time in the hotel. I guess the body is going to do what the body needs to do to recover and what I needed to do was rest.

Fortunately we were again in a fantastic hotel right next to the International Airport. It was easily the strangest hotel I had ever been in. It was built in a circular manner with a massive courtyard in the center. The courtyard had stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops next to a meandering lagoon that doubled as a lap pool. Every night there was a laser light show and about 3 times a night there was a live belly dancing performance. Weird. By the end of our stay in Mumbai we knew the belly dancing song by heart and most of her choreography.

As a last attempt to see Mumbai Ofer and I hired a taxi for the day, packed my medicine and my tissues and drove south to see the Gateway of India. The Gateway of India is a monument that visitors arriving in Mumbai would first see as they came in from the sea and was built in 1911.

Across the street from the monument was the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower. The Palace is a five star hotel built over 100 years ago. The Beatles, Jacki O, Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger have all stayed there just to name a few. As you can imagine considering it’s guest list the hotel is phenomenally gorgeous inside and out, completely extravagant and stunning.

In November of 2008 it was one of the 10 locations of coordinated terrorist attacks. There was very high security as we entered the hotel but we felt very safe. Ofer and I had a beautiful lunch there overlooking the Gateway to India and talked about everything we were experiencing in this amazing country.

India was one of the places that I had most been looking forward to visiting on this trip. I have always had such warm feelings about my childhood years spent at the Ashram with my parents. I know that if I hadn’t felt so sick I would have had the energy to explore India in a way that I really wanted to.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the capacity to see the country that way. Now that Ofer and I have been to India we know that we want to go back and we know of so many other places that we were told that we really want to see. I am excited for that day and I hope that everyone on the trip including myself will be nice and healthy and able to enjoy the experience.

Exiting the New Delhi airport was a very different experience than Nepal. The international airport, first of all was huge, with high end shops and was very very clean. We began to think that maybe India wasn’t going to be as much of a culture shock as people were warning us. Then we left the airport.

Once outside the doors it was a madhouse. There were people standing everywhere, it was incredibly hot and there was so much noise and exhaust from the cars it made our eyes water. We got into a cab that looked like a car from the 1950s and headed to our hotel. Although the streets were, of course, paved the car ride was extremely stressful. Our cabbie dodged open air wagons called tuk tuks and honked with every move he made. The streets were full of families squatting on the ground, walking to and fro and selling goods. Garbage was strewn all over the streets but we had become accustomed to that in Nepal.

To our surprise our hotel was absolutely stunning, quite a change from the quaint room we had in Chitwan. We had a full kitchen, living room, beautiful bathroom and a large bedroom that looked out over New Delhi, we were so excited to explore the city and know we had such a comfortable room to relax in each night. Ofer and I completely agreed that our accommodation standards have dramatically changed over the past few months. We feel so lucky to see that we have running water that heats up, no obvious bugs or grime on the floors and that our linens don’t smell like mold. Over and above that makes us feel like we are living like kings.

Then it happened. The thing that I had been hoping would not happen in a third world country. I got sick. We knew it was bound to happen, a lot of people warned us about lowered immune systems and travelers stomach on the trip but we weren’t prepared for how sick I got. Luckily it wasn’t my stomach that was sick (a blessing considering how many people told us it was inevitable), it was a head cold; I had blocked sinuses, a sore throat and was completely fatigued.

Unfortunately I stayed sick for all of our India trip including New Delhi, Goa and Mumbai and just started to get better while we were in Laos. Ofer was fantastic and took great care of me. We were so lucky to be in such a great hotel with a fridge and a warm shower and bed with TV to keep me occupied.

Our hotel was connected to a large mall so Ofer and I didn’t have to go far to forage for food. We ended up finding a nice Indian restaurant and ordering my favorite dish that I had known from living in New York: chicken makhani. Over the next few days I think Ofer and I ordered the exact same thing maybe 4 or 5 times...it was so so good, wow. We would sit on the couch or in bed together watching Indian news or movies and engorge ourselves with chicken makhani, basmati rice and butter nan. It was incredibly spicy and anyone who knows me well knows that I can’t eat spicy food at all, but it was so good Ofer and I worked out strategies on how to eat it and suffer the least from the incredible amount of spices.

Even though I was still sick Ofer and I were determined to at least make it to the Taj Mahal. We hired a driver from the hotel for 8 hours to take us into Agra. Unlike Nepal we were provided a beautiful, comfortable car with air conditioning for the ride, what a difference that made. The hotel even provided us with lunch boxes containing sandwiches, apples, water and cookies for the ride.

We slept most of the ride but once we were in Agra it was clear to see that the locals did as much as they could to make money from the tourists. We had to change vehicles to drive up to the Taj Mahal, we were told not to buy anything from the vendors or even look at them and once we got out of the car we saw why. With one foot out of the car we were swarmed by people selling goods; jewelry, calendars, statues and even peacock feather fans. Once in the Tuk Tuk they ran along side trying to continue the sale. Then a well dressed man jumped in the front seat, it appeared a Taj Mahal guide came with our package.

The Taj Mahal was spectacular. From a distance it was so bright, like a pillar of safety, worship and love in the middle of such a chaotic city. The closer we got the more beautiful it was. From far away it looks like a solid marble structure but as we got closer we could see that it was made up of thousands of marble bricks and decorated with jewels in every nook and cranny. The white marble building is inlaid with semi-precious stones, lotus flowers and calligraphy. The inlay stones are of yellow marble, jasper, crystal, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sapphire, carnelian and jade to name a few, there are 28 types of stones.

We walked around inside and saw the incredible detail in every part of the building. No wonder it took over 20 years to build it. Outside locals laid on the marble floors in groups talking, sun bathing and people watching. Every place we stood was the spot for a beautiful picture, this was definitely one of the things we have seen that truly shocked us with the beauty of standing before it.

After seeing the Taj Mahal our guide took us to the location where the decedents of the original artists who built the Taj worked. They showed us how they individually shape each piece of stone and each jewel to be fit into the mosaics in the Taj Mahal. There were no lines to follow it was all completely done by hand and by eye to fit perfectly into the works of art. We then walked around the shop and admired the table tops, vases, bowls and mini Taj Mahals that were there. We were so impressed with the work and we knew that this was such a special art form that we decided to purchase a small tabletop. The table is made up of marble and inlaid stones and has almost 10,000 pieces.

Next he took us to a place where they create silk tapestries, jewelry and purses using the same jewels used in the Taj Mahal. They were incredibly delicate and detailed. I am not the kinda girl who collects bags like a lot of women that I know but these purses were so unique and beautiful. There were a few I had my eye on and Ofer bargained harder than I had ever seen him bargain to get the price down. The salesman was so surprised at his skills that he asked where we were from. When Ofer explained that he was originally from Israel he laughed and said that now it was clear, he knew that he couldn’t be an American because of his ability to negotiate. Ofer and I were both proud.



Over the next few days Ofer took some excursions by himself while I stayed in and rested. We tried to take a day trip around New Delhi on another day and our driver just kept taking us to areas to buy local goods. We started at a sari shop and I tried on different colors and kinds....traditional saris, punjabi saris and wedding jewelry. Ofer joined the fun and tried on a few outfits and a traditional wedding jacket, he looked great. We were given chai teas and were pushed hard to buy but Ofer and I both knew that we weren’t interested, we had been warned about buying articles of clothing that had a high probability of never being worn again. They weren’t very happy with us when we left only with silk scarves.


Ofer and I had a good opportunity to see the countryside as we drove home seeing as our 3 hour expected drive turned into a 7 hour drive. Once we had left Agra the skies opened up and a terribly heavy storm began. As we drove in our warm comfortable car with our water and snacks we watched men and women with no jackets or helmets on motorcycles riding right next to us. We also saw trucks with at least 20 people piled on top. They held on to anything they could so as to not slip off the top as they were drenched by the storm. Ofer also counted about 17 people in and on a tuk tuk that we felt cramped in just the two of us. It’s incredible to think that these people were completely soaked and dirty from the mud and exhaust on the road yet I was the one who was sniffling and miserable in the back seat. I think I need to grow a thicker skin.

We left New Delhi excited to get to Mumbai and hopeful that I would get nice and healthy quickly. I was determined to see the city with the energy and excitement that I had to explore the place where my parents had lived for a year years before I was born.

The moment we arrived at our lodge in Chitwan we both felt the tensions from our harrowing drive melt away. The grounds were beautiful; stepping stones created paths to a few two-story pale yellow blocks of rooms and to a main open air lodge for meals and relaxation. We settled into a sweet little room with nothing but the essentials; a bed, a dresser and a bathroom with a spout for water high up on one wall. The staff were incredibly welcoming and we were excited to explore the grounds.

The Sapana Village Lodge is right on the outskirts of the Chitwan National Park. Our hotel was looking right off into the park and as we relaxed in the sitting areas and slept inside we could hear the sounds of wild animals roaming the grounds. The common area was so relaxing and we met some wonderful people and couples from around the world that were on similar trips to ours. We would have dinners together and meet at breakfast and discuss where we had been and where we were planning to go on our travels. It was great to get some travel advice and also to talk to other people who were taking similar kinds of risks we were, who viewed traveling the way that we do and knew the trials and tribulations that come with journeying long distances for extended periods of time.

We planned on taking some time to relax in Chitwan, the lodge begged to be sat in with a cup of chai and a book, but we were also very interested in going on a few excursions. We decided to do a jungle walk to look for wild animals, an elephant ride through the forrest and to give an elephant a bath (something we were told not to miss).

Ofer and I doused ourselves in insect repellant, covered all of the skin we could with clothes and prepared for our hike into the jungle. We both tucked our jeans into our socks to prevent leeches from crawling up our legs....seriously. The two of us loaded into a Jeep with two guides and set off toward the jungle. We drove to the bank of a river and boarded a small motorized boat to take us deeper into the jungle.

Once we reached our destination our English speaking guide gave us some information as our older, more experienced guide and animal tracker started surveying the area. He told us that on our hike there was a chance that we could see deer, wild boar, monkeys, snakes, deadly spiders and rhinos. He said that these animals are not in a reserved park, we are in their natural habitat. If we do see animals they could very well see us as a threat and want to protect themselves.

He told us that if we do encounter an animal we should stay as quiet as we can and be completely still. If the animal proceeded to charge us we were told to climb up the closest tree. That’s right, he said to climb the closest tree. Damnit, I always knew it was going to bite me in the ass that I couldn’t climb the rope in Junior High School!! I spent the next few hours picking trees to climb, always trying to have at least one in sight that was at a slight bend so I would have the best chance of surviving.

I think I wouldn’t have been so scared other than the fact that both of our guides were hushing us and making us stop when they heard any kind of sound. Chitwan had a lot of rainfall just before we came so a lot of the road markers they used to hike were underwater. Ofer and I walked as daintily as we could through marshy grounds that would at some points soak us all the way up to our knees.

At one point we did see a wild boar chasing a group of 10 or so deer just about 50 feet away from us. As we watched I continued to seek out the best tree just in case the wild boar decided he wanted something other than venison for dinner. We completed our walk at another place along the river and took another boat back. That was the first animal tracking excursion that I went on that I was happy to not have seen too many animals. I did, however, manage to take an animal home as a souvenir; it seems despite my jeans being tucked into my socks and then stuffed into my shoes a leech managed to make its way to my foot. Of all of the animals in that jungle, I was glad it was only the leech that got me!

The elephant ride through the jungle was a lot more fun. The two of us were up in a basket on an elephant’s back with an elephant tamer who sometimes walked, sometimes rode with us and sometimes stood on the elephant’s trunk. From high up there we both felt so safe and eager to see more animals. We lucked out on our trip, we managed to see deer, wild boar, a few monkeys and even a rhinoceros. The rhinoceros was huge and it was incredible to think that we were looking at a wild animal and were able see how they all react to each other. The elephant was able to get pretty close to the rhino who stood his ground and went about his business.

The best thing we did in Chitwan has continued to be one of the best experiences we have had on our trip to date and even one of the best experiences we have ever had. We were told that we should help to wash the lodge’s resident elephant. We showed up without any knowledge of what this would be, we assumed we would be using broom like brushes and soap to wash him right outside the lodge.

But once we were introduced to our guide he told us to take off our shoes and to hop on the elephant’s back. We were hoisted up onto the bare, prickly back of the elephant and started walking off away from the lodge. I was behind Ofer with my arms wrapped around as tightly as I could while Ofer held onto the rope tied around the elephant’s neck.

We were doing our best to hang on as he took step after muddy step, we would all slide together when he reached a slippery patch of mud and we would feel him readjust his footing when he knew something wasn’t safe. Then we noticed that we were heading right for the river. Before we had a moment to hesitate the elephant walked right into the water.

Once he was standing in the middle of the river he filled his trunk and sprayed us with water. There was no chance of coming out of this even remotely dry. We were both laughing so hard and I was still holding onto Ofer burying my head in his back to keep the river water out of my eyes. Then the elephant started to kneel down and decided to lay down on his side consequently dumping the two of us into the river.

The elephant then relaxed and laid in the river as we rubbed him down with rocks. It was incredible feeling. He was such a huge but gentle and expressive animal...it was one thing to see an elephant at a zoo or to feed them bananas but it was a whole other thing to be right up next to his eyes and feeling his skin in the river. 

Our guide had seen that I had been shielding myself from the sprays by hiding behind Ofer, so he told us to get back on the elephant, this time with me in front.

After a few failed attempts to stay on the elephants back as he stood up we were again at least 10 feet in the air with our legs gripping the massive animal. He resumed his bath and doused us with water over and over again. One of the funniest feelings was his huge flappy ears hitting and getting stuck on my legs and he waved them back and forth.

Ofer and I were so happy walking back to our room. We couldn’t stop smiling and laughing as we squeezed the water out of our shirts and picked brush out of our hair. I felt like we were 6 years olds walking home; so proud of how completely covered in mud we were and that even if we got in trouble it would be worth it.

Our time in Nepal was phenomenal. After only 7 days there we so in love with the countryside and with the people. We know we only cracked the surface of what Nepal has to offer and we now know that it would definitely be a place that we would love to visit again.