Travels – Page 4 – Laurens Traveling

@Bangalore Airport

My face in a park in the midst of the city - look how green — My face in a park in the midst of the city – look how green

Hopping in a friends taxi to drop me off at the bus station that would drive me to the airport, was the ‘plan’.
The taxi didn’t know where the bus stop was, the tuk-tuk driver after that dropped me off somewhere quite randomly.
But I found an ‘airport taxi’ and got here 1.5 hours earlier than expected, for a very good taxi price of 400rs. He was hoping to pick up more passengers on the way but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

So here I am, 15:00 at the airport, and the flight that was supposed to leaveat 18:40 is delayed by 2 hours. So I have a nice 3 hours of time to kill before checkin =D

At least I’m well in time.

I had an awesome stay in Bangalore, very much unlike my previous big Indian city experiences.
The thing that stood out maybe the most was the amount of trees and green in Bangalore.

Botanical garden in the midst of a busy city

Today I also visited Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh (a botanical garden).
Those places were truly amazing, midst of the busy traffic and horning, some huge grass fields with massive trees and their boughs shadowing the pathways.
It was such a relaxing experience, to be amongst the green, the horns merely a vague whisper in the background.

Then my Ishanian friend took me to the greatest Masala Dosa place known to men kind.
Seriously, we all (the 4 of us by now) didn’t have breakfast or had a very small one, and were so hungry, we just kept the Dosa’s coming.
Another one, more tea, more dosa’s, more coffee. It was a huge feast.
The deliciousness of the dish seemed to only increase, and in the end the 4 of us were fully stuffed and our tongues were almost dissolved from the unbearable deliciousness of the tastes. We payed a grand total of 400 rupees… The equivalent of a 1 person bread + raw vegetables in Belgium, after which you’re potentially still kind of hungry.

Anyone in Bangalore, get to Malleshwaram, near 9th or 10th cross, and find the restaurant called Shri Sagar. Seriously.

Random thoughts @Bangalore (A tier 1 city)

The end of the ashram stay is getting near.
I’ve been on and off on the temple service.
Some days I was fully meditative, time was no issue.
At other days the mind was racing like a mad man and every minute became an eternity.

I took some time for myself, which I actually needed for a while.
It was too busy a day, not having time to sort things out, arrange the bank account, decide plans, look up information. Every day was filled from wake till sleep.

I hope I can keep up the yoga practices twice per day in the first 48 days, as they recommended. No idea how far I’m in. But while traveling it should be quite easy, unless I’m on 10 hour train rides.

The next destination will probably be Kerala or Goa. Not sure what I’ll do.
Confusion is a nice preparation step for decisions.

…

I’m now in Bengaluru (Bangalore), in the house of the grandma of a friend from Isha.
I will stay here for 1 or more days and then get moving to Kerala. I’ll be taking the bus there, since it seems to be a great alternative to the trains (or flying).

…

And whops the flight ticket suddenly got very inexpensive and became an incredible and superior alternative to get to Kerala.
For 10 euros more, I could fly in 1.5 hours instead of the 12-15 hour bus ride. Insane.

These few days I’ve been just chilling, enjoying food, and relaxing. Keeping up the yoga practices and trying to keep the ashram vibe alive.
I’m so aware of the importance of it, this massive opportunity to approach every situation in a different way, to grow and change.

So monday evening I’ll be flying. I’m a little scared but also very excited.
I think spending some time away from the major city would be a good idea.

Here in Bangalore, there are some things worth seeing, but honestly I’m not that interested. I prefer taking some time chilling and arranging my stuff. The city is pretty busy anyway and it’s a great way to thrash money =P I prefer spending it on a good meal.

…

The mall is huge. And Western.
I was very surprised to see all these Western and familiar brands everywhere.

The friend from Isha is totally awesome, showing me around all the good places!
Had some extremely delicious meals for a great price (almost all actually just paid by him), and got a great sniff of the city.
Actually the city experience was way better now that I wasn’t alone and accompanied by someone who knew the ways. Or maybe I’m better prepared than last time.

2 cousins of the Isharian friend are now staying in this place as well.
I was extremely surprised to find that the favorite band of one of them was Opeth, my all time, 7 year lasting absolute favorite band up until now. He also enjoyed Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, the next 2 highest rated bands on my list, and he plays the guitar (and knew many Opeth songs).

This was quite the amazing and unexpected surprise to me, and pushed the fact in my face that all kinds of people exist everywhere.

I’m seeing all these faces, meeting all these people, learning so much every day.
The big city here has similarities to a Belgian city (which obviously is insanely smaller), but is still so vastly different.

I think I’m starting to really love the Indian way of things, from the smells of flower and sweet dishes when walking on the street, till the pedestrial walking sides which are half an adventure to walk most of the time.

From the randomness of people doing weird things to the body-rearranging tuk-tuk rides.
From the weird looks of people to the funny half-dialogues where we try to understand the half English words we each utter.
From the dodging of poo to answering the unavoidable and eternally reoccuring question ‘where you from?’.

It’s the special place, which has its massive history and culture, and is trying to grow and change.
It is looking to the West for all the material things they still lack (even though it’s resembling the West a great deal already); while I, the Western dude, try to take a break from the shallow material world to find something else here.
The swap might be bound to happen.

I would say this place has quite the invitation for those who are not faint of heart.
You have to search, you have to look, you have to endure, you have to find,
but then it will gain a special place in your mind, unique to anything you have known.

Isha Yoga Center pt. 2 – Volunteering and Food

The Yoga Center is awesome.

From the caress in the branches of the wavering clouds, to the depth of grace in people’s eyes when they greet you.

Something special is going on here, which is the least I could say.
Being here is like a homecoming, it’s like the place I’ve dreamed about for years.

People are not posessed by ideas and rituals, by theories or blindly following.
Everyone here is living the message: grace, love and awareness.

The center thrives on volunteering. 1/3 of all the work is done by people willing to, They just do it, to throw themselves into it, to give themselves fully and be in the moment.
There’s no bad work, only bad effort.

Now I joined a 8 day temple service, where I help guiding and greeting the people into the temple.
In and aronud the temple there is full silence,
the temple is made purely for meditation.
It’s called the Dhyana Linga.

So, theee 8 days will be mostly spent in silence.
Not an easy job, but what a great challenge.
What an opportunity to stay in the moment and be confronted with the mind.

I’m not too sure how I feel about it.
I’ve had a homesick strike today and also a push to move on.
However, yesterday I dreamed that I was home already and regretted not going on with the travel.

The next stop will surely be Kerala, but I’m not sure when I will be moving.
The ashram surely is a great place, the days are filled, and I can stay here cheapeter than the rest of my travel, hwich is maybe beyond merely useful at this point, I might end up having to watch out to have any money left at all.
But when volunteering I can stay here for free.. And get the 2 included meals as well, it’s really amazing.

They cook for probably a thousand people everu day, if not more.
And for every program, like the ones I attended, there’s a different menu.
The food is delicious and the diet is perfect.
Every day, some raw vegetables, a piece of fruit, and then rice or potato or dosa’s with different kinds of extras.
I don’t even think I’ve eaten the same thing twice in these 14 days in the ashram… It’s ridiculous.

And it must be the best diet I’ve ever had. From nuts to seeds and fruits to rice, to healthy hot drinks and fruits and vegetables I’ve never seen in my life.
Eating every day is a huge experience.

The way we eat here is something special at well.
Silence.
Sitting in large rows on the floor, men opposed to women, a metal plate in front.
An invocation chant, all together, nobody moves.
The food servants (I believe all volunteers) walk in the rows with buckets of food, each bucket one thing.
They keep walking around until everyone is finished, when they pass, you can always just ask for more.
Noone will leave hungry.
Then you take your plate and wash it.

Most people are barefoot here.
Not only does it give a great connection with the ground, an extra sensation to the perception, is it good for the rest of your body to have pressure on the feet,
also it reomves the issue of where to take off your shoes.
Besides more enjoyable, it’s just easier.

Anyway, time to go back to bed.
Time to prepare for a whole day of butt -and painhurt, of meditating in the now and consciously and passionately doing any task given.
To give myself fully to whatever it is – that is the message here.

To become more alive.